Sleep health tips

Fix the time for getting in and out of bed, control the light one hour before going to bed, and don't regard "must fall asleep" as the goal of sleeping. All the remaining tips are icing on the cake and do not need to be so complicated at all.

I used to help a friend who worked in Internet operations adjust his sleep. He used to stay up until 2 o'clock on weekdays and sleep until 12 o'clock on weekends, which he called "catching up on sleep." However, when the alarm went off on Monday, he always felt as if he had been beaten all night long, and his head was so heavy that he couldn't lift it up. There are actually two completely different views on work and rest on the Internet. One group says that "as long as you sleep in a multiple of 90 minutes, you can sleep at any time." The other group emphasizes that you must strictly fix the time for getting in and out of bed. In fact, both of them are right - people who work shifts and cannot fix their schedule should sleep in a 90-minute period. Calculating the time to wake up can indeed reduce the feeling of drowsiness after waking up, but for the vast majority of ordinary people who have a relatively stable schedule, even if they stay up until after 1 o'clock the day before, they should get up at a fixed time the next day. Don't catch up on late sleep, and squint at your workstation for 20 minutes at most at noon. If you persist for a week, the circadian rhythm can be restored. My friend followed this method for 10 days, and now he can fall asleep in 15 minutes while lying in bed, and won't be dazed for half a day when he wakes up.

Many people say that I have a pretty regular schedule. Why do I still turn over for half an hour before falling asleep in bed, and why am I still tired when I wake up the next day? Most likely they didn't take the light seriously. The melanopsin in our retina is particularly sensitive to blue light. Even the dark blue light from a mobile phone screen will suppress the secretion of melatonin in the body and delay your sleep time. Some people used to argue with me, saying that I still fell asleep while using the desk lamp while scrolling through my phone. It was actually because you were too tired that day and had enough sleep drive. However, if you take a sleep monitoring test, the duration of deep sleep will be at least 20% shorter than in a completely dark environment. It is easy to feel confused after waking up. I used to watch short videos for half an hour before going to bed. Later, I tried to adjust my phone to the darkest warm light mode, or simply read novels with an ink screen. In the bedroom, I only turned on a yellow bedside lamp with less than 10W, and turned off all the lights when I lay down. I wore a shading eye mask, and the deep sleep duration measured with my watch increased from 1 hour to 1 hour and 40 minutes. The difference was really obvious. Oh, by the way, you should also get 5 more minutes of natural light when you get up in the morning. This can help you adjust your biological clock more accurately, making you less sleepy during the day and easier to fall asleep at night.

In addition to these external adjustments, mentality is the most easily overlooked point. There is another pitfall that I have stepped on many times. The more I want to sleep well, the more I can't sleep. For example, I had to catch an early flight the next day and make an important report. I deliberately went to bed at 10 o'clock the night before. As a result, I counted sheep until 1 o'clock. My mind became more and more alert, and the more anxious I became, the more I couldn't sleep. There are now two mainstream solutions to this kind of sleep anxiety. One is the ambivalent intention method commonly used in CBT-I (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia). That is, when you lie in bed, don’t think “I’m going to fall asleep.” Instead, tell yourself “I’m just going to lie down and rest today. It doesn’t matter even if I keep my eyes open all night. It’s better than that.” "Teng Qiang", you will feel sleepy soon after you relax; the other is a body scan, starting from the toes, imagining that your muscles are relaxing little by little, until the top of your head. I usually use the first method when my mind is wandering and thinking about things. If my shoulders and back are stiff after working overtime that day, I will use the second method. It is much more useful than counting sheep.

As for those methods posted on the Internet, such as drinking milk before going to bed, listening to white noise, and soaking your feet in hot water, you don’t need to be rigid. If you feel comfortable after drinking milk, drink it. If it makes you wake up in the middle of the night and it bothers you, don’t drink it. After all, the tryptophan in milk cannot cross the blood-brain barrier at all, and most of it is a psychological suggestion. There is also melatonin, which is the most frequently asked question. There is now a lot of controversy in the industry. One party believes that short-term, small-dose consumption can quickly adjust jet lag and improve occasional insomnia. The other side believes that long-term consumption will interfere with the secretion of melatonin. My own experience is that it can be taken for up to 3 days in a row, and a low-dose version of 1mg is enough each time. Don’t follow the trend and buy overseas high-concentration models that are often 10mg, which will make you prone to drowsiness the next day. In addition, don’t do high-intensity exercise 3 hours before going to bed. I stupidly went for a 5-kilometer run at 8 pm before, but my heart rate couldn’t come down after lying in bed for a long time. I kept my eyes open until 2 o’clock. If I want to move, just do 10 minutes of stretching or mindfulness yoga, which will help you relax. Oh, by the way, the temperature of the bedroom is also very important. It is best to adjust it to 18 to 22 degrees, and don’t cover yourself with a quilt that is too thick. After we fall asleep, our body temperature will drop by 0.5 to 1 degree. If it is too hot, it is easy to wake up in the middle of the night. Last winter, I turned on the heating too much, setting the temperature in the bedroom at 25 degrees, and I woke up three or four times a night. Later, I lowered the temperature, wrapped myself in a thin duvet, and slept until dawn.

In fact, there are no sleep tips that are universally applicable. Everyone’s living habits and physical condition are different. You may not feel comfortable using the methods that others use that are miraculous. Just try a few more and find the rhythm that suits you best. After all, the most accurate criterion is whether you sleep well or not, and whether you can wake up refreshed and carry through the day's work the next day, right?