Six to eight hours of restful sleep is one of the fundamentals for health
Sleep deprivation is extremely common and can weaken your immune system, accelerate tumor growth, diabetes and impair all aspects of your cognition; Not sleeping can increase your risk of dying from all causes
Improving your sleep sanctuary is part of having good sleep hygiene; discover the various ways of doing it
The way you prepare to go to bed is also very important, and then you will find several tips
In order to improve your sleep, you may have to modify some of your lifestyle choices, including diet and exercise
By Dr. Mercola
The dream is one of the greatest mysteries of life. Like gravity or the quantum field, we still do not know exactly why we sleep - although every day more is being learned about the subject.
However, what we do know is that sleeping well is one of the cornerstones of health.
Six to eight hours per night seems to be the optimal amount of sleep for most adults; and sleeping a lot or sleeping too little can have adverse effects on your health.
Nowadays, sleep deprivation is a chronic disease that you might suffer and not even know it. Currently, science has established that sleep deficit can have serious and far-reaching effects on your health.
For example, interrupting or disrupting sleep can:
Dramatically weaken your immune system
Accelerate the growth of a tumor - tumors grow two to three times faster in laboratory animals with severe sleep disorders
Causing a pre-diabetic state, making you feel hungry even when you have just eaten, which can wreak havoc on your weight
Impacting your memory seriously, even with a single night in which you do not sleep well - which means that sleeping for only 4 to 6 hours - can have an impact on your ability to think clearly the next day
Affect their physical and mental performance and decrease their ability to solve problems
When your heart rate is interrupted, your body produces less melatonin (a hormone and antioxidant) and has a lower ability to fight cancer, because melatonin helps suppress radicals that can cause cancer. This is the reason why tumors grow faster when they do not sleep well.
Altering sleep can also increase stress-related disorders, including:
- Heart diseases
- Stomach ulcers
- Constipation
- Mood disorders such as depression
- Not sleeping prematurely ages him by interfering with his production of growth hormone, which is usually released by the pituitary gland during deep sleep (and during certain types of exercise, such as the Peak Fitness Technique). Growth hormone helps you look and feel younger.
Even one study showed that people with chronic insomnia have a three times greater risk of dying from any cause.
The lost sleep is lost forever and the constant lack of sleep has a cumulative effect when it comes to damaging one's health. Not sleeping well can make your life miserable, as many of you probably already know.
The good news is that there are many natural techniques you can learn to restore your "health dream".
Whether you have trouble sleeping, waking up many times during the night or when you wake up in the morning feeling tired - or maybe because you simply want to improve the quality of your sleep - you are about to find some relief in my tricks and tips below.
Optimize your Dream Sanctuary
- Sleep in a completely dark place or as dark as possible. Even a little light can alter your internal clock and the production of melatonin and serotonin carried out by the pineal gland. Even the brightness of your alarm clock could interfere with your sleep. This will help decrease your risk of cancer. Close the door of your room and get rid of the night lights. Avoid lighting any type of light at night, even when you get up to go to the bathroom. Cover your alarm clock.
Cover the windows- I recommend using blackout curtains or blinds.
Life evolved in response to predictable patterns of light and darkness, these patterns are known as circadian rhythms. Modern electric light has betrayed its internal clock significantly by interrupting its natural rhythm. Small fragments of light pass directly through your optic nerve to your hypothalamus, which controls your biological clock.
The light tells your brain that it is time to wake up and start preparing your body for ACTION.
- Keep the temperature of your room less than 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Many people keep their home and particularly the upstairs rooms very hot. Studies show that the optimum temperature of a room at bedtime should be between 60 and 68 degrees F, a very cool temperature. Keeping your room cool or hot can cause you to not get enough rest.
When you sleep, the body's internal temperature goes to its lowest level, usually four hours after falling asleep. Therefore, scientists believe that sleeping in a cool room could help you sleep better, as it mimics the body's normal temperature drop.
- Check that your room does not have electromagnetic fields (EMFs). The electromagnetic fields can affect the functioning of the pineal gland, as well as the production of melatonin and serotonin, which could also have other negative effects.
To do this you need a gauss meter. You can find several models online, from $ 50 to $ 200 dollars. Some experts even recommend lowering the circuit breaker before going to bed to turn off all the electricity in your home.
Remove your alarm clock and any other electrical device from your bed. If it is really necessary to use these devices, then keep them away from the bed, preferably about 3 feet. Put the watch where you do not see it. Since it only makes you worry more when you have it in sight during the night ... 2 am ... 3 am ... 4:30 am
Avoid using very noisy alarm clocks. It is very stressful for your body to wake up suddenly. Also, if you are used to getting enough sleep, it is probably not necessary to have an alarm clock.
I stopped using an alarm clock a few years ago and in the present I use a solar alarm clock. The Sun Alarm ™ SA-2002 offers an ideal way to wake up every morning, if you can not wake up with the sun of TRUTH. It combines the characteristics of a traditional alarm clock (digital display, AM / FM radio, beeper, repeat button, etc.) with a special integrated light that gradually increases its intensity, this amazing watch simulates a natural sunrise. It also includes a function to turn off the light that fades little by little over time, which is ideal for anyone who has trouble sleeping.
. Reserve your bed only for sleep. If you are used to watching television or working in bed, then it may be more difficult for you to relax at bedtime, so avoid doing these activities in bed.
- Consider having separate rooms. Recent studies suggest that for many people, sharing a room with someone (or pets) can affect sleep significantly, especially if the person with whom you share the room is restless or hoarse. If your bed partner constantly interferes with your sleep, then you might consider having separate rooms.
Preparing to Sleep
- Go to bed as early as possible. Your body (your adrenal system in particular) recharges most of its energy between 11p.m. and 1 am In addition, your gallbladder releases toxins during this same period. If you are awake, these toxins are returned to your liver, which can affect your future health.
Before electricity was used everywhere, people went to bed shortly after sunset, as most animals do, which by nature should also be done by humans.
- Do not alter your bedtime. You should go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. This will help your body get into a rhythm of sleep, which makes it easier to fall asleep and get up in the morning.
Establish a routine to go to sleep. This could include meditation, deep breathing, using aromatherapy or essential oils or receiving a massage from your partner. The key is to find something that makes you feel relaxed, then repeat it every night to help you release the tensions acquired during the day.
Do not drink any type of liquid two hours before going to sleep. This will reduce the likelihood of having to get up to go to the bathroom or at least make it less frequent.
Go to the bathroom just before bedtime. This will reduce the chances of waking up during the night and walking around.
Eat a sandwich high in protein several hours before bedtime. This can provide the L-tryptophan necessary for the production of melatonin and serotonin.
Also eat a small piece of fruit. This can help tryptophan cross the blood-brain barrier.
Avoid eating snacks before bedtime, particularly grains and sugars. This will increase your blood sugar and delay your sleep. Later, when your blood sugar drops too low (hypoglycemia) it may cause you to wake up and you can not go back to sleep.
Take a warm bath, shower or sauna before bedtime. When it is already night and your body temperature increases, it will go down during the night, which makes it easier for you to fall asleep. The change in temperature that occurs when you take a bath gives the body the signal that it is time to sleep.
Wear socks at bedtime. Often the feet get cold when the body is resting because it is the part of the body with the worst circulation. A study has shown that using socks reduces the times you wake up during the night. As an alternative, you could place a bag of hot water near your feet during the night.
Use a mask to cover your eyes to block light. As I discussed earlier, it is very important to sleep in complete darkness or as close as possible to it. That said, it's not always easy to block all light currents using curtains or blinds, especially if you live in an urban area (or if your spouse has a different schedule than yours). In these cases the mask to cover the eyes can be very helpful.
Stop working at least one hour before going to bed (preferably two or more hours). This will give your mind a chance to relax, so you can sleep peacefully, without worries or anxieties about the next day.
Do not watch television before bedtime. Even better, take television out of the room or, if possible, from your home. It stimulates the brain too much, which prevents it from falling asleep quickly. Television alters the functioning of the pineal gland.
Listen to relaxation discs. Some people consider white or natural noise sounds, such as the ocean or the forest, as a relief for sleep. An excellent choice for meditation / relaxation is listening to the Sleep Harmony disc, which uses a combination of advanced vibration technology and guided meditation to help you sleep deeply in a matter of minutes. The CD works on the principle of "slow wave sleep" to help your brain relax to sleep.
Read something spiritual or uplifting. This could help you relax. Do not read anything stimulating, like a novel of suspense or mystery, since it has the opposite effect. Also, if you read something that you are really enjoying, it could cause you to want to keep reading for hours, instead of helping you to sleep.