Create a routine and beat insomnia: 6 real ways to improve your sleep

We all know what we should do before going to bed: Draw the curtains tightly, meditate, eliminate noise and light sources. The thing is, these classic tips may be impractical and outdated. Listen to real advice and make small changes in your life that can improve your holiday without adding stress. Real Simple writes about this.

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Do not postpone sleep

If you are too busy throughout the day and can’t find time for yourself, you may “procrastinate with revenge” to take a moment for solitude and self-care.

In a study of Chinese nursing students, researchers found that procrastinators were more likely to experience self-regulation fatigue. Self-regulation is controlling your emotions and behavior to meet the expectations of your boss, family, and friends. After 12+ hours of meeting deadlines, answering kids’ questions, and endless housework, you may be too tired to face another “I have to go to bed” moment.

Instead of beating yourself up, think about things that will help you feel better throughout the day; This could be exercising, reading your favorite book, or just taking a walk alone in the park. And think of going to bed on time as self-care, not a punishment.

Go to bed at the same time every night

Consistent sleep and wake times are very important, perhaps even more important than the amount of sleep you get. According to a recent study, People with regular sleep patterns had a lower risk of premature death than people with irregular sleep patterns.

Ph.D. If you’re hosting a fun party, get up at your regular time the next morning or two hours after, especially if it’s Sunday, says Wendy Troxel. “It’s better to experience some sleep deprivation than to stay awake for long periods of time in the evening, which can keep you awake and ruin your entire week,” she explains. “Get up as soon as possible and find natural light to help your body regulate your sleep-wake cycle.”

Determine your sleep needs

Ph.D., member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. It’s a myth that everyone needs eight to nine hours of sleep every night, says Michael Breus.. “The amount you need depends on your chronotype, which determines whether you’re a natural morning person, a night owl, or something in between,” she adds. Based on chronobiological studies that began in the 1970s, Breus identified four main types:

• Lions – wake up at dawn like morning hunters.
• bears They are the people who go with the flow, whose schedules are most consistent with the 9-to-5 culture. When the sun rises, they come out of their caves and after it sets, they get ready for bed.
• wolves Like night hunters, they prefer to wake up late and go to bed late.
• dolphins They are light sleepers and often suffer from insomnia.

Breus said lions and bears need more sleep, so they need more rest than wolves and dolphins. It measures sleep in 90-minute segments rather than hourly segments; This refers to the approximate time it takes to go through four progressively deeper stages of sleep before it all starts again. According to Breus, lions and bears require five complete cycles (7.5 hours total), while wolves and dolphins require four (six hour) cycles.

Avoid drinking alcohol

Alcohol may take you straight to dreamland, but your sleep will be less restful and you’ll likely wake up in the second half of the night after the sedation wears off. “The rule of thumb I share with patients is to have one drink at least three hours before bed,” says Todd Arnedt, Ph.D.J., who studies how alcohol affects sleep. “This refers to how long it takes the average person to digest a drink, but there are many factors involved, including your gender, your weight, whether you ate beforehand.”

Do not eat three hours before bedtime.

Eating before bed gets an unfair bad rap. “While fasting can certainly have an effect, there is no strong evidence that it harms your sleep,” says neuroscientist and sleep expert W. Chris Winter. “I recommend eating dinner at least two hours before bed and snacking on healthy foods when you get hungry again. Some of these can actually help improve your sleep.”

Take the phone out of the bedroom

Prolonged wakefulness before bed and snoozing before bed are largely linked to smartphone use, Troxel said. “People are minimizing the role of consumed content designed to maintain interest and even addiction,” he says. This will sound familiar to anyone who’s gotten lost in the space-time continuum of Instagram, moving from video to video looking for the next dopamine hit.

If you can’t turn off your phone, at least skip social media and choose a calming video. Alternatively, use a different type of media that the data shows is not as disruptive. A recent small study looked at people who watched TV, listened to podcasts, or read a book an hour before bed. As long as the subjects did not watch TV while using their phones, their sleep quality did not decrease.

Let’s remember 6 drinks that will help you sleep better.

Focus has previously written about the fact that it exists some foods that can affect your sleep and recover fully.

This material is for informational purposes only and does not contain advice that may affect your health. If you are having problems, contact an expert.