WELLNESS Sleep well, wake up better
SLEEP 10 tips to get up better
47% of people say they are exhausted.
More than half (55%) experience stress on a daily basis.
And
41% acknowledge difficulties sleeping
, according to a recent study by the Spanish firm Be Levels, based on a sample of 2,300 respondents.
Why is it such a widespread fact and what can we do so that the sheets do not stick to us?
Sleep is fundamental in
the
human being.
In the same way that we eat to nourish ourselves and be able to live, while we sleep our memory is consolidated, our muscles recover and the skin regenerates.
Hence, the lack of rest can lead to
pathologies that affect our health, preventing us from
enjoying life to the fullest.
"
Rest does not depend on the number of hours
we sleep," demystifies Dr. Jesús Porta-Etessam, a graduate in medicine and surgery from the Complutense University of Madrid and
Head of the Neurology Section at the San Carlos Clinical Hospital in Madrid,
in the hospitalization unit, headaches and neurooto-ophthalmology.
This doctor specialized in the Sleep Unit explains that when we enter a
REM phase
, precisely when we dream, the brain and the body are energized.
And, on the other hand, the glymphatic system cleans up all the damage that is in the brain.
"Therefore,
it is not true that we have to sleep between seven and nine hours
, but it will depend on the need of the person and the quality of sleep while these two phenomena that occur during sleep develop," he clarifies.
THE MYTH OF SLEEPING 8 HOURS
Sleeping between seven and eight hours is not synonymous with resting.
The quality of sleep influences more than its duration.Gtres
Not in vain, there are people who
sleep four hours are rested and others who with eight or more do not
.
"There are no fixed or established hours that can be advised to everyone. In addition, they vary throughout life, and we sleep less as we age," she describes.
The natural evolution that has been experienced from the sleep of the baby, to that of the adolescent, through adult sleep and then that of the elderly is that, as we get older,
our circadian rhythm advances
and we feel sleepy earlier and that makes us tend to also to get up earlier, says Dr. Porta-Etessam.
Another frequent mistake is to think that all our sleep hours are really effective.
"
That we sleep eight hours does not mean that we are resting at eight
. In Neurology, when a patient comes to our consultation, the first thing we need to know is if that person is really sleepy during the day or not, because if the patient sleeps a lot but you feel drowsy or tired during your day, it means that sleep is not being as good or restorative as it could be".
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE REST
There are many situations that determine the quality of sleep, says the doctor.
"There are people who have
spasms at night
, for example, which are small muscle movements that wake them up. They are called myoclonus, and they are
involuntary, sudden movements at times,
such as when we feel like we are falling and wake up. Others they lack oxygen because they have apneas that cause microarousals. They can be physiological or arise from diseases, such as epilepsy. The heat also influences that sleep is not effective, "he exemplifies.
But basically, the doctor argues, there are two main causes.
Physiological question
: how many hours of sleep do I need as a person and how many do I really have.
Pathological issues:
everything that happens to me in bed, that I can't control and influences the quality of my rest, regardless of sleeping my eight hours.
In summer,
the light is later, people go to bed later
and the atmosphere invites a greater consumption of alcohol or copious meals on vacation with family and friends.
Hence, the doctor expresses that in summer, in general, rest worse.
"Especially this year, in heat waves, it is not that we have more inquiries, but it is a more frequent problem than in other times of the year."
Women
who have just given birth
are also more alert, indicates the neurologist, and wake up to any stimulus, as if it were the cry of their child.
"It is probably a cultural fact because we have imposed this situation that, if it were fair, maybe it would also happen to men," he says.
There are higher or lower thresholds to light and noise that are also disturbing.
"For example, someone who sleeps alone and in silence usually wakes up to any noise alert, while those who live with more people get used to the noise. Similarly,
people with anxiety or depression rest worse
and have many awakenings throughout the night, what we call, fractional sleep".
NAP: YES OR NO?
There are mixed opinions about whether or not a nap is appropriate and for how long.
There are studies that indicate that it could be beneficial and other more recent ones, however, counterproductive because they associate it with the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
"Everything must be analyzed carefully, but
if it is done it should be short, half an hour at most
," advises the doctor.
Long naps change sleep cycles, he insists, and can make it difficult to sleep at night, which is the truly important and restorative one.
"The siesta is less and less fashionable."
TIPS FOR A BETTER REST
It is advisable to avoid the use of screens just before sleeping, as light stimulates us.Gtres
Control the use of screens
before going to sleep.
"If we like to read in bed, let's try not to do it on backlit screens, lowering the contrast of the screen to the maximum to avoid photostimulation", recommends the doctor.
Have
regular sleep schedules.
"That is, try to go to sleep around the same time, and not at a different time every day."
Do not eat very copious meals
just before going to sleep.
"It happens, especially in summer, that suddenly one goes out and eats a lot and very late. We should separate the meal from the time of sleep and not as it happens in Spain, that we have dinner at half past ten at night and we go immediately to sleep. Bringing dinner forward improves rest".
Do
moderate physical exercise
.
"It can be good for us to sleep better, as well as being a very important habit. A few hours before going to sleep, in the afternoon, it is good to practice sports to rest well."
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