Author: Zhang Weihua, Peking University Sixth Hospital
How to prepare for bedtime? What activities do you do before bed, or what items can you use to help you sleep well? It’s actually the most important thing to do. There is no one-size-fits-all activity or item that will definitely help you fall asleep. Conversely, deliberately sticking to what activities are rumored to help sleep make it harder to fall asleep.
Many insomniacs are keen to collect “coups” on how to improve sleep. For example, many people say that bedtime fever Soak your feet in blisters, drink milk before going to bed, or do a massage, all of which are claimed to help you fall asleep faster and improve sleep. These activities are generally not harmful, but don’t do them deliberately with strong “sleep aid” expectations. I once had an elderly female patient, she set a series of activities before sleep, what time to do, what time to start, etc. She has her own strict requirements, if there is one thing in the process Doing it according to the established program requirements, or completing it but not ideal, will cause her intense entanglement and pain, because doing it again will delay the time for the follow-up setting activities. If you don’t do it again, it will affect the overall effect of sleep aid. , so there will be a variety of intense psychological activities, regret, self-blame, worry, complaints, etc., that night often becomes a day of poor sleep. Therefore, if you deliberately do some so-called sleep-improving activities before going to bed, it will be harmful to sleep. This is the first point of going with the flow. The second point is to understand the time when you are sleepy, because as mentioned earlier, everyone’s circadian rhythm is the rhythm of sleep and wakefulness, and it has its own regularity. It is necessary to understand that you usually start to feel sleepy and sleepy at what time at night. When you want to go to bed again, you can complete the preparatory activities such as washing and washing before going to bed.
For most people, avoid doing some exciting activities before going to bed, including relatively high-intensity exercise, because after high-intensity exercise, the body will lose It takes time for the exercise state to rest, so it is not suitable for most people to do high-intensity exercise within a certain period of time before going to bed. Generally, it is recommended to end high-intensity exercise at least four hours before going to bed. ; Of course, doing some slow activities like walking is fine and may help you sleep somewhat. Activities that excite oneself also include watching TV dramas or other related programs that make oneself particularly engaged. Such activities are generally not suitable for doing before going to bed, especially for people with insomnia.
To get a good night’s sleep, the bedroom environment is of course also important, do it in the bedroom and bed Appropriate investment is still necessary and worthwhile. The point is that the bedding can feel comfortable by itself. The bedroom has basic comfort, its temperature, humidity, and lighting. In the location of the room, some considerations should be made when necessary. The usual functions of the bedroom and bed should be as simple as possible, that is, it is mainly used for sleeping and sexual life, and other activities should not be done on the bed, so as to develop such a habit. Light control also makes sense for some patients.
If you are more sensitive to light, or if you don’t sleep well at night, you need to control the light when you sleep at night. If necessary, you can refer to the setting of the hotel and install two or three sets of lighting. One is slightly lit with relatively weak brightness, and is equipped with a desk lamp for reading, and the other is brighter lighting. In this way, choosing the lighting method reasonably when necessary will be more conducive to sleep. The importance of sound control, I think everyone can understand, if the surrounding environment is relatively noisy, if necessary, do some work on the room decoration, such as soundproof glass, wall soundproof decoration, these are required in some special cases .
The temperature of the bedroom should also be appropriate. For sleep, the ambient temperature is slightly cooler, which is more suitable for sleep, which is roughly equivalent to about 20 degrees Celsius. Too cold can interfere with sleep to some extent. These situations, in normal or when insomnia does not occur or when insomnia is just beginning, it is still very meaningful to pay attention.
After insomnia occurs, some patients may say, I have noticed these aspects and take corresponding measures, but still can’t sleep, what should I do? At this time, think of the phenomenon that may be a disease. If there are some special symptoms after insomnia, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible. For example, after insomnia, your mental pain is particularly intense, it is difficult to maintain a normal work and life, or you have a variety of physical symptoms but no “disease” can be found, such as palpitation, shortness of breath, heartbeat, headache, dizziness, scalp Numbness, tightness, gastrointestinal discomfort, abdominal distension, diarrhea, constipation, indigestion, loss of appetite, urgency and frequency of urination, fatigue and fatigue, etc., should be paid attention to in time; another situation is obvious emotional changes, After experiencing insomnia, I can notice that my mood is obviously low, I can’t be happy, or it is easy to be irritable.