Do not give up the pleasure of sleeping well and enjoy deep and restful sleep.
There are many people who don’t have enough rest. Sleep is a vital necessity, but it is also a habit and you need to repeat your sleeping routine daily. Let’s find out more information on this.
Physical relaxation, to achieve immobility of the body, and psychic relaxation, to achieve mental disconnection, are necessary to sleep well. Fatigue during the day indicates that we have not slept the necessary hours or that these have been of poor quality.
Bringing forward the time of lunch and especially dinner is a very good measure to get more hours of sleep.
Necessary hours of sleep according to age group:
- Infant: 11-12 hours of sleep at night.
- Children: 9-10 hours
- Teens: 9 hours
- Adults: 8 hours
- Older people: 6-7 hours
How to develop a sleeping habit
Habits and routines that will help you achieve it:
Regular schedules: go to bed and get up at the same time. If one day you are not sleepy at the usual time, don’t go to bed. Relax outside the bedroom with quiet, monotonous activities. When drowsiness sets in, go to bed.
Don’t go to bed until you are not sleepy. Normally, going to bed without feeling sleepy causes us to take longer to fall asleep. In addition to causing that the following days we are not relaxed in the bedroom, because of the uncomfortable moments lived there, which can worsen our rest. Going to bed should be a reward, not an obligation or a problem.
If you have a bad night, don’t stay in bed. Get up and look for boredom and relaxation in the living room. Avoid light stimuli, they could activate you even more.
At the weekend, follow this guideline. Delay your bedtime by no more than 1 hour. If you need more sleep on weekends than on weekdays, it is a clear sign of lack of sleep.
The nap, no more than 20 minutes. The need for longer naps indicates that we sleep little or badly.
Don’t stay up late, especially if you have sleep problems.
Prepare the way to sleep. The previous hours have to be quiet. For a good sleep, a previous disconnection is necessary.
Two hours before going to bed, disconnect. The use of electronic devices such as tablets, phones and computers before going to sleep worsens the quality of sleep and increases the time it takes to fall asleep. The light they emit affects the release of endogenous melatonin, an essential substance for a good night’s sleep.
Sleeping and eating
Eat dinner early and go to bed at least an hour and a half after a normal dinner. If it is copious, two.
Going to bed with digestion done makes sleep and its quality much easier. If we do not do it, our sleep will be heavier, superficial and of poor quality and, possibly, nightmares and respiratory sleep disorders, such as snoring and apneas, will increase.
The dinner, light, of easy digestion. Avoid fats, fried, spicy, alcohol and stimulating substances such as colas or coffees.
Foods rich in tryptophan can promote better rest: oily fish (sardines, mackerel, tuna), poultry, eggs, milk and dairy products, legumes (lentils, soybeans, chickpeas, peas, beans, lima beans), cereals (wild rice, wheat, corn), nuts, some fruits (strawberries, peaches, grapes, apples, avocados, papayas, mangoes, oranges, dates, grapefruit), greens and vegetables.
Eat a balanced and varied diet. Nutritional deficiencies can make it difficult to sleep.
Nicotine is an excitant, avoid smoking before going to bed.
After midday, do not drink coffee, tea, chocolate, soft drinks or drugs containing caffeine.
You should not go hungry, even if the dinner is light.
Sleeping environment
The bedroom, for sleeping. Avoid watching TV, talking on the phone, working or studying in it.
Simple, tidy and with few objects, as well as clean and airy are the characteristics that the room should have.
Always go to bed in the same bed and on the same side, these are routines that will facilitate your rest.
The ideal temperature, 21ºC. Avoid noises and too high or too low temperature in the room.
The most important piece of furniture in the house: the bed, essential for a good rest and quality of life. The mattress, change it at least every 10 years. It should be appropriate to the characteristics of each one, let yourself be advised by a specialist before buying it.
Avoid electronic devices in the bedroom.
If environmental noises bother you and cannot be avoided, use earplugs.
Sleep in complete darkness. If light bothers you in the morning and you can’t completely isolate yourself, wear a protective mask.
How to fall asleep easier
To make it easier to fall asleep and get a good night’s sleep:
- Moderate exercise during the day. Avoid doing it close to bedtime, as it can activate you. Too intense physical exercise can be counterproductive and cause a more fractional and poorer quality sleep.
- Avoid situations that activate you or involve you emotionally before going to sleep.
- Do not perform tasks that require a lot of activation or concentration at night.
- Plan your day. If you are going to have problems the next day, solve them before dinner or leave it for the next morning.
- Relativize the problem: “not sleeping one night has no important repercussions the next day”. Over-emphasizing it will only make your sleep worse.
- Don’t try to control your sleep or the hours you sleep. Don’t watch the clock if you take a long time to fall asleep or wake up at night, this will only make you more nervous.
- Achieve physical and mental relaxation easily:
- Lie on your back or adopt a comfortable posture.
- Close your eyes and release your muscles.
- Breathe slowly. “Breathe in-pause-breathe out” (3 times). Without forcing the inspiration.
- At the end of the third exhalation, hold your breath for a while. Breathe in again when you feel the need. Repeat “inhale-pause-exhale” (3 times).
- Do not hold or force your breath for a long time.
- Help yourself to hold your breath by distracting yourself with a mental image.
- Repeat the cycle 6 to 8 times.
- Breathe naturally and calmly to fall asleep.
If despite all these tips you do not get a restful sleep, consult your doctor or a center specializing in Sleep Medicine. Most sleep disorders have a very satisfactory treatment and can improve your health and quality of life.
