Before going to bed, it is better to give up gadgets, smoking, and alcohol, as this can lead to agitation, which will affect the quality of sleep. To fall asleep better, you should choose at least one or two actions that will not excite, but rather relax: a shower, music, breathing exercises, soothing tea. This was stated by somnologist Daria Pylypenko in a commentary to UNN.
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According to Pylypenko, the theory that you need to put away gadgets for at least 60 minutes is absolutely true, which is substantiated by neuroscience, because the brain reacts to light through the optic nerves.
Plus, when we click or do something, it's a nervous load and tension, because you have to, first of all, process the information, perceive it, decide where to click, what to click on, to scroll through the feed and analyze, think about what we saw. We can get excited, and this is again a process of arousal, which is the opposite of falling asleep, because falling asleep is about total relaxation. Therefore, we can help ourselves, if it is simple, by choosing at least one or two actions that do not excite us, but relax us. At least just remove what really excites us, and at least add something to relax us. For some people it can be a shower, for others it can be music, for others it can be just lying down
According to her, it is necessary to give the brain a support, i.e. a certain action, after which sleep will follow, and this should be repeated so that it becomes a habit with a conditioned reflex.
"So that every day there is some kind of action followed by sleep. So that it is not chaos, because sleep does not like chaos, because our brain is a very associative device and it builds such chains of understanding. Like, what do I need to do to fall asleep. If every day is something different, then the learning algorithms are simply thrown off. That's why it's very important now, especially during the war, to develop a small ritual, the same actions. They can be absolutely simple: some people write down their worrying thoughts, some listen to music, some breathe, others just chat over a cup of chamomile tea. Anything you like," added Pylypenko.
She also said that it is better not to smoke before going to bed.
"If there are any complaints about sleep or the inability to relax, then smoking should be removed, because smoking is a psychostimulant, just like coffee. Those who smoke often have an altered sleep architecture. They toss and turn in their sleep, which is a very active behavior," the somnologist added.
She also said that alcohol in small doses is a sedative.
"What is a small dose? It's about 30 ml of alcohol, i.e. 150 grams of wine, 30 ml of vodka. If it's one serving once a week, then it may be acceptable, but if it appears as a way to fall asleep, then you need to look for the reason. The problem is not that a person drinks, the problem is what he or she wants to achieve with it. We need to look for the root. Alcohol in small doses can be relaxing and calming. However, there is a problem that not everyone knows the norm, and then ethanol breaks down into ethanal, a harmful compound that is toxic and then causes a hangover. In addition, alcohol changes the architecture of sleep, and those who drink alcohol on a regular basis have a reduced duration of deep sleep, which is precisely responsible for the hormones that are produced in the deep phase of sleep. That is, the architecture changes completely, and that's why they go through these deep stages for literally the first two hours, and then they start to spin. It's like an alcoholic's deep sleep, but not a long one," said Pylypenko.
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