How Can We Have Quality Sleep?

One third of a person’s life is spent in sleep, which plays an important role in regulating physiological functions such as energy metabolism, immune regulation, endocrine and brain function activities.A good night’s sleep can help promote physical and energy recovery, improve memory and enhance resistance, while sleep problems can have negative impacts on the body, cognition and mind in many ways.

In real life, many people have two criteria for a “good night’s sleep”: one is to get enough sleep for 8 hours, and the other is to get a good night’s sleep.However, with the deepening of sleep science research, more and more evidence suggests that 8 hours of sleep is not the gold standard for optimal sleep.

More important than getting eight hours of sleep is the regularity of sleep.Researchers say that sleep regularity is an important part of healthy sleep that we should be aware of.People who do not sleep regularly should develop a regular bedtime and wake-up time to reduce the risk of dementia.

How do you ensure deep, regular sleep?The following six points are recommended:

1.It is best to go to sleep before 23:00: Go to bed on time and get out of bed on time.Try to maintain a stable “biological clock”.Studies have shown that 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. is the best time to get into a deep sleep, and once you miss it, it’s hard to make up for it no matter how much sleep you get.

2.Sleep for 5 sleep cycles: A sleep cycle is about 90 minutes, and you need to ensure 5 sleep cycles per night to have enough deep sleep, so it is healthier to maintain 7.5 hours of sleep per day.

3.Day and night to be able to adjust the light: During the day to ensure that the room is well lit to avoid sleepiness.Before 10:00 a.m. and after 4:00 p.m. more sunshine, half an hour each time can be conducive to melatonin secretion.Dim the lights before going to bed, so that the body is ready to sleep.

4.Don’t do these things before going to bed: Avoid drinking coffee or smoking before going to bed to sleep; avoid drinking alcohol before going to bed, alcohol intake may appear fragmented sleep; avoid doing too much strenuous physical exercise before going to bed; avoid taking too much liquid or food before going to bed; don’t eat too much for dinner.Don’t lie in bed and play with your cell phone before bedtime; in addition, reduce the amount of time spent sleeping and in bed during the day.

5.Keep the sleeping environment comfortable: Keep the sleeping environment quiet, clean and comfortable, as well as appropriate light and temperature; appropriate pillow height, reasonable quilt thickness, turn off the light before going to bed and so on can guarantee the quality of sleep to a certain extent.

6.Ensure regular and moderate exercise: Suitable and moderate exercise will fatigue the muscles and also inhibit the brain from secreting excitatory substances, which promotes people to sleep under fatigue, which in turn creates a virtuous cycle of sleep and improves the quality of sleep.For example, you can complete a total of about 30 minutes of light exercise every day.