Not getting enough sleep, not sleeping well, and still feeling tired after sleeping. Have you also faced such sleep troubles? Is there a way to help you sleep better?
Why do I never get enough sleep?
American sleep expert William Dement believes that compared with the agricultural era before the industrial revolution, when the sun rises and the sun rests, the sleep of modern people has decreased by nearly 20%.
Lack of sleep is almost on the verge of becoming an invisible crisis in society. It is estimated that 50% of serious car accidents in the United States are caused by sleep deprivation According to the observations of many physicians, sleep deprivation may be related to many of the psychological problems of modern teenagers. The problem of sleep deprivation in teens is very serious!
Lack of sleep makes you stupid?
How does lack of sleep affect the mind and body?
The first to be hurt the most is probably our brains.
According to the research of sleep experts, human sleep can be roughly divided into “non-rapid eye movement” (NREM) and “rapid eye movement” (REM). The third and fourth stages of NREM sleep are deep sleep periods. This stage has a very important function for the brain, it can restore and repair damaged brain tissue.
In addition to deep sleep, in fact, every stage of sleep has its important role. For example, when a person is in the second stage of sleep, there will be a sense of soundness and psychological satisfaction, which is also very important. The third and fourth stages of deep sleep are more common in the first half of the night, and the second stage or REM sleep is more common in the second half of the night. It may have a more active learning function, a creative function.
Sleep expert Alan Hobson also pointed out in his book “Sleep” that what we learn during the day must be organized and stored through sleep. New information comes in and is stored in unstable proteins. If these proteins do not New additions, it will decay. The data in the brain is supplemented and enhanced during REM sleep. During sleep, we do not absorb new information, but rearrange and save the old so that we can absorb new information more effectively when we are awake. Therefore, sacrificing the effect of sleep reading is often half the effort.
Lack of sleep not only damages the brain, it also damages our appearance. Those who want to have beautiful skin must not “sleep only one hour a day”.
Women’s skin will look radiant the morning after a full sleep, because during sleep, the body secretes growth hormones that regenerate aging skin cells. Muscles, internal organs, etc. will also be perfectly matched with sleep to obtain a good recovery effect.
How many hours of sleep is enough?
How many hours of sleep do you need every day to get enough rest for your body and mind?
Trying to answer this question is as difficult as answering how many bowls of rice a person eats per meal and having sex once a week. But according to some studies done over the past few years, modern sleep needs may be higher than the hours we actually sleep. The average person sleeps at least six to six and a half hours, or even nine hours.
Dimon, a sleep research expert at Stanford University, suggested that a person should pay attention to his physical and mental state, see when he is most awake and when he is more drowsy, and adjust his daily work and activities according to his physiological state as much as possible. If you find that you need more sleep than everyone else, don’t feel too guilty.
Dimon believes that “the amount of sleep everyone needs is like the size of shoes everyone wears.” Some people need to sleep ten hours a day, just like someone needs to wear a tenth size shoe.
In history, there is Napoleon who only needs three hours of sleep a day, can take a nap at any time, and then wake up to fight at any time. There is also British Prime Minister Winston Churchill who has to sleep for seven or eight hours every day, and even put on his pajamas and take a nap at noon. Obviously, a person’s need for sleep time is greatly affected by constitution and genes.
The troubles of night owls
That is, because of differences in genes and physiques, the so-called “larks” and “night owls” were born.
According to the research of sleep scholars, ordinary people can be roughly divided into “lark type” and “night owl type” sleep patterns. Why is someone a lark? Someone became a night owl? This is mainly affected by the body’s central body temperature.
The average person’s central body temperature begins to climb after waking up, peaks in the evening, and then begins to drop two or three hours after dark.
When the body temperature rises, the person gradually wakes up, and as the body temperature drops, the sleepiness gradually increases. Lark type people, the body temperature will drop early, night owl type people just the opposite. Therefore, if you want a night owl to go to bed early, you may not be able to sleep; if you want a lark to stay up late, it will be a waste of effort.
Night owls, it is best to find a flexible and diverse workplace culture. If a night owl needs to work early, he can easily become a vulnerable group.
For students, they often need to get up at six o’clock, but the pressure of schoolwork forces them to go to bed after twelve o’clock, and many teenagers are sleep-deprived.
A night owl, even if he wakes up early in the morning, he still goes to school in a daze, even to the first class, he is still not awake; and many teachers do not understand this situation, which causes a lot of pressure on children. The traditional value of life is “early to bed and early to rise for good health”, but not everyone is the same.
For night owls with such sleep disturbances, it is recommended to avoid delaying the biological clock from adolescence. The human biological clock tends to be delayed in adolescence. If the work and rest habits during this period happen to be staying up late every day, it is easy to become a typical night owl. Therefore, you should not go to bed too late in adolescence.
But no matter how typical night owl you are, the body’s biological clock must be asleep between two in the morning and five or six in the morning.
In fact, there are many people with the wrong concept of sleep, thinking that you have to exhaust yourself to fall asleep. Some people bowled until three or four in the middle of the night in order to sleep. The sleep problems of these people are actually caused by the mentality. To improve the sleep distress of these people, it is necessary to address their psychological distress first.
Sleep Disorders You Might Be Ignoring
People who don’t get enough sleep and don’t sleep well become sleepy sleepers during the day. In fact, there are many people who sleep for eight or nine hours and are still exhausted during the day. It could be a problem with sleep apnea,
Sleep apnea can cause a person’s brain to be temporarily deprived of oxygen, resulting in the patient’s inability to enter a deep sleep period and sleep intermittently. Feeling more lethargic during the day because his sleep doesn’t give him real rest.
Many people suffer from sleep apnea, but it is often ignored.
People with sleep apnea often snore loudly while sleeping. Dr. Chen Ninghong reminded that if you find that your family member is snoring every day, or even has apnea, and if he is often in low spirits during the day, he may have sleep apnea and should be treated as soon as possible.
This symptom usually occurs in middle-aged men over the age of forty, especially those who are obese and have a thick neck. To improve this symptom, you can lose weight, improve sleep posture, and corrective oral surgery.
How to sleep better?
Understand your own sleep characteristics, find out the reasons for poor sleep quality from physical, psychological, and even living habits, in order to truly get a good night’s sleep.
Although modern people face many sleep problems, fortunately, there are still many ways to improve sleep quality. The National Sleep Foundation has proposed several strategies for improving sleep. People with sleep problems can try some of the following methods:
- Eat smart and sleep well
It is best to avoid caffeinated beverages six hours before bedtime.
While alcohol may help you fall asleep faster, it may increase the frequency of waking up later in the night. If you wake up feeling tired, alcohol may be the culprit.
Not just caffeine and alcohol, but everything else you eat can affect your sleep. For example, eating too much ketchup, spicy food can make a person upset stomach or chest tightness, and sometimes eating too fast can do the same. Not only does this make it difficult to fall asleep, but it can sometimes be unfortunate to wake up in the middle of the night.
In addition, drinking too many drinks before bed can increase the number of times you wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. As people get older, this situation is more serious, so it is best to control the intake of fluids before going to bed.
Sometimes, eating too much alone can be enough to cause sleep disturbance, and eating too much food before bed often makes it difficult to sleep well.
Likewise, going to bed hungry can ruin a good night’s sleep. If necessary, eat a piece of toast or small biscuits.
- Say goodbye to cigarettes
The nicotine in cigarettes may cause difficulty sleeping and make waking up more painful. People who smoke often experience more nightmares. It may be more difficult to sleep when you first quit smoking. But over the long term, quitting smoking has greater benefits for sleep and overall health.
- Moderate exercise and a good night’s sleep
Exercise can make it easier to fall asleep and make sleep deeper. Exercise can promote good sleep, especially regular exercise in the afternoon or early evening. Take time out in the afternoon for a brisk walk or jog for twenty or thirty minutes, or for aerobic dance. However, vigorous exercise should be avoided two or three hours before bedtime. Because exercise can make people feel better and their body temperature rises, exercise before bed can make it difficult for people to fall asleep.
- Try a hot bath
This may be due to a change in body temperature, which drops after leaving the tub and can remind our body that it is time to sleep.
- Whether it is bright or not is relevant
Light, especially sunlight, is the most important factor in setting the human biological clock. It affects when we are awake and when we are lethargic.
When you find yourself tossing and turning, maybe it’s because you don’t get enough sunlight. Think about it, how much time do you spend outside in a day? Do you stay indoors or in an office that doesn’t see the sun all day? Lack of sunlight is more common for older adults. You should find a way to get more exposure to the sun.
Of course, when sleeping, too much light can interfere with sleep, and the bedroom should be kept dark. Curtains or even blindfolds are sometimes used.
- Get rid of noise tips
If your sleep is often disrupted by noise, try these tips:
- Put on earplugs
- Install heavy curtains
- Install double-layer windows with sound insulation effect
- Play some relaxing music
- Sleep well, is the bed the culprit?
Poor quality mattresses can make it difficult to fall asleep, and even make people more tired. Check to see if your mattress provides comfortable support? Do you have back pain when you wake up? Is there enough room for you and your partner to stretch out? Do you feel more comfortable or sad when you sleep elsewhere?
- What are you doing in bed?
If you can easily fall asleep on the couch but have trouble falling asleep in bed, you may be doing too many things in bed that you shouldn’t. Think about it, do you often work in bed? Billing? watch TV? These are all reminders that you need to stay awake when you’re in bed, and don’t fall asleep.
From now on, you need to reposition your bed:
- Sleep or have sex only in bed
- Only go to bed when you want to sleep
- When you are in bed for more than 15 minutes and still cannot fall asleep, leave for a while. Go back to bed when you want to sleep.
- Think of lighthearted images while lying in bed.
- Take it easy before bed
Taking it easy before bed means you can create some bedtime vibes for yourself. Can listening to soft music help you fall asleep? Putting on comfortable pajamas, meditating, praying, or hugging a loved one, can you relax your mind and body? Choose something to do and see that works for you.
If you find yourself preoccupied when it’s time to sleep, keep a small book by your bed and write down any worries that come to mind and wait until the day to resolve them. Usually during the day, the problem becomes less severe.
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