People spend about one-third of their lives in bed. The importance of sleep to people is evident. In ancient times, wealthy families were very particular about the placement and selection of beds. Regardless of the choice of wood or the position of the bed, the purpose is to ensure the sleep quality to the greatest extent.
This trend has also spread to the people, forming many strange sleep practices.
Grandma said: You cannot sleep with your feet facing the west and your head facing the east. Does this make sense?
When I was a child, one time when I was going to bed at night, my grandma insisted on keeping my feet facing the east and my head facing the west. Because children are always active and fall asleep every time, for which they often get scolded.
Later, when he grew up, he gradually began to live independently, but his habit of sleeping with his head facing the west gradually remained. Even if you don't sleep like this, you may suffer from insomnia and excessive dreams. I can't help but think of what my grandma said. Is there any truth to what she said?
. The head cannot be facing east, or it may be related to the earth's magnetic field
Regarding the direction of the head when sleeping, different regions have different customs. But if you look deeper into the reason, many people will push it to the earth's magnetic field. According to the explanation method of magnetic field, there are many electric ions and metal ions in the human body. These ions will be attracted by the earth's magnetic field, causing the elements to change their orientation.
However, our culture emphasizes and heaven and man feel , and it is a taboo to go against nature. Naturally, you will want to sleep along the magnetic field.
. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. The rising and falling direction of the sun may also be related to this strange custom. In ancient times, most families did not have such rare items as curtains, and most of them were covered with some window grilles or paper-cuts. The direction in which the sun rises will cause sunlight to shine in through the windows.
If a person sleeps with his head facing the east, he will be easily illuminated by the sunlight and wake up by the light. This also affects the sleep quality of the elderly. Presumably this is one of the reasons.
Do not sleep with your head facing east and your feet facing west. This is a common saying often said by the older generation, and there are naturally many similar sayings. Some of them come from traditional Chinese medicine classics , and some of them come from the summary of objective laws . But some of them are proven to be superstitious.
has a negative opinion about whether sleeping orientation has anything to do with sleep quality. But one thing is for sure, the greatest use of this proverb is to improve the quality of sleep . The elderly, whose sleep quality is relatively low due to various factors, are naturally more likely to believe this.
The factors that affect the sleep quality of the elderly can be roughly divided into three
First, disease-ridden
As people get older, they will have more or less minor physical problems. For example, if you usually have diarrhea after drinking a glass of cold water, you will feel indigestion after eating a little bit of meat. These small problems are affecting the body all the time, but going to the hospital for examination seems like a big deal.
And there are many elderly people suffering from hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia, hypertension and other chronic diseases, which have a greater impact on sleep quality. These minor illnesses may not cause direct pain. But this will undoubtedly reduce the quality of sleep invisibly..
Second, the elderly’s endocrine disorders
The human body’s endocrine system is also an important system to ensure sleep quality. For example, when sleeping at night, the and pineal glands in the brain produce melatonin, a hormone that can improve sleep quality.When you are young, your organs are more energetic and will naturally secrete more melatonin.
But once a person reaches the age of 60, his organs begin to age on a large scale. This type of hormone related to sleep quality will be secreted out of balance, thus affecting the body's sleep quality.
Third, the elderly lack exercise
From life experience, we know that the more tired people are, the better their sleep quality will be. It can be seen that fatigue is the most effective sleep aid. But now that living conditions have improved, the elderly no longer need to go out to work and can enjoy their old age in peace. But this also results in their lack of exercise and lack of outdoor activities. With such a lifestyle, the body needs less sleep at night, which naturally makes it easier to dream more.
It is not difficult to see from this that the reason why the elderly are more willing to believe that they cannot sleep with their heads facing east is that the deepest thought in their hearts is actually that they are worried that their sleep quality will deteriorate. It is hoped that through these methods, the effect of improving sleep can be achieved.
But you can’t sleep with your head facing east. It’s not yet clear whether it will help. But now there are many more scientific sleep aid methods available to you.
You don’t have to rely on proverbs to improve sleep quality. These three tricks are equally useful.
Try medicated pillows or tea pillows
In ancient times, the palace would set up ambergris . Its fragrance is elegant and fresh, and its smell is long. In this kind of environment, people will fall asleep more easily. It is based on this principle that many businesses have launched new products such as medicated pillows and tea pillows.
improves sleep by stuffing some medicinal herbs and tea with strong fragrance into the pillow. If you are not used to using this type of pillow, you can also buy some aromatherapy and place it next to your bed.
Drink less water before going to bed at night
As people age, the prostate will hyperplase and swell, which affects urination. It is best for the elderly not to drink water or to drink less water one hour before going to bed. This can drain the body of water to the greatest extent, thereby reducing the number of times you wake up at night.
This is also a good way to improve sleep quality.
Soaking your feet before going to bed
Soaking your feet can not only relieve fatigue and relieve tight muscles, but is also a good way to improve the quality of sleep. Because the human feet are farthest from the heart, blood circulation is also the slowest. But soaking your feet can speed up blood circulation in your feet. Blood circulation is accelerated , and endocrine will naturally gradually recover, thereby improving sleep.
"Don't face your head east and your feet west." These seemingly ordinary words are often the ancient people's summary of nature and all things. Some of these perceptions may be wrong, but they cannot be completely denied and must be viewed dialectically. If you find that you are not sleeping well, you might as well try these three methods to help you sleep. May you have a good night's sleep.
[Reference materials]
1. Inventory: 10 ways to help sleep·Global Network·2016.8.25
2. Five things you don’t know about sleep·Beijing Morning News·2017.2.16
3. The "new national standard" for sleep time is released! Have you slept enough?·CCTV Finance·2019.7.17
