Facts and advice on sleep
Almost everyone sleeps badly at some point. It can leave you feeling tired and less creative the next day, but you can usually get on with your day. One or two sleepless nights are no big deal.
Sleep problems
Most people have experienced a sleepless night at some point, but the body is designed to automatically make up for lack of sleep the following night by regulating deep sleep. If you are constantly awake, it becomes more difficult to make up for the lack of sleep, which makes it harder to fall asleep and also reduces the quality of sleep once you have fallen asleep.
Most often, sleep problems are caused by stress, thoughts and worries. Other causes of poor sleep can be alcohol, nicotine and caffeine. Severe and prolonged sleep problems often lead to a poorer quality of life.
Research shows that sleep problems can increase the risk of depression, cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure.
Sleep problems are usually considered long-term if they last for at least two weeks and occur at least every other night.
Sleep problems may be that you're:
- having difficulty falling asleep, taking more than 45 minutes to fall asleep
- waking up at least three times a night and having difficulty falling asleep again.
- regularly waking up too early in the morning
Persistent sleep problems should be taken seriously, and if you can't resolve the problem yourself, it's a good idea to seek help.
Facts about sleep
Sleep is necessary for the body and brain to rest, recover and process impressions. During sleep, the body unwinds, blood pressure drops, heart rate and body temperature go down, breathing becomes less frequent and muscles relax.
Some parts of the brain become less active, while memories are stored and new knowledge and impressions are processed. Sleep also activates the body's immune system, producing important hormones and reducing the production of stress hormones.
An adult needs between 6-8 hours of sleep per night. This is individual and is also influenced by external factors. The need for sleep increases when you are ill, stressed or exercising a lot. Then you need more sleep to recover.
Tips for people who have trouble sleeping
No naps
If you have trouble sleeping at night, it may be wise to avoid taking long naps or sleeping in the middle of the day.
Avoid caffeine and nicotine
Caffeine (found in coca-cola, energy drinks, coffee, tea, etc.) and nicotine (snuff and cigarettes) have a stimulating effect. Avoid these 4-8 hours before going to bed.
Alcohol and other drugs
Alcohol can have a temporary relaxing effect, but in the long run it can worsen sleep problems by reducing the quality of sleep.
Winding down
Before going to bed, you can do relaxing things, such as turning off the lights in your apartment, doing mindfulness exercises, reading a book or taking a bath.
Turn off cell phones and tablets
Research shows that noise and light from mobiles and tablets interfere with falling asleep and the quality of sleep.
Quiet, dark and cool
A quiet, dark and cool bedroom makes it easier to fall asleep. 16 degrees is the optimum temperature for breathing air for a good night's sleep.
Don't stare at the clock
If you can't sleep, constantly looking at the clock can be stressful. Try not to get too excited, a night of little sleep is not the end of the world.
Get up if you can't fall asleep
Accept the fact that you cannot fall asleep or that you will get little sleep tonight. By accepting this fact, you remove the catch 22 stress - getting stressed about not being able to fall asleep and not being able to fall asleep because you are stressed.
Sleep diary
A sleep diary can help you analyse what might be causing your sleep problems. Fill in a sleep diary for a couple of weeks and then analyse your entries and see if you can find any patterns. Questions you can answer are:
- When did you go to bed?
- When did you switch off to go to sleep?
- How long did it take you to fall asleep?
- Did you wake up slightly during the night?
- When did you wake up in the morning?
- When did you get up?
- How long have you been sleeping?
- How long did you stay in bed?
- How well have you slept from 1-5? 1 = very bad 5 = very good
- Is there anything that you think has particularly affected your sleep, such as caffeine, napping, worrying etc.?
Links
- Movie with tips for people who have trouble sleeping External link, opens in new window.
Sleep is important for learning new things. - Movie about sleep External link, opens in new window.
In Swedish - Sleep test External link, opens in new window.
The test is only available in Swedish.
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