The vast majority of adults need sleep seven to eight o’clock, spread over four or five cycles of two or one and a half hours each. About 5% of the population are light sleepers and need less than six hours a night, between 10% and 15% are heavy sleepers requiring more than nine hours of sleep. Similarly, 15% of the population is in the morning and 15% more in the evening.
Sleep does not obey a principle of equality. Some people work nights or shifts, others have 8 hour days but have trouble falling asleep. Still others suffer from chronic insomnia.
The first 3 hours of sleep are the most restorative for the body
There are also people who never go to bed before midnight. But is it a good idea? Actually, bedtime does not matter, what matters is to sleep well (without waking up) during the first three hours of sleep.
“IGrowth hormone is only secreted during the so-called “deep” sleep phase. But the problem is that this phase of “slow and deep” sleep takes place, in adults, during the first three hours of sleep, when bedtimes are not disturbed. However, this growth hormone is essential, even in adults”, emphasizes Patrick Lemoine. Indeed it contributes to recovery after physical exertion, but it also plays a role in cell renewal.
“It also has a less expected effect, but just as important for health: it destroys fats and sugars ingested by the body, adds Dr. Lemoine. Sleep is the great regulator of our brain. It cleanses the body and the mind, tempers our emotions and allows us to digest the learnings of the day”, again reminds the specialist.
Remember that a night is divided into different stages of sleep. First the “slow”, the “light slow” and the “deep slow”, during which the brain produces slow waves. Then comes paradoxical sleep, or dream sleep, during which the brain is active as when awake. It is during deep sleep, at the start of the night, that our vital functions slow down, that we have cardiovascular and metabolic rest. So you know what you have to do to improve the quality of your sleep.
Thanks to Dr. Patrick Lemoine Psychiatrist and author of “Doctor, I have pain in my sleep”, published by Odile Jacob.
Read also:
- 12 things not to do before bed to sleep well
- Insomnia due to stress: how to relax?
- 9 things not to do before going to sleep
