The recommended amount of sleep varies depending on your age. People who exercise tend to need more sleep than others.
The following tips are not meant to be followed to the letter. You may already be practicing many of these tips, or you may even be doing the opposite with great success.
If you have sleep problems, try to identify which tips you can implement and see if they help.
These tips were previously recommended by the National Sleep Foundation, a US association of sleep experts, and have been slightly modified.
Tips related to conditioning
Tip #1: Have a regular bedtime routine
Establish a ritual: Pavlovian conditioning
Pavlov is known for the experiments he conducted, particularly on his dog. In one experiment, he gave his dog a steak and rang a bell at the same time. By repeating the association between these two elements, ringing a bell became enough to make his dog salivate. When a stimulus (the bell) triggers a physiological reaction (salivation) because it has been associated with another stimulus (the steak), this is called conditioning.
The idea is to associate a ritual with sleep repeatedly so that the ritual alone is enough to trigger the physiological reaction that leads to sleep. This way, it may become easier and faster to fall asleep, and the quality of sleep may improve. It may take some time to achieve conditioning.
Tip #2: The 15-minute rule
Don't stay awake in bed for too long
When you wake up in bed, it is advisable to get up and resume either specific tasks or your usual ritual if you have been awake for more than 15 minutes without falling back asleep. The idea is the same as before: if you do tasks associated with being awake (watching videos, looking at your smartphone, thinking about things, etc.) while staying in bed, an association may develop between the physiology of being awake and the bed, and you probably don't want your bed to trigger these tasks.
Tip #3: Use your bedroom only for sleeping
Your bedroom will probably be more conducive to sleep if it remains a room for sleeping.
It's the same idea as the previous tip: if you do tasks related to waking up in bed, an association could be created between these two elements, and you may not want to stay awake in bed.
Environmental tip
Tip #4: Create a sleep-friendly bedroom
Keep your bedroom dark, cool (66°F), and quiet
Choose an environment that promotes the best sleep for you. Obviously, this will vary from person to person, such as temperature. It is usually optimal at 66°F, but some people prefer it higher.
You probably know better than anyone else what helps you feel comfortable, whether it's the soft scent of lavender or the feel of satin sheets on your skin. It's up to you to decide.
Advice related to substance use
Tip #5: Avoid caffeine 6 hours before going to bed
Remember to take into account all caffeine consumption, including tea, soda, and energy drinks.
Tip #6: Avoid tobacco and alcohol 3 to 6 hours before going to bed
These substances appear to alter sleep quality. This may seem counterintuitive, as alcohol can help you fall asleep, but the quality of sleep is poorer and you may even wake up during the night.
In fact, if you could avoid smoking altogether, this would probably help you sleep better. Finding it difficult to quit? Nicotine replacement therapy seems to be effective and may be reimbursed with a prescription.
Behavioral tips
Tip #7: Avoid screens 1 hour before going to bed
You may have heard that the blue light from screens delays sleep. Well, it could be even worse for the yellow light they emit. Blue light filters and apps are therefore probably not the sleep saviors we all hoped they would be.
Tip #8: Get some exercise
What a surprise! Physical activity is good for sleep, as well as preventing 27 chronic diseases. We should be recommending it to everyone.
Choose an activity that gets you slightly out of breath several times a week for the best results.
Tip #9: Go to the bathroom before going to bed, don't go to bed hungry
It is advisable to go to the bathroom before going to bed and not to go to bed hungry. However, don't eat too much before going to bed either. Once again, the answer lies somewhere in the middle.
Tip #10: Take naps wisely
There's nothing worse than waking up after a nap and feeling exhausted for the rest of the day. If you want to take a short nap, 20 minutes should be the optimal length. But if you need more sleep, it's better to go all out and get at least one or more complete sleep cycles (a sleep cycle lasts approximately 1.5 hours).
At present, it is not known whether segmented sleep in the middle of the day has an impact on health.
Our ancestors, who lived in the wild, lived in a time when sleep was normally segmented to avoid predators. If we still share common sleep mechanisms with them, it is possible that getting the necessary 3 to 5 sleep cycles per day in several sessions, including sessions in the middle of the day, during “naps,” is perfectly acceptable. However, at this time, it is difficult to say, and it is therefore recommended that those who can do so simply sleep through the night.
Splitting sleep remains an option that can allow people with a delayed sleep cycle to regain a fully independent life.
SOURCES :
Les experts de la National Sleep Foundation.