Sleep like a log and wake up rested? The tips from the book Super Sleeping by sleep expert Floris Wouterson should help. And what's so nice:you can win the book!
Magnesium plays an important role in all kinds of processes in your body, such as regulating blood sugar and controlling the sleep hormone melatonin. Stress and alcohol use can cause your body to use extra magnesium, which can cause you to build up a deficiency without knowing it. The result:you sleep worse.
› Try this: Magnesium is best absorbed through the skin. Therefore, take a weekly foot bath or bath with esoteric magnesium oil or epsom salt. This can sting a little, but it is much more effective than magnesium tablets, says sleep expert Floris Wouterson, of the bestseller Super Sleep.
Read also: 'This way you sleep well despite all the stress'
The temperature of your body and the bedroom also influence your night's sleep, says sleep expert Wouterson. Your biological clock ensures that your body temperature drops slightly in the evening:this process starts at half past nine, for evening people one and a half to two hours later. This is a signal for your body to start producing melatonin (the sleep hormone). From half past four (a little later for night owls) your body temperature rises again, which is the trigger for the production of cortisol (activating hormone). So are you lying in bed and slowly getting warmer? Then your body thinks:wake up!
› Try this: Take a warm shower before going to bed. Soon after, your body temperature drops slightly. Et voilà:the sleep stimulus!
Sleeping naked is better for your night's sleep than sleeping in pajamas. Wouterson:“Sleep is meant to recover physically, but also to detoxify. This is done through the lymphatic system. And the so-called glymphatic system ensures the detoxification of neurotoxic substances in the brain:essential for waking up in a good mood in the morning.” Sleeping with tight-fitting clothing (such as a bra) can inhibit this process.
You can read more tips in the October issue of Santé, which is now in stores.
Would you like to win the book Super Sleeping by Floris Wouterson? Santé can give away 5 copies. Fill out the form below and maybe you'll be one of the lucky winners.
The giveaway runs until October 30, 2019
