All the equipment to support your relax – The importance of sleep and how to sleep well
1. What is a good night's sleep?
A night of quality sleep is the sleep that goes through all 4 stages of the sleep cycle, including the lull phase, light sleep phase, deep sleep phase, and REM (rapid eye movement).
The sleep cycle will last 90 minutes, after which the body continues to start a new sleep cycle. The sleep cycle continuously repeats throughout the night until the biological clock awakens the body for the new day.
Thanks to that, the nervous system has enough time to regenerate, recharge with new energy, repair damage to body tissues, process information, and store memories from short-term memory to memory. Long-term.
A good night's sleep is when you wake up feeling alert and energized. For each different person, the need for sleep is different in terms of sleep time, number of hours of sleep. In general, a good night's sleep needs to meet 2 factors: enough sleep and deep sleep.
Get enough sleep: Depending on different ages, each person will need a different amount of sleep. For example, babies and young children need up to 12 hours of sleep each day. Teenagers need 9 hours of sleep a day, while adults need 7-8 hours of sleep.
Deep sleep: Sleep that goes through all 4 stages of the cycle without being interrupted by any factors. A deep, instant sleep often helps sleepers improve their health and wake up alert. If you get enough sleep but wake up in a state of fatigue, headache, dizziness, fast heartbeat, etc., it may be because you have not had a deep sleep.
2. Golden hour frame for sleep
Health experts agree that the golden time to go to bed is from 9 pm to 11 pm. It would help if you started resting your eyes at this point to prepare for the first 90-minute sleep cycle of the day. When you have begun to sleep, the body will go through repairing and repairing damaged tissues, most intensely from 11 pm to 1 am. Specifically, every 5 minutes of sleep in the 23 hour time frame (11 pm to 1 am) will bring about the same effect as 6 hours of sleep in other time frames.
- From 9 am to 11 pm is the time frame for the immune system to eliminate toxins from the body. Deep sleep in a quiet space will bring high efficiency.
- From 11 am to 1 is, the liver is most active, helping the body eliminate toxins. Simultaneously, bile from the liver is secreted into the blood to help the blood stay fresh, avoiding liver diseases and gallstones.
- From 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. is the time when the skin detoxifies, heals damage such as acne, inflammation, etc., and produces collagen to help smooth skin. Therefore, the lack of sleep during this time, in the long run, will cause insomnia, acne, and rapid aging.
3. The importance of sleep
Control weight gain
If you lose sleep or stay up late, your body will quickly expend energy and turn into hunger. Eating late at night puts pressure on the digestive system and makes the belly fat layer thicken. Therefore, going to bed will help you no longer feel hungry. In addition, many reports indicate that getting enough sleep has the same weight loss effect as exercising.
Increase memorization
As we know, sleep is when the brain processes information and puts important information into long-term memory. Therefore, having quality sleep will help you increase your memory and ability to concentrate. In addition, an association has also been found between sleep deprivation and the risk of Alzheimer's dementia.
Improve immune system
When you get enough sleep, your body will have enough time to repair damaged tissues in the body, secrete certain hormones that help strengthen the immune system, fight inflammation and infection.
Specifically, when going to sleep, the body will secrete an important substance that protects the immune system from the invasion of viruses and harmful bacteria called cytokines.
Staying up late and losing sleep can inhibit the production of this hormone, causing the immune system to quickly weaken and create conditions for viral pathogens to attack the body. Some studies show that people who do not get enough sleep are more susceptible to minor illnesses such as colds, runny nose, cough.
Improve skin
One of the benefits of sleep that is of great interest to women is its ability to heal the damage caused by acne, melasma, etc. When you get enough sleep, your body will produce collagen to help your skin become smoother. It would help if you did not stay up late, more than 11 o'clock, because this is when the liver excretes body toxins, helping to minimize the appearance of acne.
Mood regulation
Have you ever noticed that your mood will be better if you have a good night's sleep than the day before? It is one of the most magical effects of sleep on human psychology. It is explained that, when you go to sleep, you will not have much free time to think about negative things. Sleep helps you always feel full of energy and ready to solve yesterday's difficult problems and outstanding work.
4. Common sleep disorders
Sleep disorder is a medical condition related to sleep health, affected by two factors: the number of hours of sleep and sleep quality. Sleep disorders are often caused by stress, anxiety, living habits, and some injuries inside the body. Here are four common types of sleep disorders:
Insomnia
Insomnia manifests in many different conditions: inability to fall asleep, difficulty in falling asleep, craving for sleep but not being able to sleep, waking up many times during the night… As a result, patients often feel sluggish and tired due to lack of sleep. . Insomnia is divided into 3 types: transient insomnia, acute insomnia, and chronic insomnia.
Sleep a lot
People with this sleep disorder will often feel sleepy despite getting enough sleep from 7 to 8 hours a night. They often have trouble waking up in the morning and have daytime naps. After a night of sleep, the patient does not feel refreshed.
Sleepwalking
Sleepwalking is a sleep disorder that causes the sleeper to wake up and perform simple or complex activities in an unconscious state. Sleepwalkers often don't remember what they've done.
Disruption of the biological clock
This condition is when the patient's biological clock loses the synchronization of the wake-sleep rhythm, causing the “sleep-inducing” hormone melatonin not to be secreted enough, making the patient not feel sleepy, leading to insomnia. Disturbance of the circadian clock often keeps people awake – erratic, confused, and unable to concentrate.
5. Poor sleep makes you gain weight
Poor sleep is strongly linked to weight gain. People who don't get enough sleep tend to gain significantly more weight than those who get enough sleep. In fact, short sleep duration is one of the main factors leading to obesity.
In one study, children and adults who didn't get enough sleep were associated with a higher risk of obesity, 89% and 55%, respectively. Sleep on weight gain is thought to be due to changes in appetite-regulating hormones and sleep patterns.
If you're trying to lose weight, getting a good night's sleep is extremely important. Several studies have shown that inadequate sleep increases ghrelin and decreases leptin. This is likely to increase appetite.
6. People who sleep well tend to consume fewer calories
Studies show that sleep-deprived people have more cravings and tend to consume more calories. Sleep deprivation alters the regulation of appetite hormones, and this is thought to be responsible for the limited ability to regulate appetite. Not getting enough sleep causes higher levels of ghrelin, the hormone that stimulates appetite, and lowers leptin levels, the hormone that suppresses appetite.
To provide the necessary energy to maintain alertness, eating more is a physiological adaptation when you do not get enough sleep. Today, food is vibrant and varied, you have easy access to all kinds of food, so it is easy to consume more calories than you need.
7. Good night sleep improves focus and productivity
Sleep is important for various aspects of brain function, including cognition, concentration, productivity, and performance. All of these are negatively affected by sleep deprivation.
A study conducted with interns showed that interns on a traditional schedule with working hours lasting more than 24 hours caused more serious health effects than interns scheduled to work for more than 24 hours to get enough sleep.
Sleep deprivation can negatively impact several aspects of brain function to the same extent as alcohol intoxication.
On the other hand, children's and adults' problem-solving skills and memory performance have been shown to improve when you get enough sleep.
8. Good sleep can maximize athletic performance thể
Good sleep has been shown to enhance athletic performance. In a study done on basketball players, long sleep significantly improved speed, accuracy, reaction time, and mental health.
Less sleep duration has also been linked to poor exercise performance and limited ability to function in older women. A study of more than 2,800 women found that sleep deprivation may be associated with slower walking, decreased balance, and more difficulty performing independent activities.
Sleep quality will be reduced due to disturbed sleep time leading to worse physical function. So, to maximize athletic performance, you need to get a good night's sleep.
9. Poor sleepers have a higher risk of heart disease and stroke
The quality and duration of sleep can greatly affect health. These are factors that are thought to contribute to chronic diseases, including heart disease.
A review of 15 studies found that people who don't get enough sleep have a much higher risk of heart disease or stroke than those who sleep 7 to 8 hours a night.
10. Sleep affects glucose metabolism and type 2 diabetes risk
Research shows that sleep deprivation affects blood sugar levels and reduces insulin sensitivity.
In a study done in young, healthy men, sleeping as little as four hours per night for six consecutive nights caused symptoms of prediabetes. These symptoms should improve after 1 week of increased sleep time.
Poor sleep habits also carry the risk of adverse effects on blood sugar.
People who sleep less than six hours per night for an extended period of time have been shown to have an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
11. Poor sleep is linked to depression
Mental health problems, such as depression, are strongly associated with poor sleep quality and sleep disturbances. Experts estimate that about 90% of people with depression often do not sleep well.
Poor sleep has even been linked to an increased risk of death by suicide. People with sleep disorders such as insomnia or obstructive sleep apnea also had significantly higher rates of depression than the general population.
12. Sleep Improves Your Immune Function
Even short-term sleep loss has been shown to impair immune function. A two-week study followed the development of the common cold after giving patients nasal drops for cold viruses. Experts found that people who slept less than 7 hours were almost three times more likely to catch a cold than those who slept for 8 hours or more.
If you often catch colds, it's best not to stay up late and make sure to get enough sleep every night. Sleeping for at least 8 hours can improve your immune function and help fight the common cold. Eating more garlic can also help.
13. Poor sleep increases inflammation in the body
Sleep can have a big effect on inflammation in your body. In fact, sleep loss is known to trigger markers of inflammation and cell damage.
Poor sleep is strongly linked to prolonged inflammation of the digestive tract in disorders known as inflammatory bowel disease. Research shows that sleep-deprived people with Crohn's disease are twice as likely to relapse than patients with good sleep.
Poor sleep is strongly associated with inflammatory bowel diseases and may increase the risk of disease recurrence. Researchers are even relying on sleep assessments to help predict treatment outcomes in people with long-term inflammatory problems.
14. Sleep affects emotions and social interactions
Insomnia reduces the ability to interact socially. Poor sleepers have a reduced ability to recognize expressions of anger and happiness. Researchers believe that poor sleep affects the ability to perceive signals and process information related to emotions. Sleep deprivation can impair people's social skills and ability to recognize emotional expressions.
In short, along with nutrition, regular exercise and good sleep are the most important factors for the health of all of us. You cannot achieve your best health if you do not know how to take care of your sleep.
15. Home remedies to help you sleep better
Consistency in sleep-wake rhythm: To train your body to get used to the most scientific sleep-wake rhythm, you should be consistent in your bedtime and wake-up times, such as 9 pm and 7 am, throughout the day weekend.
Do not resist sleep: You should go to bed as soon as your body feels sleepy. It is best not to watch movies and books that are too enticing right close to bedtime.
Good mood: Avoid arguing or arguing before bed to help the body fall asleep as easily as possible. Experts still recommend that you resolve all conflicts and arguments before going to bed to sleep better.
Do not use nicotine and caffeine before going to bed: Tea, coffee, alcohol, cigarettes.. are all stimulants of the nervous system that make it difficult to fall asleep.
Do not eat large meals before bedtime: If you still feel hungry, you should eat light foods such as cereals or a glass of hot milk.
Comfortable sleeping space: The bedroom should always be kept dark to stimulate the production of the hormone melatonin. Bedroom items such as mattresses, blankets, sheets, pillows, etc., must comfort the sleeper. Besides, if the room cannot filter out the noise, you can use noise-canceling headphones.
