The process of sleep is no less important for a person than, for example, regular meals. And, nevertheless, how many times we sacrificed a dream with a lack of time! What are the consequences of this and how to improve the quality of sleep? AnySports asked the experts.No other type of rest, except sleep, will not allow us to relieve tension and fatigue, get rid of heavy and obsessive thoughts, gain strength. At the same time, how many important processes occur in the body at night! In the body there is a process of synthesis and disintegration: cells of skin and hair are actively divided, various hormones are formed, and so on. Yes, and the brain”only sleeps half-eyed” – he needs to sort out a lot of information during his sleep.

How much sleep do you need to sleep?

Genius Einstein slept for 4 hours a day, and this did not stop him from leaving a visible mark in science. But how many people are able to withstand such a rhythm? Has only 1%. By the way, according to WHO recommendations, the average person needs to sleep about 7-8 hours. During this time in 95% of people, the body is completely restored.

“How many hours it is necessary to sleep a person to sleep – an individual indicator,” says Yuri Poteshkin, MD , doctor-endocrinologist. – This largely depends on the characteristics of the central nervous system, the response of a person to external stimuli, the way the analysis enters the brain information, from the comfort of the bed, etc. On average, the time range is from 6 to 10 hours. More than 10 hours of sleep is simply useless, less than 6 hours is fraught with lack of sleep. ”

There is an opinion that with the proper organization of sleep, you can “sleep” for a half to two hours. It is so, but with a little caveat. “In order to partially recover, a single cycle of sleep is enough for a person, which is 80-90 minutes, which includes one phase of fast sleep and one slow one,” says Olga Yakob, professor, doctor of physician, doctor-therapist. – For a long time such a rest is not enough, but you can provide yourself 3-4 hours of energy. However, if you lie down in two and bodrenko wake up at six, this technique will not help. ”

Remember that if you do not get enough sleep, then:

• Become hungrier and eat more. Short-term sleep disorder leads to the abuse of high-calorie foods with a high carbohydrate content;
• You have a high chance of getting into an accident. One sleepless night can negatively affect visual coordination, which, in particular, is important in driving a car;
• Do not look good. “In one study, participants who lacked sleep, seemed more depressed and less attractive,” says Olga Yakob. – Over time, the problem only gets worse! So, the accelerated skin aging researchers of the Royal Carolina Institute of Sweden associate with a chronic lack of sleep “;
• Take the risk of catching a cold. At night, the body produces proteins – cytokines, which are needed to regulate stress and to synthesize antibodies that fight infections;
• Become more emotional . With a lack of healthy sleep, the brain centers responsible for emotions become 60% more receptive. The brain returns to a more primitive character of activity, when it can not correlate emotions with the situation.

“Chronic lack of sleep is fraught with an increased risk of developing various serious diseases,” adds Olga Yakob. – If you sleep less than 6 hours on a regular basis, the synthesis of the hormones of the appetite control system – leptin and ghrelin – is broken in the body. As a result, the risks of obesity are increasing. Chronic lack of sleep reduces the sensitivity of cells to insulin, which is fraught with the development of type 2 diabetes. In more mature age, lack of sleep is fraught with violations of the cardiovascular system, up to the possibility of developing a heart attack or stroke. ”

Rules of healthy sleep

Human biorhythms are sufficiently regulated by the change of day and night. For a long time we lived in harmony both with nature and with our own organism: we got up at dawn, we went to the sunset. But the modern style of life, with its ability to stay awake as much as it likes, knocks down our circadian rhythms. The duration and quality of sleep is decreasing, and this trend has only been gaining momentum recently. What it is necessary to consider, that the dream was really strong and healthy?

– Coordinate your work schedule . All important things should be planned before 5 pm. After this time, just do the routine. Otherwise, the stress hormone cortisol, which should decrease during the day, will jump by evening, and from this it will be difficult for you to fall asleep;

– Have supper. At night, your body needs nutrients to form skin cells and hormones. So lean meat or fish with a salad of non-starch vegetables – the best option for dinner for a couple of hours before bedtime.

Is alcohol appropriate before bedtime? “Alcohol causes a sharp jump in blood sugar,” says Olga Yakob. “And this, in turn, raises the production of insulin, which contributes to a decrease in the quality of sleep.”

– Observe the mode .  There is an opinion that if you want to sleep, you need to go to bed before 12 o’clock at night. Is it true? “I have not seen any recommendations in the scientific literature when it’s better to go to bed to sleep,” comments Yury Poteshkin. – With late retirement, as a rule, the awakening time remains the same. Therefore, the person does not gain the necessary norm of sleep. ”

But there is another opinion: for a period of time from 12 am to 4 am an active synthesis of the hormone melatonin is the strongest antioxidant, which takes an active part in the processes of organism recovery, in the synthesis of a number of hormones and in the breakdown of fats. He is also responsible for the quality of sleep. With a lack of melatonin, many begin to sleep intermittently and anxiously or completely suffer from insomnia.

“Take away the gadgets .” Working instruments make our sleep intermittent and disturbing. Getting on closed eyes, the light from the screens signals the beginning of awakening. As a result, various systems of organs are activated: nervous, endocrine, digestive. And the synthesis of valuable melatonin ceases.

– Properly arrange a berth. Silence, darkness, indoor temperature of about 18-20 degrees, comfortable mattress and pillow, fresh bed linen – that’s what you need for a healthy and sound sleep.

– Do not try to fall asleep through force. If you do not feel like sleeping after 10-15 minutes after you lie down, do not torture yourself. Get up and do some simple household chores. After 20-30 minutes, try to sleep again.

How to calculate time and wake up cheerful in the morning

Immediately make a reservation, compensate for the lack of sleep by any means impossible! “If for you 8 – the number of hours, how much to sleep, to recover, and you sleep for 6 hours, in order to feel rested you need to compensate for the next few hours,” Yury Poteshkin explains .  – Therefore, the next night you must sleep 10 hours. If you have not slept for 36 hours, then within 9 days you need to sleep 4 hours longer than your norm. Agree, very few can afford such a regime. In fact, we can sleep for an hour longer, so these 36 hours will compensate for more than a month. If you do not chronically get enough sleep, then you provide yourself with a long recovery period. ”

But even if you sleep the norm, in the morning you can feel, to put it mildly, uncomfortable. What will help you cheer up?

– Rise in the right phase of sleep. Normal sleep consists of two phases: slow and fast, the duration of the first about 70 minutes, the second – 10-15. “The body rests and accumulates strength during the first phase. The maximum feeling of vivacity is achieved if you wake up during the phase of fast sleep, when the brain work is activated, “- commented Olga Yakob.

How to catch the onset of a fast phase of sleep? This will help you either special applications for mobile phones, or trackers that are put on hand, and will wake you at the right time and at the right time in your sleep. The accuracy of such devices is usually much higher, because they judge the onset of a fast phase, based on your physiological indicators, rather than on the movements of the bed, as the applications do.

You can also try to change the time of your awakening by 15-20 minutes in a larger or smaller direction. If after awakening you feel yourself asleep and rested, it means that you have woken up to the necessary phase of sleep and will know approximately how much you need to sleep.

– A smart alarm clock.  Gadget with the imitation of the dawn will help wake up more smoothly and without unnecessary stress. Getting on the closed eyes, the light rays gradually remove the organism from the phase of slow sleep into the fast one.

– The right drinks. An ordinary glass of water or green tea in the morning can be much more effective than a cup of coffee. Theoretically, coffee, too, will help cheer up, but not always. “If you are a” caffeine, “the sensitivity to caffeine decreases over time, after about 3 weeks of regular use,” says Olga Yakob. – Therefore, coffee as a stimulant may not always work. But the effect of such herbal preparations as ginseng, eleutherococcus or Chinese magnolia vine is like caffeine. ”