Too often we underestimate the impact that lack of sleep can have on our mood and the quality of our day and lifestyle. We spend less time thinking about it than we should. Sleep doctors and psychologists recommend some simple rules to improve sleep quality and, consequently daytime efficiency. Good sleep also means a good day, because a restful sleep recharge helps us take on the challenges that await us. Here, then, are the ten rules to sleep well. How many do you know or put into practice?
Tips for a more restful sleep
- Choose your sleep ritual. Prepare to go to sleep by following a regular pre-bedtime ritual that prepares the body and mind for good sleep and creates a gradual detachment from daytime activity. In the same way, try to get moving gradually upon awakening.
- Standardize your schedule as much as possible: try to consistently get up and go to bed at the same time: our bodies love habits!
- Avoid the afternoon “nap”: If you nap, keep it to 20 minutes maximum.
- Sleep in a comfortable , restful environment: a good mattress, a quiet room with adequate temperature control, humidity, and low light levels. All these factors promote relaxation (See: The ideal environment for a healthy sleep).
- Eat light, especially in the evening, at regular times and not too late, at the dining table and not in front of the PC or in bed watching TV. Sticking to a healthy, light diet is a good general rule, especially in the evening. It will prevent you from digestive overload, promote more consistent blood sugar levels, and more stable adrenaline levels and help prevent the adrenal glands (responsible for producing adrenaline in response to stress or hypoglycemia) from working too hard.
- Avoid excess alcohol and caffeinated beverages including coffee, tea, Coca-Cola, caffeinated herbal teas and soft drinks, malt and chocolate drinks, energy drinks, flavored liqueurs, and syrup. These are all stimulants and can make it more difficult to fall asleep. Some herbal teas are relaxing and good for sleep. They often contain sleep-friendly plants such as valeria, passionflower, lavender, linden, and lemon balm. Before using them, however, always ask your doctor or pharmacist. Medicinal plants contain active ingredients that are not always suitable for everyone.
- Use the bedroom only to sleep or for pleasant activities (do not take your PC or mobile phone to bed, so to speak). Making love and exchanging cuddling helps release tension. Sex, when spontaneous and satisfying, is a powerful “sleeping pill”. Conversely, bad sleep is bad for sex.
- Avoid falling asleep in front of the TV after dinner. Even watching TV in bed is not a good habit for encouraging a restful sleep! Don’t check your phone when in bed!
- Do not engage in strenuous physical or mental activity 3 hours before bedtime. For some people, the stimuli of exercise (especially if it is a particularly vigorous activity) done in the late afternoon can cause difficulty falling asleep. If you can’t exercise in the morning, choose for the afternoon more relaxing and intimate physical activities such as yoga, autogenic training, rebirthing, biofeedback etc. Robust physical activity in the late afternoon or early evening also delays the secretion of melatonin, the hormone related to the sleep/wake rhythm.
- Do not smoke for at least 2-3 hours before bedtime. Smoking causes damage to the lungs, skin, and all organs, and also, causes hormonal imbalance that can affect sleep. In addition, smoking promotes type 2 diabetes, inflames the blood vessels etc. and this includes both active and passive smoking.
- Avoid sleeping pills unless your doctor has prescribed them. They tend to alter the natural cycles of deep and light sleep. If you are used to taking them, always ask your doctor for advice before you suddenly stop.
- If you have diabetes and fear a hypoglycemic crisis during the night, have a snack for an hour before going to sleep. It will prevent your blood sugar from dropping overnight. Eating complex carbohydrates (two biscuits, cereal bars, fruit juice, non-diet sugary drink, honey candy) is generally recommended, but always follow your doctor’s advice.
- Magnesium is considered a “natural tranquilizer” and is often recommended for those suffering from premenstrual syndrome, restless legs syndrome or cramps that can disturb sleep. Magnesium also promotes neuromuscular conduction.
- If you can’t fall asleep within 30 minutes it’s best to get up, go to another room, and distract yourself with a pleasant and relaxing activity, then try again later.
Remember, these “rules” can help but another common cause of insomnia is an overactive mind at bedtime combined with negative or anxiety-producing thoughts.
Good sleep: how to counteract “negative thoughts.”
How many times have you heard “Just think positive! “Is it really that easy to turn off negative thinking patterns? Try NOT to think about a pink elephant right now and you’ll have your answer. To suppress a negative thought, one must think about it. But if you can’t suppress negative thoughts, you may be able to find mental space for positive ones.
One proven way to do this is through meditation or mindfulness because it teaches us to live the “here and now” and allow ourselves to acknowledge our thoughts without being overwhelmed by them. Meditation is learned in small steps with daily practice and to work effectively it must become one of the ways we nourish ourselves daily.
You can even perform small meditation exercises in bed, with eyes closed, in a comfortable and relaxed position. Apart from counting sheep, you can also imagine placing a series of stamps in an album, writing numbers from 1 to 100 on an imaginary blackboard, or immersing yourself in a fantasy land, such as a tropical island or a forest and focusing on noises, colors, and shapes that you see around you: the shape of the clouds, the sound of the wind in the trees, the waves crashing on the beach. Another idea is to name your friends or lists of things like flowers or cities you’ve visited.
Music is a friend of meditation because it stimulates creative thinking and helps to enhance positive thoughts, without struggling to eliminate negative ones that cause that anxiety-producing tug of war. Reading a good book can have the same effect by allowing our minds to travel in space and time.
So, consider combining the rules of good sleep with creativity and imagination because when combined, they help us to drift into the arms of Morpheus.
Sources
Sonnomed – Italian Association of Sleep Medicine
Sleep hygiene»
The rules of sleep hygieneVademecum of sleep hygiene
National Sleep Disorders Counselling Service»
SLEEP WELL-BEING IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS – The Counselling Service”
Regional Sleep Medicine Centers»
Mapping and references for contacts of the main Sleep Medicine Centers, Region by Region.
Assirem ETS»
Italian Scientific Association for Research and Education in Sleep Medicine. Sleep well, live better.
Italian Apnoici Association APS»
The voice of patientsApnoics are people who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, called OSA.
AIPAS Italian Association of Patients with Sleep Apnea Onlus »
Association of the Niguarda Hospital in MilanFree information and assistance service on sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), positive pressure ventilatory treatment (CPAP therapy), therapy with dental appliances, the various bureaucratic procedures to be faced, everyday life in living with this respiratory sleep disease. It is also possible, by appointment, personal and group meetings to support problems related to the disease, for hygiene courses and use of CPAP ventilators and consumables, for listening and helping individual needs.
LEARN MORE BOOKSan-Dirk Fauteck –
Melatonin – The secrets of a formidable hormone. New Techniques Ed, 2022
Piero Angela – The mysteries of sleep. Sleep, dreams and insomnia. Mondadori Ed, 2021
Enrica Campanini – When sleep does not come, help from nature. New Techniques Ed, 2019
Zanardi M., Maltempi A – 100 tricks to sleep well. RED Editions, 2006
Dragoni G., Zanon D – Sleep well. Sleep and insomnia: exercises and tips for your well-being – Elika Editrice, 2003