As science advances on issues related to mental health, it is becoming clear that the importance of having a restful sleep is crucial.
It is not just a matter of not feeling bad in the mornings and performing better when working or studying; Furthermore, something as simple as not sleeping well for several months increases the chances of developing a wide variety of psychological disorders, and even some diseases that go beyond the functioning of the nervous system and affect other parts of the body.
That is why It is essential to adopt certain simple habits that allow us to sleep better and make the most of the hours spent resting. Even if you have trouble falling asleep.
If we dedicate a good part of the hours of the day to sleeping, it is not by chance. In nature it has been seen that practically all vertebrate animals need to sleep with a periodicity similar to that of humans; Even species that, due to their biological characteristics, do not rest like us, enter a state of drowsiness, in some cases causing the two halves of the brain to take turns sleeping (as happens, for example, with dolphins).
This is due to something relatively simple: With complex nervous systems, it is necessary to have a self-maintenance system that is up to the task This is why our bodies have evolved to be active during certain hours of the day, and inactive during the rest of the time. And the best way to take advantage of that stage in which it does not make sense to go out to look for resources or to create links with others is to make the nervous system recharge its energy and reorganize its functioning.
In fact, it is believed that one of the reasons why we need sleep is not only to prepare our networks of interconnected nerve cells so that they can face a new day, but also that the sleep stage allows us to consolidate our long-term memory. useful content that we have learned during the previous hours, whether consciously or unconsciously.
This fits with what we know from neuroscience research: When sleeping, our nervous system not only does not turn off, but we can hardly say that it is much less active than when we are awake. At these moments, millions of neurons begin to launch electrical signals in a coordinated manner with each other, and patterns of nervous activation are generated that give name to the different stages of sleep: the REM stage and the non-REM stage, which in turn is divided in other phases. The human brain is made to take advantage of these hours to go through these phases and let the neuronal interconnections readjust themselves, looking for the best possible configuration to wake up with charged batteries and a clear mind.
Keys to sleeping better and restfully
Now that we have seen to what extent the hours dedicated to sleep are far from being wasted time, let’s look at several tips to get better sleep. To do this you will have to start integrating these habits into your daily routine, and although at first it will require a certain level of commitment, if you do it well it is very possible that after several months they will come automatically, without any problems. need for premeditation to come into play.
We should not underestimate the psychoactive power of caffeine: introducing this substance into our system will have effects even if we are not immediately aware of it. That’s why, It is best that you maintain a certain discipline in consuming caffeinated drinks doing everything possible to make it inconceivable for you to take it in the second half of the day.
2. Practice Mindfulness
In many studies, Mindfulness has been shown to be effective in managing certain experiences linked to anxiety and even pain. Therefore, if you notice that there is something that worries you and that you are turning over in your head, or if you have a health problem that causes you a certain discomfort, you can try these kinds of practices inspired by meditation. Yes indeed, It is advisable to receive training from a psychology professional, so that it teaches you the fundamentals and from there you can apply them in your daily life. Psychologists can help a lot in this regard.
3. Respect your resting place
Not all the keys to sleeping better involve controlling what happens inside our bodies: the environment also has a big influence. Take the time to see which elements of the room you sleep in work and which don’t in allowing you to enjoy good quality sleep. Sometimes the ultimate solution is something as simple as stopping and realizing that you need to expose yourself to less streetlight coming through the window, or buy a more comfortable mattress.
Also, if you notice that you are having trouble falling asleep, try not staying in bed for several hours to do activities that have nothing to do with rest, such as eating or using a laptop. Thus you will associate that place with what you see and feel every time you are about to start sleeping
If you have the habit of going to the gym, going for a run or playing any type of sport, be careful not to do it during the hours before going to bed. If you don’t follow this guideline, you’ll probably end up “tricking” your body into believing that dinnertime is still a time when the environment can present challenges that require physical effort.
As a result of this, when the time of night comes when we try to go to sleep, the state of activation of our nervous system and our endocrine (hormonal) system simply will not let us and we won’t be sleepy until much later.
5. Keep a good work schedule
In the same way that it is important to be careful about when you exercise, you also have to keep some control over your work hours. This is so for two reasons. On the one hand, working activates us mentally, even when what we do in our profession is fundamentally intellectual work. It is true that writing a report shortly before going to bed does not have the same impact on our quality of sleep as spending that time going for a run, but despite that, it will probably make it a little more difficult for us to start. sleep at the right time, because our brain will be more “on”.
On the other hand, if we let work gradually enter the schedule of what should be our free time, it will be easier for chores to accumulate as the days go by (due to a domino effect) and for the Being forced to go to sleep late is becoming the norm, and not the exception.
