Are you a bad sleeper? Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep? Bad sleeper? You can sleep well with these tips. You can achieve a good night's sleep with a good pillow and good preparation.
According to the WHO, the average adult needs 7-9 hours of sleep. Of course this varies from person to person. There are people who need about 5-6 hours of sleep a night, others need more than 9 hours. Incidentally, this only applies to 5% of humanity.
To find out how much sleep you need, you can use the following:if you are on vacation or at the weekend, you can 'measure' how much sleep you need. Are you rested after 8 hours of sleep? Then you need that. If you are only fit after 9 hours of sleep, that is your ideal rhythm.
To sleep well, having a good mattress and pillow is a must. For side sleepers (this is the most common sleeping position), it is imperative that you use a pillow that is customizable. For example, a pillow that is 'adjustable' in height. In this way you can optimally distribute the support of your head and shoulders. A good pillow for this is the Emma pillow.
The most important thing to get a good night's sleep is to get some rest before going to sleep. That means you don't use a TV or screen before going to bed. So turn off all screens (including your phone) at least 30 minutes before going to bed.
To calm down, you can put on some soothing music or even listen to an adult story. These are special bed time stories that are very boring to make you fall asleep while you are listening. The disadvantage of this is of course that you have to set this up on a screen (e-reader, telephone or tablet).
You can also create that rest if you maintain a certain rhythm before going to bed. Choose a rhythm that suits you. So do the same beauty routine every night, relax under a warm shower or drink a cup of soothing tea. You should not do the latter immediately before going to sleep, because then you have to get out during the night to go to the toilet. This is not conducive to a good night's sleep.
You probably know the saying that the hours before midnight count twice. That sounds very appealing, of course, but this is only partly true. The most important part of your sleep is the first hour. In the first hour of your sleep, your body and brain are busy resetting. Everything from short term memory is moved to long term memory. Hormones are regulated during the first hour of sleep.
So it's mainly about the first hour that you sleep. This is crucial for a good night's sleep. Whether you do this before or after midnight has more to do with your biorhythm than the fact that the hours before midnight count twice.
Many people drink a glass of wine in the evening. Although alcohol makes it easier to fall asleep, it is certainly not recommended to use for a good night's sleep. This is because alcohol interrupts your REM sleep. REM sleep is much needed for your body to process things. If you are interrupted, you will not wake up rested.
Actually, there is no such thing as the best sleeping position. The vast majority of people are side sleepers, because this is the most natural sleeping pose for the body. Preferably you do not sleep on your stomach, because this position puts the most pressure on your body. Are you a stomach sleeper? Then you should take this into account when choosing a suitable mattress. The same goes for your pillow. By the way, stomach sleepers should not use a pillow at all.
To see whether a pillow is suitable or not, you need to have your posture looked at. If your shoulders and head are in a 90-degree line, that's perfect. That way your head gets sufficient support and your neck is put under minimal strain. If the pillow is too high or too low, you will feel it in your neck and shoulders. This can cause neck and shoulder pain, headaches and even migraines.
You never lie still during your sleep. That would also be very bad for your body. On average, you move 6 – 60 times a night. In this way, your body remains in motion during the night and your body can work on full recovery and gain new energy. Do you suffer from neck and/or back pain? Then it is time to take a critical look at your mattress and pillow.
Reading tip:Often forgotten, but it is important to clean your mattress regularly
It makes little difference to the quality of your sleep whether you are a night owl or an early bird. In fact, there's actually very little you can do about this. Whether you are a night owl or an early bird is genetically determined. Do you want to know which category you belong to? Then take a look at your parents.
Unfortunately, socially speaking, it is almost impossible to live according to your own biorhythm. So going to bed after 12:00 in the night, sleeping for 8 hours and then slowly getting started is not really possible in this society. However, this would be the best for an optimal sleep rhythm. Not everyone can go to bed at 10pm and get up at 6am. Some people do better if they stay up late and can sleep in longer.
You can try to change this and sometimes there is no other way. Few employers will want to take your personal biorhythm into account. However, you should not take it too seriously to try to change this. Your body indicates itself what it needs.
Incidentally, this is a big problem for people who have to do night work. Their biorhythm is completely disrupted, which can translate into all kinds of physical complaints. It is better to do night work only temporarily and switch to daytime work as soon as possible. Of course, this is easier said than done, because night work is necessary in certain groups (doctors, nurses, pilots, drivers…).
Sleeping is very difficult for pregnant women. Not surprising, of course, because the body undergoes a lot of changes. Fortunately, there are ways to support good sleep. Consider using a special pregnancy pillow. These 10 tips for a good night's sleep can also help you with that.
If you're older, you know that broken nights and lack of sleep are part of it. This certainly applies to the first years of your child's life. It is not for nothing that these are called the tropics. It is important that you do not put any pressure on yourself to fall asleep quickly in the evening. Everything that has to stand for is not good in this case and can actually have the opposite effect. It is better to go to bed relaxed and let everything come at you.
Unfortunately, this is often the time when you start grinding and thinking about all kinds of things. Try to unlearn this by, for example, writing everything that comes to mind on a note. You can't change many things at that moment, so there's no point in worrying about it.
You could consider taking an afternoon nap with your child. It is important that you make sure that you maintain a certain rhythm for this. That means you either take a nap around the same time every afternoon or skip it altogether. Taking a nap every now and then is not good for your body and biorhythm. Your body has to get used to a certain rhythm and it won't if you go to sleep in the afternoon and then again not. This also has consequences for your night's sleep.
In summary, a good night's sleep comes down to:
Still not fully equipped? Then read these tips to sleep better.
