A good night is crucial for a good day – and a good life. But how do you get enough sleep from laying your head on the pillow until the alarm goes off? We have asked a sleep expert. Here are his top tips.
The expert’s 10 best tips for a good night’s sleep
1. You never dream …
… maybe you think so. But that is not true. You just do not remember what you have dreamed, and you should be happy about it. This probably means that you have slept like a log. We all dream for a couple of hours every night, and that’s an important part of sleep. Dreams act as a kind of self-therapy, which processes the impressions of the day and lets them fall in the right place in the brain.
2. If you are going to pee at night ..
… Is one thing that is important to remember – leave the light off. It is completely unproblematic to go to the toilet in the wee hours, but if you turn on the light you will confuse your inner clock. If you always get up at night, and have difficulty navigating without a lamp, buy a small night light with soft and dim light that does not make you wake up completely.
3. Do you catch up on the weekends …
… It is not completely optimal. But you can not always be perfect! Sometimes life just does not go together otherwise. If you build up a sleep deficit in the weeks, as most of us do, it is better to catch up on the weekend than never make up for the missed hours. Lack of sleep weakens your immune system, but you can to some extent compensate for it by sleeping extra on the weekend.
4. Most of us have a constant jet lag …
… Even if we have not been out and about. The times we need to get up, and go to bed to cope with working hours and so on, simply do not match the times that our bodies are most comfortable with. Then we suffer from what can be called social jet lag . If you want to force your inner clock to keep pace with the demands of the environment, routines are the best recipe. Go to bed and get up at about the same time each day.
5. Has the bed become your enemy …
… Because you have had difficulty falling asleep for a long period, there is nothing you can control yourself. Your nervous system automatically begins to associate the bed with a place where you are awake, and it is important that you regain power. You can do this by getting out of bed when you can not sleep . This is how you signal to your nervous system that you are not in bed if you are not sleeping. Sit on the couch and read a book or listen to quiet music for 5-15 minutes before going to bed.
6. Hold the flap, the brain …
… Are probably many of us who have thought when quarrels with the partner, conflicts at work or stress over the financial situation spin around in your head when you go to sleep. There are many different techniques that can help you sort out your thoughts so that you can calm down. What works is individual. We recommend that you test the method with the jar below.
7. Do not check the watch …
… When you wake up at night, or when you have difficulty falling asleep. You only risk getting frustrated when you become aware of how little time is left until you have to get up. It is better to have the attitude that tomorrow will be as it is, even if you may be a little extra tired.
8. If you want to take a power nap …
… You need to keep in mind that it can interfere with your night’s sleep. Only take a nap when absolutely necessary. When you still feel like you need to get some sleep during the day, either snooze for just 20 minutes, or take a proper 1.5 hour sleep.
9. You need more sleep in the winter …
… And this is because the lack of light in the winter makes us sleepy and sluggish. The darkness also means that we have a disturbed circadian rhythm and then it is more difficult to time the cortisol supplement in the morning to help us wake up. If you had an alarm clock, you would probably sleep about 1.5 hours more on December 21st than on June 21st. So you feel that your need for sleep is increasing, it is completely normal and nothing you need to try to change. On the contrary, you can try to get time for a little extra sleep when the days get shorter.
10. Do you have a sleepless night …
… So do not worry about it. Some of us panic easily when it is not possible to fall asleep, but it is perfectly normal to sometimes not succeed, no matter how many you count. And even though it is very annoying, and stressful, it is harmless with such nights sometimes. It is only if it lasts for a long time, several days or weeks, that it can be good to seek help from a doctor to overcome the problem.