“Sleep well and wake up healthy tomorrow” was the standard statement of talk show host Sonja Barend in the 1990s. It seems very standard and perhaps it is, but it does form the basis for living life as healthily as possible. A good night’s sleep is a foundation and is essential for everyone. This fact does not alter the fact that not everyone is consciously concerned with the quality of their night’s sleep. How well do you actually sleep and if your night’s sleep leaves much to be desired, how can you stimulate it? Not everyone needs the same amount of sleep, but no one can do without sleep at all. The body must be given the opportunity to recover during the night. During the night the body is, as it were, recharged. Of course you can sleep through the night and stay upright with a pill or other stimulant. However, sooner or later you will have to make your qualitative and quantitative sleep hours. In addition to physical failure, you will also fail mentally at some point.
Basic elements
Of course, there may be medical reasons why you can’t sleep. In fact, you only find out about this when you have tried everything to get a good night’s sleep and it still doesn’t work. That is a reason to contact your doctor. You may be able to forward this to a specialized unit for people with sleep disorders.
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But try to solve it at home first, it may yield a lot of results. Some things are obvious, but we are often not consciously aware of them. Some things you might think about:
- Silence is important for falling asleep. Make sure ambient noise is gone or kept to a minimum.
- A cool environment with good ventilation is also important. Preferably no heating on or very low to keep the worst (winter) cold out of the room.
- A comfortable and good bed, with the emphasis on a good mattress. Don’t just buy any mattress.
- A clean bed with fresh linen.
- Not everyone likes it, but for quite a few people a glass of warm milk does a lot. Possibly mixed with a little honey.
- Turn off your lights in the house a bit, just before you want to go to bed.
- Don’t get into bed with a body that is too cold. A warm shower before going to bed can help.
- Getting enough exercise during the day and certainly a walk before going to bed can also work.
What should you especially not do?
- Do not consume caffeine-containing products. These products give you a boost to keep going for a while, rather than giving you the feeling that your body can rest.
- Although we sometimes think differently, drinking alcohol just before going to sleep is not recommended. You often do not get into a deeper sleep. It feels very restless for many people.
- Television or other ‘blue’ light (such as the computer) gives your body the feeling that it is still daytime. Stop this at least one hour before you go to bed.
- Snacks are not good for the body and also fill the stomach, but your body should actually have little to digest during the night.
“Between dream and reality there are laws and practical objections and also melancholy that no one can explain and that comes in the evening when one goes to sleep.” Willem Enschot, Flemish writer 1882-1960
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A good mattress
There is not a good mattress for everyone. Everyone has their own preference for a mattress and your weight/build is also important to make a good choice. Finally, don’t forget the following aspects:
- Do you suffer from allergies?
- Do you have physical limitations?
- What is the ventilation capacity?
- How heat sensitive is the mattress?
- Can you wash, dry clean, etc. the mattress?
It is advisable to do a trial sleep. Just lying down on a mattress when you choose your bed doesn’t mean much. Consult with the bed specialist to see if you can borrow a mattress for a trial sleep. Many specialty stores have options for this.
How many hours of sleep
It is not clear how many hours of sleep you need. It differs from person to person. However, there is a general rule that we should try to get about seven hours of sleep per night. One maybe just a little less and the other maybe just a little more. Experience how you wake up, then you will know quickly enough what your body needs.
Influence of too few hours of sleep
Most people can cope with getting fewer hours of sleep per night, but longer periods of time are not good. It has now also been shown that structurally insufficient sleep affects road safety, study results and even an increased risk of being overweight.
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Power nap Quite a few fads
have come from the United States and the power nap is one of them. It works as follows: After every few hours of activity, you take a short sleep of about twenty minutes. Apart from the fact that from a practical point of view it is not always possible or feasible for people (not everyone sleeps quickly), it has also not been shown that this can replace part of normal night’s sleep. It is true that after a heavy effort, physically or mentally, people feel more energetic again after a power nap.
Finally
Sleeping is important, that is not new for anyone, but thinking about how to get the best night’s sleep for you is not something we will do quickly. It seems like such a self-evident thing that you no longer consciously do. However, it is important to pay more attention to this sometimes.