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Editor's note: high quality sleep can make you feel happy and energetic. It is not only the guarantee of health, but also the premise of improving efficiency. Based on his own experience, the author gives five valuable suggestions for obtaining high-quality sleep from the aspects of diet, time arrangement, living habits and drug control. After reading, it will bring unexpected surprises to respected readers and benefit a lot. This article comes from translation, I hope it will be helpful to you.
In the previous two weeks, no matter which time the alarm clock was set from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m., I always woke up naturally before the alarm clock sounded. It is worth mentioning that I always wake up happy, energetic and eager to start doing the work of the day.
This state is not a gift from heredity, nor is it an accidental happiness, but the result of some reasonable arrangements I have made for the whole day. In all arrangements, sleep is given priority and priority. My arrangement is as follows:
1. Never drink or coffee
As we all know, alcohol and caffeine can negatively affect sleep. Caffeine reduces the ability to quickly enter the sleep cycle, and what most people think of as their "good sleep" from alcohol is actually closer to an unconscious state and will not produce a healthy sleep cycle at all. It can affect sleep for a few days after drinking alcoholic and caffeinated drinks, but most people drink them almost every day.
Because I am naturally allergic to it and can't drink coffee, and because I voluntarily quit drinking and never drink, I don't have any sleep disorders caused by alcohol and coffee. This has laid a good foundation for my healthy sleep cycle.
It's not necessary to give up caffeine completely to get healthy sleep, just make sure you don't consume caffeine 12 hours before going to bed. If you want to go to bed at 11 p.m., you can have your last cup of coffee at 11 a.m. Never drink coffee in the afternoon.
When it comes to alcohol, it takes 25 hours to be completely transformed in our body. It is conceivable that almost any degree of drinking will affect sleep. The closer the drinking time is to sleep time, the more destructive alcohol is to sleep. You might say that you can drink it in the morning. But is it popular to drink in the morning? A reasonable answer should be No. In this way, you may really shouldn't drink.
2. Go to bed at 10 o'clock every night
There are so many variable options for bedtime that a fixed target time is determined according to the actual situation. You can set a fixed time to get up and go to bed nine hours before that to determine the target bedtime.
My goal is to get up at 8 a.m. So I have to go to bed 10 hours before I get up, not 9 hours (because I take a drug with sedative side effects). So my target bedtime is 10 p.m.
We need to set a consistent target wake-up time every day, because human circadian rhythm does not change so quickly. The change range of sleep physiological rhythm time per night can only be one hour. That's why you can't go to bed at 1 a.m. the day before and 22 p.m. the next night.
Set the alarm clock to ensure that you get up at the target time every morning. If you can stick to this habit for several days in a row, your body will adjust naturally. When you get used to it, you won't hate the alarm clock anymore.
3. Turn off all screens at 9 p.m
The urge to sleep is regulated by two hormonal cycles that respond to the same two factors: circadian rhythm and environmental stimuli. Our circadian rhythm changes very slowly, but the hormone that is extremely dependent on the environment is very sensitive. It will respond immediately to environmental changes. If your surroundings are noisy, you will stay awake even if your circadian rhythm tells you it's time to go to bed. If the environment is dark and quiet, the brain will immediately release a second necessary hormone to make you sleepy.
If you want to get high-quality sleep, you need an environment that is in step with the primitive people: it is dark and calm in the morning and evening, and all light, sound and energy operate according to the rhythm of nature.
The modern environment is not consistent with this rhythm. We use the same intensity of light and sound energy, which is the same every day. We suddenly turn it on and off during sleep. This stimulation disrupts our hormone secretion, which also means less sleep time and lower quality.
We need to control environmental conditions so that the brain can balance these hormone levels and secrete them normally. You can try this: try not to expose yourself to bright or blue lights after sunset, especially late at sunset; Don't watch movies, play video games or listen to fast music within an hour before going to bed; And don't stare at the screen. Although the screen red light filter can help your brain process light, it doesn't work very well. LCD with red light filter, even if it is red, will disturb your circadian rhythm.
Turn off all electronic devices one hour before the target bedtime. I use the "downtime" on iPhone and MacBook to control the computer to automatically close all running programs at 9 p.m. I also downloaded the Nintendo switch parental control system from switch. No matter what game I'm playing, it's set to turn off automatically at 9 p.m.
Also, turn down the lights. I also bought a cheap smart light bulb to put in my bedroom and set it to turn dark and red at 9 p.m. A few weeks later, I bought another temperature controlled desk lamp.
Summarize and expand the above three points:
Of the above three methods, no one is more important than the other. If you want to have a good sleep, wake up energetic and happy, these are necessary.
(1) No coffee or alcohol after noon.
(2) Go to bed at the same time every night.
(3) Turn off all electronic devices at the same time every night and get ready for bed.
Following these requirements will make us feel that we may have to pay a great sacrifice. The above three points are what most people are unwilling to do. However, the fact is that obtaining huge returns requires great sacrifice. Besides, you haven't tried yet. In fact, you don't pay so much. I won't feel sad about not drinking caffeine, I don't miss alcohol, and turning off electronic devices is now a comfort for me, so that I can relax myself and don't worry or care about the world no matter what happens in my life.
To experience what most people have not experienced, you must be willing to do what most people are unwilling to do. This is beyond doubt. It sounds very important, but it will make many people bored.
4. Things to stay away from
In my sleep habits, there are also some behaviors that are unhealthy. Thanks to my age and vulnerability, I can't escape the punishment of these bad sleep habits. You will find that if you want to wake up happy and energetic in the morning, you must do all the things listed above, and try to avoid the following things. For whatever reason, I can avoid the following. Call this my sleep privilege for the time being.
At the same time, it should be reminded that you may but don't have to worry about some of the things on this "must avoid" list like me. Maybe smoking marijuana will have a great impact on your sleep, but maybe your circadian rhythm is easier to recover from changes than mine, so you can sleep late once or twice a week without being affected by it. However, be realistic when considering this possibility, because it can minimize the harm caused by what we like.
(1) Smoking marijuana
Although marijuana is less harmful to sleep than alcohol, it still affects the quality of sleep. I don't know if there is any scientific research on this, but many friends and I have noticed that dream inhibition is related to the amount of marijuana (when we reduce the amount of marijuana, we start to dream constantly).
Dreams are a function of REM sleep, and I suspect marijuana has a significant negative impact on the length and quality of REM sleep cycles. Naturally, it also has a negative impact on the non REM sleep cycle.
Anything else that negatively affects REM and non REM sleep cycles is harmful. Impaired sleep cycles can affect our IQ, memory, immune health, and lead to dementia. The conjecture that marijuana may impair sleep ability is likely to be true.
(2) Sleeping pills
The drug is on the anti use list because sleeping pills damage the brain's ability to perform sleep functions. For people with sleep problems, they are like bait: they give you more sleep, but reduce the quality of your sleep.
Coincidentally, the antidepressants I take are sleeping pills. I didn't choose this medicine because it can make me sleep well. Without this medicine, I will still sleep well. In fact, I'll sleep better than taking this drug because my sleep cycle won't be disrupted by it.
(3) Bedtime diet
If the elderly or people with dyspepsia want to have a good sleep, they must not eat or drink within 2 hours before going to bed. Food stays in the stomach for two hours. Sometimes lying in bed right after eating can cause acid reflux, nausea, urination or many other feelings that keep people awake. If you belong to these groups and want to have a good sleep, you may need to make a rule about when to eat in the evening.
5. Accept the fact that you may not be able to sleep from time to time
It's natural that you can't sleep occasionally. Indeed, sometimes you can't adhere to a sleep pattern. Parents who raise young children, people who work irregularly, and those who have trouble falling asleep all understand this statement. If a strict sleep pattern is impossible, accept it. For example, the boss crying in the middle of the night invades your sleep time, and so on. Such things are beyond your control.
However, it is necessary to eliminate interference and don't let unnecessary things disturb your work and rest time to break the sleep pattern. Make an organized schedule of rest days so that you can make full use of your free time. Although this means that the regular sleep schedule does not match the temporary shift schedule. Sometimes we need to be flexible, act according to our ability, and control the starting point and ending point of the time arrangement.
summary
Do you know your sleep time on vacation? Want a deep and quiet sleep like at home? If you have perseverance and are willing to take action, follow these suggestions and you can enjoy a deep and quiet sleep every night.
(1) No coffee, no alcohol, no marijuana after noon.
(2) Go to bed at the same time every night.
(3) Turn off all electronic devices at the same time every night and get ready for bed.
(4) Don't eat or drink two hours before going to bed.
(5) Try not to rely on sleeping pills to help sleep.
In cultivating our sleep patterns, there is another noteworthy thing, that is, the role of genes. A sleep disorder without heredity is equivalent to a happy gift. I have less than 50% of hereditary sleep disorders in my genes, about 20% to 30%.
Genes also control our type of time. Time type refers to the time tendency controlled by genes, which is early bird, night owl, or in between. There are early morning type (5-6 AM), medium time type (7-8 AM) and late time type (9-10 AM). Most people are somewhere in between. Just as we can't change the natural color of our hair, we can't change our timing.
When I was young, I thought I was a night owl, but I was wrong. A few years ago, when I lived with my grandparents, I was surprised to find that I quickly adapted to their early rising lifestyle. For a long time, my sleep time is only the result of my habit, not a fixed number brought by heredity.
Like most people, maybe my time type is intermediate, but I prefer to believe that I am an extreme night owl, because it is more pleasant than the truth. The fact is that I have chosen to stay up late all my life and suffered unimaginable consequences.
If your time type is extreme, an extreme night owl or an extreme early riser, you may have to adapt to your physiology. For others, I think it is not the type of time that prevents us from having a good rest, but the habits we have formed. Of course, your situation may be different.
All the medical facts in this article come from Dr. Matthew Walker's why we sleep.
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