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Does hitting the snooze button really help you feel better?
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Why we hit the snooze button
It's important to understand why we are using the snooze button in the first place.
For some, it's a habit that started early on. But for many, it can signal a significant problem with sle...
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What normal sleep looks like
Our natural body clock regulates functions through what's known as circadian rhythms: physical, mental and behavioral changes that follow a daily cycle.
Most adults require approximately 7...
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What affects sleep cycles
- If a person is not breathing well during sleep (snoring or sleep apnea), this will disturb the normal sequences and cause the individual to awaken feeling unrestored.
- Sleep qual...
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Don't snooze your alarm
It's probably best to set your alarm for a specific time and get up then.
Delaying getting out of bed for nine minutes by hitting the snooze is simply not going to give us any more res...
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SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
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Our sleep-wake pattern
Our molecular clock inside our cells aims to keep us in sync with the sun.
When we disregard this circadian rhythm, we are at a greater risk for illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, and dementia.
The lifestyle imbalance
Thomas Edison said that sleep is "a bad habit." Like Edison, we seem to think of sleep as an adversary and try to fight it at every turn. The average American sleeps less than the recommended seven hours per night, mostly due to electric lights, television, computers, and smartphones.
However, we are ignoring the intricate journey we're designed to take when we sleep.
Stage One Sleep
When we fall asleep, the nearly 86 billion neurons in our brain starts to fire evenly and rhythmically. Our sensory receptors become muffled at the same time.
The first stage of shallow sleep lasts for about 5 minutes.
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How alcohol affects sleep
A lot of the symptoms associated with a hangover are a product of sleep deprivation.
Alcohol affects our ability to get into what is known as rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the bulk of which occurs in the last two-thirds of the night. As a rule of thumb, it takes about an hour to metabolize one unit of alcohol, so if you have a 250ml glass of wine at 7 pm it will mostly be out of your system by 10.30pm.
Eating before bed
It is important to leave at least a couple of hours between eating and sleeping.
There is a whole raft of so-called sleepy foods – anything containing tryptophan, serotonin, melatonin, magnesium, calcium, potassium – often eaten in the hope they will aid sleep.
If you do want to eat these foods, do it because it’s a nice ritual, not because you need it to sleep.
A cure for sleepwalking
There isn’t a cure.
People who sleepwalk usually are advised to keep their room safe by locking windows and doors, and to maintain what’s called good sleep hygiene: keep to a regular sleep routine, turn mobile phones off, avoid stimulants, and so on. Sleepwalking can often occur as a result of poor or disrupted sleep.
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Eat Meals Earlier
Don't eat any heavy foods within two hours of bed time.
If you get too hungry as bedtime creeps around, there are a few foods that are okay to eat before bed, and can even help you sleep—like bananas, oatmeal, and whole wheat bread, to name a few.
Do Something After You Eat
After you eat, get up and do something a bit more active—even if it's just washing dishes or taking out the trash. It'll avoid that post-meal drowsiness, and it's a great time to have a 10-minute cleaning burst to keep your house looking nice.
Avoid Napping
Napping can make it more difficult to fall asleep at night:
If, after you've thoroughly tested your evening routine and gotten better sleep, you still feel drowsy, you can try adding a power nap to your day, preferably during the early afternoon.