How to learn to fall asleep quickly and soundly? How to calculate the time at which you need to go to bed in order to wake up on an alarm clock, but without a headache? We will suggest some good and effective methods in this article.
The problem of sleep, or rather the lack of it, is not in vain that occupies a huge part of our thoughts every day. Waking up refreshed for work or school, having a productive day without turning off in the middle of the day and drinking liters of coffee seems simply impossible.
We all know that we need at least 8 hours of sleep. we know, but we can’t afford it, except perhaps on a weekend. The problem is that you won’t be able to “sleep” yourself a supply for a week. In the best case, on the weekend you will slow down the rhythm of life, and an extra hour in bed will allow you to restore the balance of power a little. But this cannot affect the future lack of sleep during the working week.
So it turns out a vicious circle: we experience overload - we can’t fall asleep - we sleep a little - we wake up with a sore head and “slow down” - we work poorly during the day - we get nervous overstrain, because we can’t concentrate and perform the necessary tasks in the right amount - and then again problems with falling asleep.
It's not how much, it's how
Sleeping for 6 hours and even 5 is quite possible. Not very useful, but at least not so traumatic for our psyche and the state of blood vessels. How to do it?
First of all, we need to investigate how we sleep, i.e. what is stopping us, what is the climate in the room at the same time, and most importantly, what phase of sleep are we in when the alarm goes off. During the deep sleep phase, we may not even hear the alarm ringing, and during the fast phase we will wake up from a whisper.
Every body is different, but research has found that waking up is best between sleep phases.
- Take care of the external factors of good sleep. Turn off the lights, ventilate the room and create a pleasant temperature, make sure that the pillow, blanket, clothes in which you sleep are pleasant, curtain the curtains, create silence or, conversely, turn on soft, calm music or nature sounds, get rid of all annoying factors , whether it be the smell of flowers or hand cream, the ticking of a wall clock, etc.
- Take care of your inner state. Meditate, imagine pleasant pictures, completely relax your body, discard all thoughts and introspection, immerse your mind in the contemplation of pleasant pictures, your ideal future, or even imagine how you are floating in the air or sitting on the ocean and listening to the sound of the waves. Do not drink caffeinated beverages (coffee and green tea) and do not eat 2-3 hours before bedtime. An hour before bedtime, turn off the computer and TV, just read a book or do a crossword puzzle, you can embroider, do other needlework. It calms well and clears the mind of disturbing thoughts. Have a calming cup of chamomile, mint tea, and place a small bag of mint, lavender, valerian, or hops under your pillow. Take a few slow and as deep breaths and exhalations (inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth).
- Prepare for a brisk awakening. In order not to hate the morning and not rush around the house headlong, prepare everything you need for the morning gathering in the evening and put it in one place: bag, phone, keys, clothes and shoes, documents, projects, breakfast products (put on one shelf) , things of a spouse, a child, etc. if you doubt that there will be hot water in the morning, wash your hair / shave / take a shower in the evening. Check the serviceability and cleanliness of clothes and shoes, the presence of a sufficient amount of gasoline in the tank of your car before going to bed. Then in the morning you can calmly get together, have breakfast and stay in a good mood.
How to wake up faster
Getting up and waking up are not always the same thing. Therefore, our task is to invigorate and stir up the body so that it prepares for the upcoming day:
- We choose the right time. If you have used the calculators that we wrote about above, then you know exactly how much better to set the alarm. But it is equally important to choose a good melody for him. Too smooth or quiet will only prolong your sleep, too harsh will cause stress and fear. Choose and install something in between, better some cheerful and positive melodies, Spanish or Mexican rhythms: they are always associated with the sun, summer and joy.
- In the evening we put a glass of water or a half-liter plastic bottle next to the bed. As soon as we woke up - we drink, it helps to “turn on” the body and cheer up. Another method: in the evening, put a wet, but wrung out towel on some kind of substrate. Woke up? Take it and put it on your face for a minute. Helps a lot.
- Stretching. Waking up, do a few gymnastic movements without leaving the bed: stretch your arms, legs, neck, rub your face, eyelids, earlobes, make a couple of swings with each leg.
- Fill your room with invigorating scents. Of course, this is primarily coffee, but citrus aromas, green tea, pine needles or flowers are no less effective.
- Whatever the weather outside the window, ventilate the room for at least 5 minutes. Fresh air will give you freshness!
- And you can cook for yourself, your beloved (beloved), small reward, for example, a delicious candy or a piece of cake for morning coffee, if you woke up on time. This is not very useful, but it helps to quickly wake up and go to the kitchen.
- Mode. Although it is difficult, train yourself to go to bed and get up at the same time. In order not to stay up late at the computer or study with your child until late, plan all tasks so that you are free by the time you need to go to bed. Trust me, with a little practice it's possible.
Decision: set a specific time.
Many people do not think about what time they need to go to bed to get enough sleep. If you are one of them, count the number of hours before waking up. For most adults, six to eight hours of sleep is sufficient. If you're not sure how much you need, try different amounts of sleep until you know how much sleep you need to feel well rested. If you have children who are likely to wake you up in the middle of the night, add an extra hour or two to your total sleep time.
You go to bed immediately after coming home
Decision: give yourself time to unload.
Most people need at least two hours of rest before going to bed. During this time, they have dinner, put the house in order, communicate and relax. The earlier you get home, the easier it will be for you to go to bed early.
You spend the time allotted for sleep on rest
Decision: allocate 30-60 minutes for unloading.
Many people misunderstand the importance of unloading before bed, and because of this, there are situations when you go to bed later due to sitting up watching TV shows. Every person needs time during which his brain needs to rest. Plan your evening around this time. Set aside half an hour or an hour to watch TV, read, work out, or do other activities that bring you joy. If you schedule your time in this way, your productivity will increase, because you will not deprive yourself of hours of sleep.
Do things before bed that keep you awake later
Decision: avoid such activities
If you set aside a special time for rest, you can not only go to bed earlier, but also fall asleep faster. Pay attention to the activities that excite you and refrain from them shortly before bedtime. Here are a few things to avoid at least an hour before bed:
- Watching exciting programs and films.
- Email parsing.
- Listening to loud energetic music.
- Bright lights.
- Screens in general - computer, TV and phone.
- Telephone conversations.
- Food or drink.
How to unwind before bed
Chances are you're doing all of these things just an hour before bed. Obviously, you need to learn how to fall asleep quickly. Here's what you can do before bed:
- Start getting ready for bed. For example, brush your teeth. If you get tired before going to bed, you can immediately lie down and sleep a little longer.
- Take a warm bath or shower to calm down.
- Write in a journal, meditate or pray to calm your mind, get rid of negative emotions and stop overthinking things.
- Do some light stretching to relieve physical tension.
- Read a book - one that you can safely put aside.
- Talk to your spouse or partner about the past day. Avoid the topic of finances, discuss everyday events or some funny cases.
Contrary to popular misconception, sleep deprivation is not something to be tolerated. By following these tips, you can improve your sleep quality and lead a happier, healthier, and more productive life.
There are many reasons that affect the quality of sleep. A sufficient number of them can be solved by properly organizing a sleeping place.
Prolonged falling asleep
It takes a maximum of 15 minutes to fall asleep. If sometimes you need more time, it's okay. But if you regularly count sheep in the tens of thousands, and sleep at the same time - in one eye, it's time to do something. Be sure to get rid of annoying factors before going to bed: hanging in gadgets, watching TV, active sports.
And yet, according to American researchers, the duration of falling asleep is affected by the rigidity of the mattress. If you toss and turn for a long time and cannot find a comfortable sleeping position, change a hard mattress to a medium hard mattress. The best option is to purchase a Blue Sleep hybrid mattress (www.bluesleep.ru), which combines the best qualities of spring and foam options. It adapts to the needs of your body, including the level of firmness that is comfortable for you. In any case, after the purchase, you will have 100 days to test the mattress with the possibility of returning it.
Allergy
Went to bed healthy, got up sick. At least with a stuffy nose, although they did not seem to catch a cold. It's time to check the cleanliness of your bed. Dust is everywhere, and this is a great environment for dust mites. You will hardly notice them, but you will feel the impact immediately: stuffy nose, sneezing, watery eyes. These are all symptoms of an allergy, which is typical for sensitive people.
What to do in this case? First, go to the doctor. Secondly, consider changing your mattress, especially if you haven't done so in the last ten years. It naturally accumulates dust that cannot be cleaned with a vacuum cleaner. When purchasing a new mattress, make sure it is made from hypoallergenic materials and has a hypoallergenic mattress topper that reduces mites and fungus by an average of 40%.
Load on the spine
It would seem that at night your whole body should rest. But often, many of us wake up broken after sleep: aches in the lower back, a sore neck, a clouded head ... And the whole point is, again, in an uncomfortable mattress. Ideally, it should support the physiological curves of the spine. Only in this case will it be possible to relax the back muscles, which work all day without rest, and get enough sleep.
Which mattress will suit your spine? With the maximum number of spring blocks. For example, in a mattress measuring 160x200 cm, there should be about 2000 of them. This peculiar mosaic of springs helps to evenly distribute pressure on the mattress and support your body throughout the night. An additional option in Blue Sleep mattresses is Memory Foam. It has a "memory effect" - it adapts to your individual characteristics: relieves tension from the points of greatest pressure, provides support for the spine. Sleeping on such a mattress will relax the muscles and ensure the normal functioning of the circulatory system.
Co-sleeping
The benefits of co-sleeping are clear. It brings together, makes the relationship deeper and warmer. But sometimes it can be unbearable due to tremors in a dream, holes in the mattress and "theft" of the blanket.
To solve the problem, get a second blanket and a larger mattress. Choose an option that is designed to compensate for the weight of a heavier partner. In this case, it will be possible to avoid pushing the mattress in any areas.
For each answer "yes" -1 point, for "no" -0.
1. Do you often fall asleep while watching TV?
2. Does it happen that in the morning you do not hear the alarm clock?
3. Do you reset your alarm clock so that you can sleep through breakfast?
4. Are you usually more irritable in the morning?
5. Do you often feel hopeless?
6. Does the coming day seem gray and uninteresting to you in the morning?
7. Do you often fall asleep (doze off) while traveling by metro (trolley bus, bus, tram, train)?
8. Do you drink more than 3 cups of strong coffee or tea per day?
9. Do you feel sleepy after getting up in the morning and having breakfast?
10. Do you “have no energy” to do exercises in the morning?
11. Do you usually feel sleepy when you drive?
12. Does everyday work seem difficult and uninteresting to you?
13. Does it happen that you fall asleep on duty, unwittingly?
14. Do you feel like taking a nap during a meeting, session, or five minutes?
15. Do even small amounts of alcohol make you sleepy?
16. Do you feel like taking a nap after a hearty meal, even if you haven't taken alcohol?
17. Do you often fall asleep while reading newspapers, magazines, books?
18. Do you sleep more than usual on weekends?
Calculate the amount of points you have scored and evaluate the result.
- If you got 4 or less points, then you can only be congratulated - everything is in order with your sleep, you have enough of it.
- If you have 5 or 6 points, then you sometimes do not get enough sleep, but this does not yet affect your health and ability to work. This is not dangerous if sleep disturbances do not deepen.
- If you dialed from 7 to 9 points, then, obviously, you do not get enough sleep and therefore are absent-minded and irritable. Try to adjust your daily routine.
- If you have from 10 to 12 points then you are very tired. You need to rest and sleep off, because due to lack of sleep, you, most likely, have already begun to forget about the appointments, about the planned cases, you are apathetic and close to depression. Start your day with morning exercises. Take frequent breaks while you work. Occasionally drink soothing herbal teas at night (especially mint tea, a decoction of adonis). It is not bad to sleep on a pillow stuffed with well-dried forest hay or dry hops. Before going to bed, you can take 1 teaspoon of honey in 0.5 cups of weak tea or just boiled water. Washing your hair before going to bed with an infusion of oregano herb helps to improve and prolong sleep (a handful of herbs is brewed with 3 liters of boiling water, then insisted, wrapping the dishes for 1-1.5 hours). Well, if you can’t fall asleep, then you can moisten large pieces of cotton wool with cologne, perfume or lotion and put them in your ears (this, at the same time, will save you from the “noise interference” that interferes with falling asleep).
- Well, if you have over 12 points, then you risk your life every minute (and maybe the lives of others). Constant drowsiness can cause you to get hit by a car or fall into an open plumbing hatch. Drop everything and take a vacation! To restore your health and lost strength, you need to sleep at least 7-8 hours a day for at least a week! If you yourself can not cope with the lack of sleep, consult a specialist (best of all, if you have such a specialist, a somnologist).
When life gets stressful and something has to be given up, the first thing many people do is eliminate sleep from their regular schedule. Students never get enough sleep, young parents can't get enough sleep either, and people trying to get ahead in their careers are constantly under pressure to strive for more and rest less.
The problem has worsened over the past decades. Scientists claim that only twenty percent of adults can say that they have a good quality of sleep. Previously, the problem was not so frightening - back in the forties, only eight percent of people noted that they slept less than six hours. What happens to the body if you do not allow it to recover? Let's explore this in more detail.
You can't smile often
If you don't rest, you not only feel bad, but you don't look your best. When a person has a lack of sleep, he cannot express positive emotions. Even if such a person says that he is happy, he cannot naturally demonstrate this. Normal expression of emotions is of great importance for health, so the lack of a smile can seriously harm.
You start to black out throughout the day
Just one sleepless night is enough for your body to start shutting down, as a result, you fall asleep for a while, completely out of control of this process. Typically, the shutdown lasts no more than thirty seconds and can occur with the eyes open. You don't even know that this is happening to you. You immediately wake up, but after a few minutes this episode may repeat itself. During such a dream, you are blind and do not pay attention to what surrounds you.
Are you overstressed
If you do not get enough sleep, the level of stress hormones increases greatly. Cortisol increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and inflammation. Especially bad is that cortisol also prevents you from falling asleep, creating a real vicious circle.
Your blood pressure may rise
It is likely that the whole thing is in the increased voltage. Either way, if you don't sleep, your blood pressure goes up a lot. According to scientific studies, lack of sleep and insomnia lead to the development of hypertension. Hypertension can seriously damage internal organs such as the heart and brain. Luckily, stabilizing your blood pressure isn't that hard - all you have to do is start getting enough sleep.
Your intelligence is declining
If you have a serious exam to pass, you'd better sleep in rather than work out a few extra hours. All of your cognitive processes are tied to getting enough sleep. If there is no sleep, your learning abilities, responsiveness, and intelligence in general suffer.
Your libido is waning
If you're trying to spice up your sex life, you probably need to try changing the number of hours you sleep. There are many studies indicating that lack of sleep leads to a decrease in libido and a lack of desire. Perhaps it's all about low energy levels and hormone imbalances.
You are more likely to develop depression
Depression and mood changes are associated with lack of sleep, which has been confirmed by many scientific experiments. According to scientists, if a person sleeps for about five hours, he is more likely to feel tension, anger, sadness, psychological fatigue. It is worth starting to get enough sleep - and the mood improves significantly! 
You age faster
After a few sleepless nights, you will notice bags under your eyes and puffiness in your cheeks. All this affects the skin is not the best way. The less you sleep, the more wrinkles appear on your face.
You have junk food cravings
If you have problems with the daily routine, your body gets tired. A tired body needs high-calorie foods full of sugar and fat. That's why you're so drawn to chocolate and potato chips.
You have problems with judgment
Research has shown that people who consistently don't get enough sleep believe they have adapted over time. You simply forget about the normal state of your body and cannot adequately assess how tired you are.
Your immunity gets weaker
While you sleep, your immune system builds up strength. During sleep, the body produces protective elements like cytokines. If you don't get enough sleep, your immune system weakens and can no longer protect you from infections.
Workouts become less effective
Like the immune system, muscles regenerate while you sleep. If you do not rest, the muscles simply do not develop. As a result, each workout becomes more and more difficult.
Children may have developmental problems
Seventy percent of growth hormones are produced during sleep. If a child sleeps too little, he may have developmental problems.
You have memory problems
If you are extremely distracted, it may be due to lack of sleep. The quality of memory directly depends on the level of energy. If you cannot fix your attention on something for a long time, short-term memory suffers. Long-term memory also deteriorates because the brain does not process the information received.
Blood sugar rises
Lack of sleep leads to an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. If you do not sleep, you have problems with insulin levels, and the body cannot reduce sugar levels. All this can lead to serious health problems, especially in a person with a genetic predisposition to autoimmune diseases.
