Proper sleep: a recipe for a happy holiday

Moving the clock in any direction, if you fly to distant countries, leads to a change in the main factor – the light factor, which is responsible for setting and resetting our 24-hour natural cycle (or circadian rhythm). At the same time, our internal clocks are not immediately synchronized and adapt to the new cycle “day-night”.

Julia Korneva, healthy lifestyle expert, the organizer of the Live up !, healthy lifestyle project, shared the secrets of sleep with us.

– How long will you adapt to the changes of time?

– In a simplified form, the rule can be formulated as follows: it will take one day to get used to each hour of the time difference. However, there are significant individual differences, which are largely determined by your lifestyle.

– How to synchronize the internal clock with the external time?

– The circadian rhythm is formed from the inside, but it is influenced by the environment, behavior and drugs taken. How well we can adapt to seasonal changes in time or time zones depends on several reasons.

• As already mentioned, the main external control is the light. Light suppresses the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone. Therefore, it is important to expose yourself to light during waking hours, as much as possible, and, conversely, remove bright light when it is dark outside. For example, if you get up at night to go to the bathroom, don’t turn on bright lights. It is better to install a night light in advance. Specially planned “light therapy” can speed up or delay your sleep cycle over time.

• Sleep hygiene is a set of measures you can take to create the right environment for you to get enough sleep. Basic sleep hygiene principles include reducing or eliminating caffeine and alcohol a few hours before bed, relaxing rituals (such as a hot bath), and using ear plugs and an eye mask. It is important to go to bed and get up at the same time every day. While there is no definitive evidence that the circadian rhythm can be influenced by a particular diet, carbohydrates tend to help you fall asleep faster.

• It is unlikely that you will need medication to adjust to the hourly shift. But under certain circumstances, such as traveling across multiple time zones, special medications may be required. They are designed precisely to induce sleep at the right time and adapt to the new schedule. However, they can be addictive and negatively affect sleep quality and should only be used under the guidance of a doctor or sleep professional.

Why sleep disorders and lack of sleep are dangerous?

It is difficult to stay beautiful and healthy, suffering from constant sleep deprivation. The average person needs about 7-8 hours of sleep per day, every day. Consider if you are getting enough sleep. After all, reducing this time by a couple of hours significantly increases the risk of getting sick, gaining excess weight or losing a healthy glow of the skin.

Studies have shown that long-term sleep deprivation can be a contributor to diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and a general weakened immune system. In addition, hormones change from a constant lack of sleep, which affects appetite and digestive processes, reduces the body’s ability to deal with stress and increases the risk of depression.

Your “social” abilities also suffer: efficiency, desire to communicate with people, desire to avoid conflicts. In addition to the duration of sleep, its quality is also important. Sleep should be continuous. The REM sleep phase (or REM phase), in which we dream, has a profound effect on how we feel during our waking hours.

If sleep is interrupted frequently, the brain spends less time in this phase, as a result of which we feel sluggish and have difficulty with memory and concentration. Of course, uninterrupted and prolonged sleep in itself does not guarantee health, but it does affect the maintenance of vital functions.

For example, during sleep, the body is able to compensate for “damage from life”: “repair” of tissues, muscle growth, protein synthesis occur almost exclusively during sleep.

Here are some tips to help you fall asleep and get enough sleep:

• To get more REM sleep, try to go to bed at the same time.

• Rid your bedroom of anything that might interrupt your sleep, such as pets or snoring spouses.

• Stop using your favorite gadgets an hour and a half before bedtime. Bright screens of phones, iPads and computers stimulate your brain. Before going to bed, it’s useless! Even the charging indicator light can be bright enough to disrupt sleep, especially if it is blue (it has the most impact on circadian rhythm).

• Don’t go to bed until you feel tired and sleepy. Do something soothing: read a book (not on a bright screen) or listen to calm music, take a hot bath, and only then go to bed.

• Stop drinking caffeinated beverages 5-6 hours before bed, and before bed, drink something sedative, such as brewed mint leaves.

• Are you used to smoking at the end of the day? Remember: nicotine stimulates the nervous system, becoming the enemy of your sleep. If you can’t give up cigarettes completely, start by not smoking before bed.

• Don’t break your diet with sudden desserts or nighttime snacks. A balanced dinner in the evenings is fine, but an unexpected meal before bedtime can disrupt not only your diet, but also your sleep. Conflicting eating habits negatively affect sleep.

• Pay attention to the mattress and pillow. If they are uncomfortable for you, your body will not relax and you will not get enough sleep. I tested this on my own experience: the buckwheat husk pillow turned out to be more comfortable for me than many others, and my back stopped hurting after sleep only when I bought a super hard mattress.