You know how important sleep is for body balance and quality of life. Getting enough rest is the basis for good physical, psychological and emotional functioning. If you don’t sleep enough or not well enough, in the long run, it is detrimental to your health. So how do you sleep well?
Believe it or not: we sleep almost a third of our lives. And yet, one in three adults fails to get enough sleep or enjoys restful sleep.
And things happen overnight: the body regenerates and growsmuscle pain disappears, learning is consolidated and a major cleaning takes place in the emotional sphere.
However, too often, we neglect the essential rest periods and shorten nights that should always be restorative. We should sleep well every night. Here are the practical tips to succeed in the challenge…
A sleep routine
To fall asleep quickly at night, try to go to bed and get up at the same time every day. It’s a perfect way to reprogram your internal clock. The body does not obey the finger and the eye. It takes some time to adapt to go from being awake to sleeping.
We can therefore establish a “sleep routine” to ritualise, each evening, the last moments of the day, just before going to sleep.
Soft music, a few pages of reading, a lukewarm bath… It’s up to everyone to decide and find the formula that will best prepare their body for complete rest.
No sleeping in
Intuitively, we can think that sleeping in allows you to recover late sleep. Nothing could be further from the truth: it is a received idea.
Sleeping late disrupts the internal clock and this inevitably has consequences for the nights and mornings that follow.
By getting up every day at the same time (weekends included), you feel better, you have more energy and you find time for yourself. Above all, we improve our sleep.
Easier said than done ? When you don’t have to get up, it’s true that you tend to want to take advantage of it to stay in bed. But it’s like sports training: by forcing yourself at first, you will make these small efforts profitable in the long term.
Of course, we can make exceptions for evenings that end at no time!
In perpetual motion
Often, modern life does not help us sleep naturally. Between the blows of stress, the ubiquitous screens all around us and the hectic activities at the office, everything is done to make us run without ever blowing.
But the worst part is office life. We are not programmed to spend eight hours a day sitting in a chair in front of a computer.
The body is made to move, to be active. He is also endowed with a great endurance which allows him to hold on during the whole day.
It is therefore in our best interest to avoid immobility, to move around on foot and, if possible, to get up from our chair at least once an hour during the day.
It’s the surest way to spend energy, get tired and, in the evening, enjoy a good sleep to recover.
Physical exercise
People who suffer from sleep disorders tend to enter into a vicious circle: lack of sleep makes them tired and fatigue is not very motivating to play sports.
It is not recommended to do sports or physical exercises in the three hours before bedtime. On the other hand, any sports activity during the day is very favorable to the quality of sleep at night.
Studies have shown that 40 minutes of running or brisk walking three times a week prolongs the duration of deep sleep.
How to sleep well? In fact, exercise is said to be the best natural remedy for sleep problems in women and the elderly.
Doing 30 minutes of gentle physical activity (walking, swimming, cycling, etc.) a day can change everything. You feel better, you reduce your stress, and in addition you send a message to your body: “if I spend energy during the day, I need to recover well during the night. »
By striving to move a little more on a daily basis, we gradually transform the vicious circle of “poor sleep/excessive fatigue” into a virtuous circle of “energy expenditure/recovery”.
How to sleep well with a good mattress?
A good night’s sleep starts with a good mattress. The mattress you choose is a crucial decision for your quality of life as an adult, especially since you don’t change it every four mornings.
You should guide your choice by considering priorities such as firmness, edge support, sleeping position and level of cooling…
The only real way to assess the level of firmness of a mattress is to try it on directly at the store. When you sleep together, you try the mattresses together before buying, and taking your time.
Lying on the mattress, you try to pass your hand between your loins and the mattress. If we succeed, it’s a bad sign: it’s too firm.
Then we change position. If it is laborious, it is too flexible.
Finally, we push the elbow into the mattress. If the hollow remains marked, the model is too soft.
The final choice is then a matter of feeling, well-being and price. And don’t forget to flip your mattress every three months.
Hot bath or cold shower?
Contrary to popular belief, taking a hot bath does not help you sleep. On the contrary. Heat excites while cold numbs. To rest, the body reduces its physical activity and cools down.
Taking a cold shower instead of a hot bath makes this step easier. The body is already cooled down and it can now fall asleep.
If you don’t really want to take a cold shower, the technique is to start with hot water, then gradually lower the temperature, until you completely cut off the flow of hot water.
We stay under cold water for about 1 minute before going out. At that moment, you feel good: toned and relaxed. All that remains is to get into bed and fall asleep.
If you absolutely want to take a hot bath before going to bed, you should do it long before going to bed, at least an hour and a half before! Body temperature will then have time to drop to send the message to the body that it is time to sleep.
A little nap
The siesta is not a manifestation of laziness, but often a real need.
If you are wondering how to sleep well, taking a nap is a very good idea, no matter what time of day. But we recommend naps of less than 20 or 25 minutes because beyond this duration, we encroach on our sleep capital.
The most effective nap is the one that takes place between 1 and 2 p.m. because there is a small dip in temperature at that time.
The production of cortisol drops (it is the neurohormone that wakes us up and stimulates us to action), which leads to a decrease in concentration, physical strength and intellectual acuity.
Everyone feels this temptation more or less after lunch. For some, it’s just a little “fatigue” that disappears after a few minutes, while for others, the need for sleep is real.
What will vary between individuals is the amplitude of the drop in attention. In those who need a daily nap, the drop in concentration is often brutal and must be remedied.
During the nap, we produce growth hormone which is regenerating. Small naps are thus beneficial because they regenerate alertness, boost the ability to concentrate and promote the following night.
Who dines sleeps?
When we sleep, the functions of the body work in slow motion. Especially digestion. To make it easier, avoid overeating before bedtime.
When one dines copiously, the night of sleep which follows is often restless and disturbed. We sweat, we wake up, we turn over in bed.
In short, we sleep badly and we end up getting up tired from this bad night’s sleep. Sleep and digestion are intimately linked.
To sleep well, body temperature must drop. The digestion of food increases thermogenesis, which directly depends on the nutrients ingested (therefore on the food consumed).
The amounts of carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, alcohol and spices have a direct influence on food thermogenesis.
If dinner is too high in protein or fat, digestion slows down, thermogenesis increases, and so does body temperature. However, if the body temperature does not drop, sleep is disturbed.
If the dinner is too large, the metabolism being slower at night, digestion takes longer and can cause gastric reflux or other digestive problems that can disrupt sleep and cause insomnia.
Similarly, going to bed on an empty stomach will not lead to better sleep either. When the stomach is torn by hunger, our brain also remains alert and it becomes difficult to rest properly.
No caffeine in the evening
Coffee contains caffeine of course, but also phenolic acids (antioxidant), potassium, magnesium, phosphorus… It is very low in calories, around 2 calories per cup.
This beverage, synonymous with pleasure and conviviality, is as much criticized as it is acclaimed. We no longer know whether to banish it or favor it.
Many studies show the benefits of three cups of coffee a day against heart disease, diabetes and even certain cancers.
But beware, coffee being a stimulant, it should not be abused. The state of health of the coffee drinker must be taken into account to determine the true consequences.
Coffee can increase the risk of cardiovascular accidents if it is overconsumed, but especially if the person who consumes the coffee is overweight, smokes or suffers from cholesterol or hypertension.
One thing seems to be unanimous in the scientific community: after a certain hour, coffee can have a detrimental effect on sleep. We find ourselves lying in bed, waiting for a sleep that does not come.
This is when caffeine interacts with adenosine, a compound found in the brain that slows nerve activity. Caffeine binds to adenosine receptors and prevents the individual from feeling tired. What to prepare for a beautiful insomnia.
A high consumption of coffee (especially in the evening) causes a decrease in the quality of sleep, which becomes both shallower and less restful.
Some doctors advise against drinking coffee after 2 p.m. (the coffee that closes lunch) so as not to interfere with sleep.
So we can drink coffee, of course, but always in moderation. Especially if you have trouble sleeping!
So how do you sleep well? Now you know…
