Expert of this article Cai Liqiang, a mental health physician at Shaw Hospital Affiliated to Zhejiang University School of Medicine
Sleep can restore the spirit and relieve fatigue. Adequate sleep, a balanced diet and appropriate exercise are three health standards recognized by the international community.
Insomnia will affect people's mental state, making people prone to anxiety, depression, and irritability, which will aggravate the state of insomnia.
Insomnia has a great impact on the body
1. It affects immunity and causes many diseases
Insomnia can affect a person's immune system. All diseases are related to the body's immune system. Insomnia can increase the risk of a series of physical diseases, including heart disease, respiratory problems, high blood pressure , obesity and chronic pain.
In addition, studies have shown that patients with insomnia have significantly higher levels of C-reactive protein , indicating higher levels of systemic inflammation and reduced immune function, while patients with higher sleep efficiency have lower levels of interleukin-6. In other words, good sleep may help improve immune function and reduce inflammation levels in the body.
2. Weight gain, impact on health
Insufficient or excessive sleep are risk factors for weight gain: In a 6-year prospective study, compared with those who slept 7 to 8 hours a day, sleep duration was too short (5 to 8 hours). The risk of weight gain was increased by 35% and 25% for those who stayed for longer than 6 hours) and too long (9 to 10 hours) respectively, and the risk of metabolic syndrome was increased by 48% to 83% and 81% respectively.
6 steps to help you sleep peacefully
In fact, by establishing good sleeping habits and improving the sleeping environment, not only can it effectively prevent insomnia, but it can also play a positive therapeutic role in insomnia. The specific method is divided into the following steps:
Step 1: Correct the wrong sleep cognition
1. Don’t exaggerate and pay too much attention to the consequences of insomnia. For example, worry too much that insomnia will cause great damage to the body.
2. Don’t be strict about sleep time. The length of sleep varies from person to person. It is not necessary to sleep for 8 hours to be normal. As long as you don’t feel tired the next day. If you wake up full of energy, that's a high-quality sleep.
Step 2: Create a good sleeping environment
1. The light in the bedroom should be dark, without strong light exposure. It is recommended to close soft or dark curtains.
2. It is better to have a quiet bedroom with no noise. If it is unavoidable, you can wear earplugs to reduce the noise.
3. Bedding selection is very important. The mattress is relatively solid. The quilt should be light, soft, warm and breathable. Choose comfortable pillows according to your preferences.
4. The appropriate bedroom temperature is 18 to 20 degrees Celsius, cool but not cold, and the appropriate humidity is 50% to 60%.
Step 3: Develop healthy living habits
1. Go to bed or get up at a relatively fixed time to form a good sleep biological clock.
Set up a strict bedtime and wake-up timetable, limit the sleeping time in bed to the average expected time, and maintain a fixed waking time regardless of the actual sleep duration. It is generally recommended that the time to go to bed is around 22:30 in the evening and the time to get up is 6:00 in the morning. about.
No matter how good or bad your sleep is, whether you are asleep or not, you must stick to this time. Weekends and holidays don't make much difference either.
Through the training of fixing the time to go to bed and get up every day, if you insist on it every day, over time you will form your own internal biological clock. You must overcome the habit of staying in bed. Try not to catch up on sleep during the day, especially in the afternoon, otherwise it will cause sleep rhythm disorders.
2. It is not advisable to drink coffee or strong tea 7 to 8 hours before going to bed. It is not advisable to have a full dinner. Do not eat or exercise within 2 hours before going to bed. It is not advisable to watch scary movies or think about complicated things before going to bed.
3. Do not use alcohol to help you sleep. Alcohol may help you fall asleep quickly, but in fact, it will affect the overall quality of sleep and you may not get real rest.
Step 4: Get ready before going to bed
1. Try to establish a "ritual" to be followed every night before going to bed, such as taking a bath or foot soak. The time should not be too long (about 30 minutes), or it should be relaxed and lively. reading, or some soothing and healing light music .
2. Exercise for 30 minutes every day can improve sleep. It is best to do aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, jogging, swimming, climbing, etc. Research shows that exercise may be best for improving sleep in the morning.
Step 5: Establish the connection between bed and sleep
1. Do not do things unrelated to sleep in bed, such as reading, scrolling on your phone or watching videos in bed. Studies have found that using electronic products such as mobile phones after 12 o'clock in the evening will affect the production of melatonin and 5-hydroxytryptamine , leading to sleep rhythm disorders and increasing the risk of mental diseases such as depression, anxiety, and stress disorders.
2. Reduce the time you spend awake in bed as much as possible, and only go to bed when you feel sleepy. If you still can't fall asleep after being in bed for about 15 to 20 minutes (don't look at the clock, just estimate), then get up and do some relaxing activities. When you feel sleepy, go to bed again. You can repeat this multiple times a night.
Step six: Actively carry out correct drug treatment
Insomnia has various manifestations, such as difficulty falling asleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, early awakening, dissatisfaction with sleep quality, etc. According to different insomnia manifestations, under the guidance of a doctor, choose Appropriate treatments such as medication and physical therapy.
When taking hypnotic drugs, you should follow the principle of short-term, on-demand, and intermittent medication to prevent addiction to sedative-hypnotic drugs. Physical therapy is becoming more and more important in the treatment of insomnia, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation and other treatments.
Source: Health Times
This article was first published in Shaw Hospital "This kind of people are 5 times more likely to suffer from depression than normal people! Are you? "(Cai Liqiang), the copyright belongs to the original author.
