In order to survive the hot summer in good health, it is important to get a good night’s sleep and get rid of the fatigue of the mind and body during the day. Let’s devise lifestyle habits and sleep environment to sleep well even on tropical nights. Here are some simple tips that you can start using today.
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“Sleep” is important to survive the hot summer
It is necessary to get good quality sleep in the hot and uncomfortable summer. Here are some ideas for improving your sleep that you can start doing today.
To get a good night’s sleep on tropical nights: What to do and what to avoid in the evening
First of all, let’s try from what we can do■ Do not take a nap or fall asleep after 3:00
pm If you take a nap, keep it between noon and 3:00 pm for 20 to 30 minutes. Anything later than that will have a negative impact on your sleep at night. Also, if you sleep for more than 30 minutes, your sleep will be deep, so it will take time for your brain to return to normal after waking up.
■ Do not expose yourself to strong light in the evening
Light has the strongest effect of controlling the body clock. You need strong light during the day when you are active, but gradually darken the environment in the evening when you are preparing for sleep. If you are exposed to strong light at a convenience store or drugstore late at night, your alertness will increase and you will have trouble falling asleep. Be especially careful with blue light.
■ Do light exercise in the evening
Body temperature has a rhythm that is low from midnight to early morning and high from late afternoon to evening. If this rhythm is clear and sharp, you can sleep soundly. If you don’t have a habit of exercising, start with light exercise such as walking.
■ Finish dinner at least 3 hours before bedtime
The stomach has a second biological clock. It’s called a “belly clock”. I can’t sleep well while my stomach is working for digestion. Meat and fatty foods take a long time to digest, so we recommend a Japanese meal with carbohydrates for dinner. Evening meals are more efficient at absorbing nutrients, so keep them light to avoid gaining weight.
■ Drink up to 1 go of Japanese sake, 1 medium bottle of beer, and 2 glasses of wine
Alcohol has a hypnotic effect by paralyzing the wakefulness center of the brain. A small amount of alcohol will help you fall asleep faster and sleep more deeply, but it will also make it easier to wake up in the middle.
■ Caffeine by 4 hours before going to sleep Caffeine, which has
a stimulating effect, remains in the body for 1-2 hours for young people and 4-5 hours or more for elderly people. If you are sensitive to caffeine, switch to caffeine-free barley tea or herbal tea after dinner. Be aware that chocolate, cocoa, and some energy drinks also contain caffeine.
Read Also: Sleep techniques during a disaster
To get a good night’s sleep on tropical nights… How to spend the night that leads to a good night’s sleep
Aroma has a direct effect on the brain and makes you relax.■ Stop smoking one hour before going to bed
Nicotine stimulates the sympathetic nerves, promotes the secretion of adrenaline, and excites the body and mind. The stimulant effect of nicotine is stronger than the relaxing effect of smoking cigarettes.
■ Take a bath 1 to 2 hours before bedtime
After your body temperature rises, you will feel sleepy when your body cools down. Soak in lukewarm water at 38-40°C for 20-30 minutes before you plan to go to bed. When you take a bath, you can expect a relaxing effect.
■ Take time to relax 1-2 hours before
bed Many of the causes of insomnia are due to stress. The stress that accumulated during the day should be eliminated before going to sleep. Encourage hobbies that you really enjoy, light reading, or listening to quiet music. No matter how much you like it, don’t get excited about it, or do something that you can’t finish even when it’s time to fall asleep.
■ Don’t look at the display one hour before going to sleep When you look at a
TV or computer screen, the flickering light will wake you up. It is caused by suppressing the secretion of melatonin, which is called the sleep hormone.
■ Don’t text on your mobile phone one hour before bed It’s not
just the big screen. A British study found that checking emails before going to bed was as effective as two cups of espresso for insomnia. It has also been pointed out that electromagnetic waves may be related to sleep disorders.
■ Make the bedroom room temperature 25-28 degrees and humidity 50-60%
In order to comfortably survive the hot and humid summer nights in Japan, use air conditioners and fans wisely. In particular, maintaining an ideal environment for the first three hours after you fall asleep will help you get a good quality sleep.
■ Go to bed after you feel sleepy
One of the non-medicated treatments for insomnia is the “stimulus control method”. Here are the basic rules for doing this therapy. It’s a waste of time to lie around in bed when you’re not sleepy! On top of that, if you can’t fall asleep even after getting into the futon, that itself becomes stressful and can cause insomnia. ■ This is the second rule of “stimulation control therapy”
that does not use the bed for anything other than sleep and sex .
This is for imprinting a conditioned reflex that associates bed with sleep and sleeps when in bed. Do not read, watch TV, or eat sweets in bed at any time of the day or night.
■ Before you go to sleep, think strongly about the time you will wake up the next morning
. If you have fun plans, you will wake up naturally even early in the morning. Waking up when you want to wake up is called “self-awakening”. This is a skill that one in three people can acquire with practice. First of all, when you go to sleep, be very conscious of the time you wake up. Reward yourself when you do well, and your accuracy will improve.
■ If you don’t fall asleep for 30 minutes after going to
bed, get up and go to another room. If you don’t have a sleep disorder, you’ll fall asleep within 15 minutes. Then, when you feel sleepy again, go to bed.
Next, I will introduce morning habits and tips on how to spend the day for a good night’s sleep.
To get a good night’s sleep on tropical nights… Start preparing for a good night’s sleep in the morning!
Eating a good breakfast increases the secretion of the happy hormone serotonin.■ On weekdays, waking up at a certain time If
sleep and wakefulness are repeated in a regular rhythm, the condition of the internal clock will improve and you will be able to spend a healthy life every day. Pay attention not only to how long you sleep, but also to the rhythm of your life.
■Waking up within 2 hours on weekdays, even on weekends In
order to make up for the lack of sleep on weekdays, it was beneficial to sleep longer on weekends. But too much sleep is not good. It feels good to sleep lazily, but it’s actually not good for sleep efficiency.
■When you wake up, move your body lightly in the futon
People with low blood pressure or low body temperature don’t like mornings. When you first wake up, do light exercise such as stretching or isometrics in your futon to raise your blood pressure and body temperature. For people with low blood sugar, it may be a good idea to put an “omeza” at your bedside.
■As soon as you get out of the futon, you should be exposed to sunlight.
One cycle of the human body clock is about 25 hours, which is slightly different from the 24-hour daily cycle of the earth. Therefore, when the body clock senses the morning light, it resets the clock and a new day begins. Even if you don’t have to go outside, just go near a window to get plenty of light.
■After waking up, take a hot shower
Hot water stimulates the sympathetic nerves and prepares the body and mind for activity. Taking a shower in the morning makes you feel more refreshed and less fatigued, so you will feel the effects of waking up immediately. There are also reports of increased motivation and focus. Of course, if you have time, you can also take a bath.
■ Always have breakfast
After a long fast, food in your stomach also wakes up a second body clock in your stomach. Also, although glucose is the only source of nutrition for the brain, the amount of glucose in the blood (blood sugar level) is at its lowest before breakfast. Let’s have a good breakfast and start a fulfilling day.
■Know how much sleep you need and how often you sleep.
Various statistics show that people who sleep an average of 7-8 hours a night are most likely to lead the healthiest lives. But sleep is very individual. Some people need 6 hours of sleep and feel great, while others need 10 hours of sleep to feel sick. The most important thing is to know what sleep times and sleep cycles work best for you and live accordingly.
To get a good night’s sleep on tropical nights… Know that the quality of sleep depends on the amount of activity during the day
Use pillows for naps
■ Walk 10,000 steps a day
One of the purposes of sleep is to restore fatigue in the mind and body. That means you don’t have to sleep unless you’re very tired. If you don’t get enough exercise, start with walking.
■ Hang the futon out
Dirty futon can be the cause of poor sleep and lack of sound sleep. A damp futon is full of mites and mold! If possible, let’s dry not only the comforter but also the mattress once a week. Also, don’t forget to open the window and ventilate the room every morning.
■ Take a nap within 20-30 minutes by 3:00 pm Some say that a 10-minute nap is equivalent to 1 hour of sleep at night. However, taking a deep nap during the day can have a negative impact on your nighttime sleep. Take a short nap in the early afternoon. It’s also a good idea to prepare a pillow for naps so you don’t hurt your neck or leave marks on your face.
■ Sip caffeine before a nap Her caffeine’s stimulating effects take place 30 minutes after it has been absorbed by the body. Therefore, it is recommended to have caffeine before going to sleep to wake up refreshed from a nap. The feeling of drowsiness after waking up is also solved with this. Here are a total of 27 ideas for a good night’s sleep that you can keep up with even when you’re busy. Start with what you want to try, and it will surely work.