Sleep well: What is a good sleep?
According to Aurelie Meyer Mazel , a sleep specialist, a good night of 10 hours in a row is not an imposed figure. Although the average is around 8 hours of sleep, we have clean and genetically programmed sleep needs. Sleep well is to wake up in shape, rested, available and in a good mood the day ...
What looks so simple is a very specific study, the science of sleep, which reviews the physical and biochemical manifestations that occur during our sleep.
And it is clear that our long night sleep is broken down into 4 to 6 cycles of 90 minutes. Heavy at the beginning, the so-called slow sleep occupies the first two cycles. As the night gets lighter, it becomes "paradoxical sleep," which is why it is easier to wake up in the morning.
Slow sleep helps to physically recover, and plays an important role in our secretion of hormones and in the growth of children. REM sleep occurs at the end of each sleep cycle and increases as the night progresses. Essential, it allows to recover psychically and psychologically (mood, stress ...). It also has an important role in memorization, and brain maturation in children. As Aurélie Meyer Mazel points out, "If we do nothing, we risk falling into a vicious circle. Basically, the less we sleep and the more we are tense and the more we are tense and the less we can sleep well and so on »
Sleep well: What is a good environment?
Sleep is valuable because it is a rare commodity for some of us who suffer from "sleep disorders" . The first recommendations to remedy this are better anticipation, with some basic tips * the day to prepare your night:
- Eat balanced at fixed times.
- Do not abuse the excitants (coffee, cigarettes ...)
- Have a physical activity or at least half an hour of walking a day
- Exposing ourselves to light, light is the best regulator of our internal clock.
- At work impose breaks or moments of relaxation, it allows to be less stressed and to be more effective.
- Do not dine too late and at least 2 hours before going to bed.
To ban after dinner:
- Physical or intellectual activity
- The computer whose screen is very awakening
- A hot bath or shower that delays falling asleep. The temperature of the body must indeed lower by one degree at the moment of falling asleep. if you are fond of a good bath to relax, take it preferably by returning from work before dinner.
- Watch out for television , it may not make you feel the signs of fatigue. If you let the train of sleep, you risk waiting for the next 1:30 later.
Sleep well: What is a good bed?
We do not think about it enough, but the bed itself is an essential factor in ensuring a good sleep.
If you are a good student, you renew your bedding every 10 years, and you put your mattress on a suitable bed base. Unlike 4% of consumers (mostly teenagers) who sleep on a mattress on the floor, which impedes the elimination of 40 cl of water that we produce each night, not to mention the direct contact with the dust that can promote the multiplication of bacteria on the mattress.
Finally you do not skimp on the quality of the bedding ...
Be careful , quality bedding is not as expensive as it looks. Its average price for a mattress is 600 euros (0.16 euros per night) and 1000 euros for a set mattress-sommier. Its cost is 3 times cheaper than the daily budget allocated to an Internet and television subscription estimated at 1 euro per day ...
Bedding is a market that is becoming more democratic, with new merchant sites like www.allomatelas.com . This company specializes in distance selling offers about 3000 references, with prices up to 40% less than those practiced in stores. But its strong point is to offer a real quality of service, with advisors to guide you in the difficult choice of an adapted bedding. But also delivery, shipping and ultra fast (for bedding in stock). Once delivered, you also have 15 days to change your mind.
To know , a good bedding must:
- Promote the relaxation of your body: elongated, our body is released from the constraints of gravity; the muscles and spine relax.
- Be adapted to the morphology: flexible and firm at the same time, the mattress must support in a uniform way all the parts of the body: shoulders, hips and buttocks can sink a little in the mattress.
Be careful if the mattress is too firm, you feel pressure points on the shoulders and hips and blood circulation is hampered.
Not to mention the essential choice of the pillow which should allow to align head and neck, one with respect to the other. Ideally during sleep, head and neck should be in the same position as when standing, ie aligned with each other, and to prevent the head from falling at an angle to generate torticollis..
Sleep well: Insomnia, a French plague
Insomniacs and people in sleep debt are often irritable because they have not had their "quota" of REM sleep during the night. To treat insomnia, the problem must be taken as a whole, both physically and psychologically. Insomnia should not be taken lightly and can be taken care of in multidisciplinary sleep centers (Science & vie ...).
* Thanks to Aurélie Meyer Mazel, sleep specialist at Sens & Vie
Science & Life, 9 av Franklin Roosevelt 75008 Paris 01 42 99 61 25
* Study conducted by the TNS Healthcare Institute.
