Advice for good sleep

The basic and most important way of regeneration, without which the human body cannot function naturally is sleep. During sleep, in which we should ideally spend almost one third of our life, the body gathers strength for the next day. Individual organs have time to rest and relax during sleep and muscles and joints get some release.

The ability to experience a good night's sleep does not simply happen on its own, we need to take care of its quality. Nowadays, our attitude towards sleep is that it has to wait. Why? Because we have to catch up with so much or experience more interesting things... However, not allowing ourselves sufficient sleep dulls the brain and ruins the joy of life.

According to experts, almost 40% of the population suffer from sleep disorders. Some of these are caused merely by the fact that we are not willing to care sufficiently for our sleep. However, it is only necessary to have the willingness and to make time for sleep so that it can bring us the necessary refreshment and energy.

Quality sleep as well as the suitable environment which make it possible, is the basis of a healthy lifestyle. How we sleep is governed by two factors: proper bedroom equipment and sleep hygiene.

Advice for a good night's sleep:

Ventilate and avoid overheating your bedroom

Maintaining a correct room temperature where you sleep is very important. Do not overheat the bedroom and allow fresh cold air to enter in the evening.

The bedroom is not a workroom

Use your bedroom primarily for relaxation and sleep. If this is not possible, at least devote your bed to these activities and do not work in it.

Regularity above all else

This does not mean simply that we go to bed on a daily basis! It is good to follow a regular rhythm of going to bed and getting up. If we sometimes go to bed later, it is still good to get up at the usual hour so as not to disturb the sleep routine.

Sleep in darkness

A flashing digital alarm clock or street light in front of your bedroom window are guaranteed disrupters of your sleep. Do not give any opportunity to lights from the outside by using curtains or blinds

Make yourself comfortable

Do not underestimate the value of a quality bed, bedframe and mattress. Maybe also your comforter is too heavy or your pillow too high. Give yourself sleep that will be suitable for your back and entire body.

Skip bad habits and relax before sleeping

Are you accustomed to a night time coffee, cigarette or glass of wine? Your problems with falling asleep can stem from this area too. Caffeine and nicotine are stimulators which excite the body. Therefore skip bad habits a few hours before going to bed. Play nice music, stretch, think and speak about pleasant things

Eat a light dinner

Eat your last food about two hours before bedtime. Do not overdo it with the portion size and do not eat heavy, fried, fatty or spicy food for a few hours before sleeping.

Do not toss and turn in bed

If you are lying in bed longer than half an hour and you cannot fall asleep, do not toss and turn around. It is better to get up and distract yourself with a non-demanding activity. Or keep a relaxing book on your bedside table. Anything that starts to make you pleasantly tired is what counts.

Warm up in the morning

Maybe you have other concerns in the morning than to open the window and start exercising and instead try to catch up on the lack of movement in the evening. However, this sends the wrong signal to your body. A pounding heart and overly oxygenated blood can lead to problems falling asleep. Move more demanding exercise to the morning or afternoon and instead try walking in the evening to calm down.

Be careful with medications

Do not abuse sleeping pills - these should only be used to help in cases of emergency.

And do you also know:

• scientists have proven that sleep is necessary for storing information and remembering learned facts
• sleep has a big influence on metabolism. People who sleep well do not usually have problems with being overweight, high cholesterol levels, blood pressure or diabetes
• experts also found that duration of sleep is very important for health. They say, people who sleep less than seven hours per night are more likely to catch colds
• poor sleep may be one of the symptoms of depression

Expert advice:

"Good sleep on a quality bed is of crucial importance for the regeneration of physical and mental strength. Plutarch stated that rest is the spice of work. Since we spend about 1/3 of our life sleeping, saving money on buying a bed should not even be an issue. A high quality bed with a modern bedframe and mattress needs to be constructed individually then tailored to each person taking into account age, sex, height and body weight."

MD. Ivan Müller, CSc. Associate Professor in Masaryk University Medical faculty and Orthopedic clinic of Faculty Hospital Brno, Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon  in Functional Diagnostics for Rehabilitation Clinic in Faculty Hospital St. Anna, Brno.