Discover scientific tips for a perfect night’s sleep!

The author Alexander Sweetman, a researcher at the Faculty of Medicine and Public Health at Flinders University, published an article with tips for a better quality of sleep this Monday (10) in the communication medium for scientific articles “The Conversation”. The material contains tips for better quality when falling asleep.

#RT @AASMorg: Listen to the new episode of the Talking Sleep podcast for a conversation with Alexander Sweetman, PhD, about the co-morbid relationship between #insomnia and obstructive #SleepApnea, a condition for which he coined the term “COMISA.” … pic.twitter.com/uvGtY5S5Ul

— Sleep Nebraska (@sleep_nebraska) February 27, 2023

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_{Alexander Sweetman, author of ‘How Do I Stop My Racing Mind and Get Some Sleep’ and sleep health expert. (Reproduction/Twitter: @sleep_nebraska)}

Check out the main tips:

Avoid leaving worries for bedtime

It is essential for a good night’s sleep to avoid leaving the concerns of the day for the night period. Among the recommendations to prevent this from happening, an attitude such as writing down problems in a notebook can help you deal with the tense moment and be aware that the problem will be resolved the next day more peacefully without harming your night’s sleep.

Associating the bed as a place to sleep

Performing other tasks in bed, such as working or everyday situations, impairs your quality of sleep. With these actions, the brain and body can associate space as a place to carry out activities other than resting or sleeping. Because of this, it is important to leave these other demands to be completed in other areas of the house. In view of this, adopting bed as the resting time and going to bed when you are sleepy, tired or close to ‘nap’ time are behaviors that help in the fight against insomnia. Other operations such as getting out of bed at the same time as waking up and avoiding long periods of sleep in the afternoon contribute to a better rest at night.

think of good things

Thinking about pleasant memories, including good memories of a movie or series that causes you a pleasant feeling, are able to escape negative thoughts that cause stress and insomnia. Therefore, it is important to replay a positive memory of a TV show to remove the negative ideas in your brain.

According to the article, this process is described as cognitive reorientation.

relax in sleep

According to the article published by Alexandre Sweetman, ‘relaxation therapy for insomnia is intended to reduce alertness and improve sleep’.

Activities such as breathing exercises, listening to soft music, visualizing peaceful images and practicing relaxation exercises contribute to better peace of mind at bedtime. Another tip is to avoid doing tasks late at night. It is essential to give the body time to prepare for the time to close your eyes and relax.

Understand that waking up at night is normal

Understanding that brief awakenings from sleep are completely normal and not a sign of health problems can help with bedtime.

Sleep happens in different “cycles” at night. Each stage lasts around 90 minutes and has different phases such as light, deep and dream sleep. In deep sleep, it happens in the first half of the night, while light sleep acts in the second half.

People deal with brief awakenings at rest time, but most do not remember the episode.

Featured photo: sleepless night. Playback/Twitter: @sleep_nebraska