Outstanding German poet, writer and critic Heinrich Heine He called the dream a superior invention, without which people would not be able to live and work fully. Healthy night sleep strengthens the immune system, improves metabolism, gives energy and contributes to better assimilation and storage of information. But such a positive sleep effect only possible during the night spine retains its natural curves, muscles are completely relaxed, and the body is free breathes. To achieve this, you need to sleep on the right pillow, the right mattress, correct posture, the right room and with the right attitude. Here are ten rules for healthy sleep that will help you sleep.
1. Sleeping place. The best time to sleep is 8 hours. This time is enough for our body to recover and not to age prematurely. You need to go to bed at the same time, even on Saturdaywhen you do not need to go to work or study tomorrow. But if a person sleeps on an uncomfortable bed, in a stuffy room or in an incorrect posture, even after 8 hours of sleep his body does not have time to rest and he wakes up completely broken. To avoid this, it is very important to properly organize your bed. If in the room stuffy, then before bed, be sure to air the room. It is advisable to hang in the bedroom tight curtainsso that daylight does not interfere with sleep or bright sunshine does not make you wake up ahead of time. The important role of bedding material, silk sheets, pillowcases and duvet covers for a healthy sleep is not suitable. Blankets, pillows and bedding should be from natural materials that have good breathability, absorb moisture and do not accumulate static electricity.
2. Comfort. You need to sleep on a comfortable mattress, which provides good support for the spine. Incorrect mattress can not only interfere with sleep, but also lead to a serious deterioration. For example, spinal curvature, exacerbation of chronic diseases and back pain. Do not underestimate the choice of pillows. Many doctors advise to sleep without pillows, but most of us are no longer able to refuse it completely. In this case, it is recommended to replace the pillow with a roller under the neck, which correctly supports the cervical spine and helps to relax.
3. Nutrition. On how we we sleep and get enough sleep, affects and what we ate before bedtime. Everyone knows that after six o'clock in the evening you should not eat. Full dinner coffee and strong tea is bad for sleep. On the other hand, many overweight people cannot fall asleep due to a strong feeling of hunger. Therefore, those who really want to eat at night are allowed to eat 2 hours before bedtime with something light and non-greasy so that they can sleep at night. But leaning before bedtime on cakes, buns, meat and seafood no need, just drink a glass of kefir or eat 100 grams of low-fat cottage cheese.
4. clothing. Doctors say it is most beneficial to sleep without clothes - naked, so that nothing squeezes and does not interfere with the movement of blood and lymph. If, in the absence of clothes, you feel uncomfortable, then it is better to wear loose pajamas or a thin shirt for the night, which do not restrain movement and allow the body to breathe. Clothes for sleeping should be clean, smell good and not create inconvenience. For people suffering from chronic sinusitis and runny nose, doctors recommend at night to cover his head with a cap or cap. The fact is that during sleep the temperature of our body decreases and parts of it that are not covered with a blanket become the most vulnerable to the common cold.
5. Pose. Nature arranged our body so that in a dream we automatically turn over from side to side so that our back does not get tired and the internal organs are not overloaded. Regarding which posture is best for people, opinions of doctors, manual therapists and Tibetan medicine specialists are completely different. Doctors advise you to sleep on your side to keep your back healthy, and they recommend that you go on your stomach only on an empty stomach. If you have eaten well before bedtime, it is best to lie on your right side so that the bile from the pancreas does not enter the stomach and does not corrode its mucous membrane. Manual therapists claim that it is most beneficial for our body to sleep on the stomach. Tibetan doctors, on the contrary, are advised to sleep for long years on their left side. In their opinion, the left side of our body symbolizes the moon, and the right side - the sun. In order to activate the processes associated with the Moon and the Sun, one must sleep at night on the left side, and in the afternoon on the right. Only then will our body find balance and be able to fully recover during sleep.
6. Calm. Overexcitation and nervous breakdown do not allow fall asleeptherefore, before going to bed you do not need to scroll through sad thoughts and problems in your head. You need to fall asleep in a good mood, read books and watch emotional films directly before bedtime not worth it. In the room where you sleep, information and noise pollution should be at a minimum, but you should not abandon the gentle evening hugs, kisses and touches of a loved one. They, on the contrary, contribute to a peaceful sleep.
Literally every person is familiar with the consequences of defective sleep. They can manifest as a state of weakness, drowsiness, fatigue, as if the body has not rested or requires the continuation of rest. In this case, not only that dream that lasted only 4-5 hours, but even 10 hours can be considered defective.
From the history of individual cases have long been known when a person was enough and 5-6 hours of sleep per day to feel cheerful all day long. So what is the problem of poor sleep? Let's see more in detail.
- How does age affect sleep?
- What does sleep consist of?
- How to sleep?
- Avoid stress
- Make the bed correctly.
- Choosing a posture to sleep
- On the back
- On the side
- On the stomach
How does age affect sleep?
In a young body, the process of cell recovery, normalization of blood circulation, and metabolism pass quickly and painlessly, but also requires more strength. Therefore, in childhood, adolescence problems of falling asleep, sound sleep practically do not arise. Sleep is one of the main means of obtaining energy, and at this stage of life it is simply necessary in large quantities.
With age, the processes of development and growth slow down, the body finds it more and more difficult to recover to the initial level, sleep becomes more sensitive. Many adults have an easy or difficult pathology of insomnia, when it is impossible to fall asleep quickly, to sleep as well as in youth. But sleep still remains an equally important resource for normal life, so its quality and fullness are always the main indicators of health.
What does sleep consist of?
Sleep is a natural cyclical process that no man can do without. According to the structure, it consists of 5-6 cycles of phase change of slow and fast sleep lasting about 100 minutes. According to the average calculations of scientists, it is from such a number of cycles that a full sleep should consist, ensuring the normal functioning of the body during the next day. But as for the cycle time, there may be discrepancies. The fact is that for one person it can last 80 minutes, and another for 110. Therefore, one person may need time for a good, uninterrupted sleep 3 hours less than another.
How to sleep?
Now the sleep process is more or less clear. But here how to sleep, to ensure the continuity and depth of sleep, to get up in the morning fully slept with a fresh mind and strength?
Eat and drink at least 3 hours before bedtime.
Saturation of the stomach and urethra does not allow the body to slow down all metabolic processes, and this is the main condition for a good rest. You do not need to force him to work all night in an intensive mode; in the morning you can simply not get up or feel exhausted.
All physical active loads do up to 20.00 hours
Scientists have proven that a person should spend no more than 10 hours a day on their feet, otherwise this can lead to an overload of joints and muscles. If this happens, painful sensations appear, especially in the limbs. Any pathologies, symptomatic diseases, convulsions will not let you fall asleep on time, will cause inconvenience during rest, forcing you to wake up.
In order to somehow alleviate the symptoms of overload, get rid of puffiness, doctors recommend taking a relaxing bath at night.
Avoid stress
Stress can be not only emotional, but also technological, caused by long watching TV, working at a computer. The brain must periodically rest, but not constantly in an excited state. It is necessary to get rid of the habit of watching movies with dramatic content for the night.
Maintain a moderately active lifestyle.
As well as excessive physical exertion, especially in adulthood, a sedentary lifestyle also causes a lot of inconvenience. The natural energy expenditure decreases, the body, with constant relaxation and power saving, does not give a signal to the brain about the necessary recovery. As a consequence of this relationship - superficial, disturbed sleep at night.
But the night is a time when all metabolic processes in the body unconsciously slow down, and all so that a person can use this time to gain energy that can not be saved in reserve. Therefore, the cyclic change of activity and recreation for people is the main necessity.
Provide fresh air at night.
During sleep, it is important to saturate the blood with oxygen entering the brain. This will ensure its normal recovery after activity, the removal of spasms in the vessels.
Make the bed correctly.
The bed should be moderately hard. You can not sleep behind a super-soft feather bed, just as you can not force the body to lie on bare boards. For the head it is necessary to use a pillow; its support will ensure normal breathing and relaxation of the neck muscles. The mattress should be semi-rigid with good cushioning, allowing the body to take the desired posture without embarrassment.
Choosing a posture to sleep
On the back
It is believed that the posture on the back during sleep is the most universal, as it helps the body to recover to the maximum. First of all, the spine is qualitatively relaxed, it stretches in a natural manner, it removes all the stress that it must undergo during active time.
Resting neck, moderately hard pillow forms a good support for her, the muscles relax and restore their strength. If you slept on your back with a comfortable pillow, then in the morning you can not worry about headaches and discomfort when turning the neck.
A slightly raised head with a breast in a supine position on the back will avoid heartburn, which may occur as a result of a late meal. Gastric juice formed from food will not get back into the esophagus, irritating him.
Along with the good qualities, the posture on the back during sleep may also have contraindications. Sleeping on your back is not recommended for people suffering from epilepsy, chronic lung diseases, apnea, which can cause respiratory arrest. It is also uncomfortable to sleep on the back for pregnant women. Sleeping in a supine position becomes the main cause of snoring.
On the side
Pose lying on the left side is recommended to anyone who wants to get rid of snoring and pain in the abdomen, if not suffering from cardiac disorders. It is also useful for pregnant women to normalize blood circulation in the womb and relieve edema.
However, this posture is uncomfortable for obese people. Lying on the side, you have to put one foot on the other, shoulders also inconvenient to arrange because of the large size. We have to use large pillows and blankets to put them under the head and among the legs, reducing the load.
Pose on the right side in a raised position allows you to quickly get rid of night heartburn.
On the stomach
For most people, this is the most favorite pose, especially after a physically difficult day. It gives comfort to tired legs, allows you to get rid of stress, to relax the spine as painlessly as possible. Pose on the stomach is preferred by all fat people, especially those who are suffering from apnea or snoring.
This posture has flaws. Most often they relate to harm to the skin. Resting against a hand or a pillow, the face receives impressive dents, and this all leads to the appearance of a second chin, mimic wrinkles. It is inconvenient for girls with big breasts, because under the weight of the body, this sensitive organ is experiencing a painful load.
Whichever position you choose, staying at night, it can change to a more comfortable for your body almost at an unconscious level. It is possible that at some time you subjected your legs to excessive load, therefore you constantly roll over on your stomach. Or another case: you have a shoulder or chest pain from bronchitis, and you cannot sleep for a long time on your side. Even if you are trying to fall asleep on it, the body will make you turn on your back.
In order for this to happen as rarely as possible, it is important to monitor the activity, provide timely treatment for diseases, choose quality products for the bed.
Watch the video, what 3 questions you need to ask yourself to become a real champion:
I must immediately say that the theme of proper sleep and rash has already been addressed on this site, so that the material can be repeated somewhere. To the previous article.
Need for sleep
Contrary to popular belief that a person needs to sleep for at least 7 hours, there are experts who are convinced that people share according to the need for the duration of sleep. They distinguish three groups: short-sleeping, long-sleeping and moderately sleeping people. And the need for sleep in all corresponds to the name and is laid by nature, as the constitution of the body.
It is another matter that, apparently, moderately asleep people predominate as a percentage, and any deviation from the majority is considered a deviation from the norm. Although, it is known that Albert Einstein, according to his own statements, had spilled no less than 10 hours of sleep. Napoleon, on the contrary, easily fit into 4 hours of sleep. Similarly, the famous Greek billionaire Aristotle Onassis slept 5 hours a day.
Conditions for proper sleep
Complete darkness or a small night light
No matter how trite it may seem, the body needs a regimen. Man, like any other creature on Earth, is a product of nature and was initially subordinate to the natural cycles that exist in this world. Awakening was associated with the rising of the sun, and going to sleep at sunset. The situation has changed, first due to the taming of fire by man, and then the invention of electricity. Today, the duration of daylight does not affect our activity. But this fact did not abolish the needs of the human body in the regime.
We must get used to the fact that in order for the body to rest as much as possible, it must know the time to rest. Regardless of whether it is a weekday or a day off, waking up and going to bed is necessary at the same time.
Darkness is a friend of human sleep and the hormone melatonin. This hormone is produced in the pituitary gland at night and is contained more in the pituitary gland, a little less in the retina of our eyes. Light, and not only the natural daylight, destroys this hormone, preventing full sleep and rest. You can read more about melatonin in the article on fighting depression. It will be very useful for winter weather.
One hour before sleep no physical exertion and hot baths
The body is designed so that during the period of activity its temperature rises, often by 1-2 degrees. Increased temperature is the temperature of activity and action. Brain and nervous system react to an increase in body temperature by activating attention, brain activity and other systems and functions of the body. About any dream in this state of speech can not be.
How to sleep, with or without clothes?
Spacious clothing, or rather its complete absence, will give your skin a breath, release the blood vessels squeezed all day with rubber bands, which will eliminate the feeling of discomfort.
Pillow and mattress
The classic big pillows familiar to us, as if soft and attractive were not, harmful for proper sleep. The fact is that on a large pillow, neck and head are in an unnatural position for them, which causes squeezing of blood vessels, forms the wrong posture.
The ideal option is a small pillow or roller filled with feathers or natural fiber. These materials are better than artificial take the form of a bend of the neck. The pillow for sleeping should perform the function of maintaining the head and neck of a person sleeping on a flat surface in a natural position, filling the space between the neck and the mattress.
The mattress should not be too soft and not too hard. In both cases, the human spine will assume an unnatural position during sleep, bending and disrupting the work of the internal organs, which will certainly affect health.
To understand whether a mattress is good or not, it’s enough to sleep on it one night. If the mattress does not suit you, after waking up the waist will hurt. As a rule, with orthopedic mattresses there are no such problems.
Sleeping with a compass
Your bed should be big enough so that you can spin on it, like an arrow in a compass. Or in extreme cases, it should be possible to turn the bed relative to the cardinal points.
The force lines of the earth’s magnetic field stretch across the planet along the meridians. The fact is that, depending on the state of a person, it is more comfortable for him to sleep in one or another position relative to the meridians. There have been many experiments proving this. To explain this phenomenon has not yet succeeded, but there is such a fact.
Which posture to sleep right
Pose for sleep, choose only according to your feelings. However, it will be useful to know the opinions of experts.
Most scientists agree that the most comfortable posture is on the stomach. In it the spine completely relaxes, the kidneys are not subject to the pressure of other organs and work fully, cleansing the body during sleep.
It is also considered correct for the spine to be lying on the back, with a small pillow or roller under the head or neck, on a hard surface or an orthopedic mattress. Unfortunately, in this position, not everyone is able to relax.
Many feel comfortable when falling asleep in a fetal position on their side. Doctors recommend sleeping on the right side, because, first of all, there is less pressure on the heart, and secondly, this position prevents bile from getting into the stomach, which can lead to its diseases.
It is worth recalling that doctors consider the position of the embryo to be an indicator of physical or moral depletion of a person.
How to wake up
A discussion of how to sleep correctly would be incomplete without talking about how to wake up correctly. Here, too, its secrets.
Awakening must be gradual and gentle, as our brain moves from one state of work to another. It needs to be gradually dispersed. For this, quiet music in the alarm clock is well suited, the volume of which increases gradually. It is desirable that such a signal sounded for about 5 minutes.
About melatonin. To wake up comfortably, use light therapy lamps. There are types of lamps that can be included in certain timegently forcing the person to wake up. These simple techniques will help you avoid a bad mood after sleep and a headache.
Do a good exercise (sweat) after sleep to warm up your body and make it clear that the rest is over and it's time to act. After charging, do not forget to take a contrast shower. Such actions will help to be vigorous in the morning, and not to sway until lunchtime.
Everyone has heard that a person needs to drink at least two liters of pure water per day, but very few people drink so much. And by the way, half a liter of water in the morning on an empty stomach helps to start the digestive system, thereby invigorating the body after a night's sleep. In addition, eat carbohydrates, they will start the metabolism and give you energy.
One more thing. If you feel sleepy at lunchtime, let yourself sleep thirty minutes. Remember that if you sleep longer, your brain will enter the second phase of sleep, leaving it prematurely, you will feel overwhelmed and tired. Thirty minutes of sleep after lunch is the perfect rest. In all countries where it is customary to sleep after dinner, life expectancy is markedly higher, and in the offices of Japanese companies rooms for afternoon nap are provided. I think it would be superfluous to mention the life expectancy of the Japanese and their efficiency.
Sleep well and be healthy!
For many people, the problem of how to sleep properly to get enough sleep is extremely topical. Experts give a number of recommendations on how to sleep. For this matter and microclimate in the bedroom, and the mode of the day.
Night rest is something no one can do without. However, it passes for everyone in different ways: someone comes out of the embrace of Morpheus, loaded with forces for the whole day, and someone has barely moved his legs since morning, as if dragging bricks in front of it.
Why is this so? The thing is how to sleep properly to get enough sleep. Night sleep is about a third of life not wasted (as many who mistakenly believe, due to its reduction, to do other work) believe.
During this multi-hour rest, a number of the most important functions of the body are performed. First of all, it is then that the recovery of brain cells occurs, and the body succeeds, thus, to avoid overwork.
In addition, during the stay of a person in the arms of Morpheus, many necessary hormones are produced, first of all - growth hormone. He answers in children's body for growth, and in adults - for the splitting of fat cells and the growth of muscle mass. Exactly because of this reason chronic insomnia - The most direct way to gain weight.
It is also worth considering that during sleep a part of the brain, freed from the burden of its daily tasks, can switch to restoring and harmoniously “tuning” other systems of the body than the ones it usually does. Accordingly, if this does not happen, it is fraught with premature "wear" of organs and systems of the body.
Of great importance is the ability to see dreams. These are not just "pictures" or a prophecy about the future (as many are convinced). They perform the function of cleaning the brain from the "information peel", a partial discharge of it from the problems and concerns that tormented us during the day. In addition, dreams contribute to the formation and development of long-term memory.
In general, not only the general condition of the body, its resistance to diseases, but also the quality of life of a person, his brain activity and many other functions depend on how to sleep properly.
Lack of sleep for at least a few days threatens with a sharp decrease in performance, impaired memory and attention, a dulling of emotions (which can lead to depression, because in this situation the whole the world as if "gray").
However, those who used to sleep an insufficient amount of time, often overtake the problem and more serious. First of all - irritability, fatigue or even some mental disorders.
In addition, medical specialists were able to establish a direct link between sleep deprivation and hypertension, as well as a several-fold increase in the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, joking with such things is not worth it.
However, according to WHO estimates, at least one fifth of the world's inhabitants suffer from varying degrees of insomnia. At the same time, many of them absolutely do not know how to overcome this. Often, no sleeping pills help them. Nevertheless, even this state of affairs can be significantly improved if we recall the simple rules of healthy sleep.
First of all, it is necessary to determine what is the optimal duration of a night rest. During the course of human life, this period of time will be different. It changes especially rapidly in the period of infancy and early childhood. Most of the time to fully relax, it takes, of course, a newborn. Such babies sleep 18-22 hours a day.
This state of affairs allows their brains to develop harmoniously, assimilating the impressions received during the day and acquiring new functions. Gradually, the wakeful period increases, and by the year the child is 13-14 hours to sleep.
In adults, meanwhile, the amount of time needed for a night's rest depends on both the temperament of the person and the nature of his activity and many other factors. Someone gets enough sleep in six hours, and some nine are not enough.
However, sometimes the time of day chosen for sleeping also matters. Scientists say that from ten in the evening until two in the morning the body restores about two-thirds of the forces necessary for normal wakefulness.
If you go to bed around 2:00 and wake up at nine in the morning, then during these seven hours only a third of the energy will be restored. Although in this case it is necessary to take into account the differences between people - at least a banal division into "larks" and "owls." For those and others, the optimal intervals can differ greatly from the above.
The only way to find out when to go to bed and what time to get up a particular person to really relax at night - practical observations.
Only experimentally, a person himself can get answers to these questions by listening to his body and determining what is the most suitable duration and time for it to sleep. In this case, there are no specific rules and figures - they are only approximate and only serve as a hint.
However, it is worth paying attention to something else. First of all - for the presence of bad habits. So, doctors say that heavy smokers fall asleep much longer than those who are absolutely indifferent to tobacco.
Coffee lovers will have a similar fate, especially if they sin by drinking their favorite drink at night - in this situation they are also guaranteed frequent nightly awakenings.
However, there are many other factors that affect the quality of night rest. Somnologists (sleep specialists) state that one of the most important roles is played by the microclimate in the bedroom. According to them, the recovery of the body will be better and faster when fresh cool air is in the room.
In order to achieve this, it is advisable to air it (in general, to sleep with an open window or a balcony door is not such a bad habit), at least shortly before going to embrace Morpheus.
What should be the optimum temperature in the room depends on the "thermophilicity" of a particular person. One of the indicators of the fact that it was chosen correctly will be the feeling that you just need to cover yourself with a blanket in order not to freeze, although you don’t need to turn the room into a “branch of the Arctic” either.
In addition to temperature indicators, it is important and lighting - more precisely, its absence. Experts say that truly sleeping is possible only in a very dark room (apparently, this is often the reason why in old small apartment buildings a room without windows was allocated under the bedroom - although this was wrong from the point of view of ventilation).
Waking up is not when the body needs it, but because it feels even through closed eyelids: the sun's rays are beating in the face - not only unpleasant, but not very useful for the body in terms of getting rid of fatigue.
So it is extremely important to curtain the windows in the bedroom - and so that the curtains are of dark and sufficiently dense fabric. If there is a possibility of such a choice, it is better to allocate those rooms to rooms for night rest, in which the sun comes only in the afternoon.
In the eastern countries of the world, it is believed that one should also pay attention to where to sleep correctly with one's head. According to the rules of feng shui, "look" it should be strictly to the north or east. Also, do not place mirrors in the sleeping room or put a bed opposite the entrance.
However, not all of these tips matter. But the recommendations of somnologov regarding the organization of the working day should be heeded. These experts boldly say that the correct distribution of loads during the day strongly affects the quality of night sleep.
So, in any case should not carry most of the work in the evening. To reduce the level of stress hormones that prevent from fast falling asleep, you need to pay at least some time. physical stress - This is especially true for those who are engaged in mental work and, accordingly, little moves.
It is better for them to return home from work on foot (if this distance is not too far - but in that case you can walk at least a few stops), and then breathe fresh air again some time before going to bed.
Well relax before meeting with Morpheus will help moderately warm bath with a couple of drops of lavender essential oil or mint or coniferous essence. Grandma's advice to drink hot milk with honey before bedtime is also not without sense.
Going to bed is better in comfortable clothes made of natural fabrics, and before that forget about the TV. The alarm clock is also the enemy of full-fledged sleep - it is desirable to wake up not by its call, but by your own biological clock.