In what position is it recommended to sleep? How to sleep and get enough sleep? What you need to consider to wake up refreshed

A person spends a third of his life in bed - that is why the choice correct posture for sleep is the key to success both for the health of the spine and for the health of the whole body. At the same time, the habit of falling asleep on the sofa to the monotonous noise of the TV and the inability to fall asleep in a normal position - key factor development of serious

In fact, sleeping in a “crooked” position, just like sleeping on a pillow that is too high or low, does not allow the spine to relax and take a neutral position - the result is both a feeling of “brokenness” in the morning and back pain. Besides, Scientific research show that sleeping on the left side is more correct than sleeping on the right.

Melatonin - why is it called the sleep hormone and how does it help fight insomnia? How to use ?

Which side is better to sleep on?

Sleeping on the left side is preferable (after sleeping on the back) because in this position gastric juice has a greater chance of remaining in the stomach and not entering the esophagus - whereas sleeping on the right side can provoke and intensify bad breath. This rule is of particular importance for people suffering from reflux disease and for pregnant women.

If you sleep after eating, you should sleep either on your back or on your left side. This will ensure a minimum level of additional compression on the stomach - which, again, is necessary for normal digestion and prevents heartburn. However, the position of the arms and legs also plays a role - it is not enough to simply lie on your left side and fall asleep.

How to sleep properly?

The most correct position of the arms when sleeping on the side is to extend them along the body. Placing your arms under a pillow (especially if it is a high pillow) can cause both neck pain and unpleasant feeling numbness. If you feel uncomfortable keeping your arms extended along your body, hug a second small pillow.

Moreover, the position of the legs during sleep directly affects the position of the spine - ideally, the hips should be located exactly one under the other. Otherwise, the spine becomes curved, creating areas of excessive compression and excessive stretching. A mattress that is too soft (or too hard) also affects the correct position of the spine.

The benefits of sleeping on your back

Despite the fact that sleeping on your back is the most beneficial for health (the spine stretches and relaxes, and the contents abdominal cavity does not squeeze), most people find it quite difficult to fall asleep in such a position. It also plays a role that sleeping on your back requires a special, lower pillow - just like a sufficiently firm mattress.

Using additional mini-pillows placed under your knees will make sleeping on your back much more comfortable and will also help to slightly lift your pelvis, straightening your spine. But, regardless of the number of additional pillows, sleeping comfortably on your back is a habit that can only be developed over time.

The importance of the right mattress

If you prefer to sleep on your side, you definitely need a good orthopedic mattress that absorbs the load and allows the spine to take a neutral position. Sleeping on a sagging mattress not only restores strength significantly worse, but also gradually “looses” the spine, leading to pain.

If you prefer to sleep on your back, then you will need a fairly firm mattress - or no mattress at all. Remember that only in Western world people prefer soft mattresses - in most Asian countries it is considered beneficial to sleep on a hard mattress or even on a regular mat. In this case, only a small cushion under the back of the head acts as a pillow.

What is the difference between belly breathing and? How to learn deep breathing technique and what is breathing meditation?

How to prepare your bedroom for bed

First, try to use your bedroom exclusively for sleeping. If possible, do not install a TV or desk in the bedroom. Note that modern doctors believe that the habit of lying in bed with a laptop before going to bed or the presence of a TV in the bedroom are the main causes of chronic insomnia.

Secondly, the air in the bedroom should be fresh and slightly cool, and the sleeping room itself should be dark and without sources of bright light. White light from fluorescent lamps (exactly like bluish light from the screen mobile phone, computer or TV) tells the body that it is the height of the day and not the time to rest.

How to treat insomnia?

If you constantly drink coffee during the day, and in the evening you “turn off” yourself with a powerful sleeping pill, then first you need to think about your habits. Remember that a safe daily dose is no more than 200 mg (which is equivalent to 3 espressos or 4-5 glasses of instant coffee). If this dose is exceeded, there is a high chance of insomnia and nervousness.

If you can't sleep well, try limiting your caffeine intake and avoiding using your cell phone, computer or TV at least an hour before bed - FitSeven has already mentioned that bright light disrupts the production of the sleep hormone melatonin, which simply does not allow the body to go to sleep normally.

***

Doctors categorically do not recommend sleeping on your stomach, as this causes the development of chronic pain in the neck, back and lower back. The most beneficial for restoring the body's strength is sleeping on your back with additional pillows under your knees, as well as sleeping on your left side with a small mini-pillow sandwiched between your legs.

Sleep is health and pleasure “in one bottle”, which costs nothing, but is highly valued. And this is exactly what most of us usually lack. How many times have we dreamily said: “When the weekend comes, I’ll finally get some sleep!” or “On vacation, all I’ll do is sleep.” As a rule, these plans are accompanied by lamentation that the time for the coveted rest is not yet close and memories of how kindergarten I didn’t feel like sleeping at all during the quiet hour, but now... But the fact is that it is impossible to get enough sleep or compensate for a long “lack of sleep” over time. The body needs strength, that is, rest, every day, and it does not agree to put it off for later. Otherwise, as you probably noticed, vitality gradually decreases, optimism fades, and with it labor zeal and other activity.

To prevent loss of strength, we need to learn to be content with the time of sleep that we can get regularly, and not just during certain periods of vacation and holidays. And this is possible if you learn to sleep correctly.

What's happened proper sleep? Sleep structure
They don’t teach you how to sleep properly either at school or in those very kindergartens where such an opportunity exists. But it wouldn’t hurt to explain from childhood how important good rest is for the human body, and to instill healthy sleep skills. Perhaps this would subsequently help adults work more productively, stay healthy and be generally more successful in life. Fortunately, understanding the importance of sleep has prompted scientists to create a special branch of knowledge - somnology - located at the intersection of medicine and psychology. Armed with the experience of neurobiology, somnologists have developed their own tools and methods for studying sleep - polysomnography. With its help, information is obtained about the patient’s sleep pattern: the number and duration of its phases. According to the theory of sleep, the phases replace each other sequentially:

• The first stage of sleep is literally the border between wakefulness and falling asleep, when the eyes are already closed, the body is relaxed, and thoughts flow sluggishly and are almost not fixed. It is during this short period that many people are visited by amazing ideas and insights, which are subsequently forgotten, but the sleeper, as a rule, no longer has the strength or desire to wake up and write them down. The first stage of sleep lasts from 5 to 10 minutes.
  
• The second stage of sleep - during it the muscles completely relax, breathing becomes even and slows down. heartbeat. Even the body temperature drops slightly. The second stage of sleep lasts on average about 20 minutes.
  
• The third stage of sleep is even deeper, the so-called “slow” sleep. This period takes up 40-50% of all sleep time. Daytime energy expenditure is replenished mainly at this stage of sleep.
  
• The fourth stage of sleep is the deepest and “darkest”. It is at this stage that a person dreams. During the fourth stage, it is most difficult to wake up the sleeper, but his subconscious manifests itself with might and main - talking in his sleep, childhood enuresis and nightmares, sleepwalking are recorded during the fourth stage of sleep. Almost nothing that happened and/or dreamed during the fourth stage of sleep, except for fragments of dreams with the most vivid emotional coloring, the person does not remember after waking up.
  

Waking up from sleep in one phase or another has different effects on the psyche and physical condition person. It is believed that this is what affects the quality of sleep more than its overall duration. Thus, someone who wakes up (or is woken up) during REM sleep will feel much more alert than someone who was raised out of bed when he was in one of the stages of slow-wave sleep. It is not so easy to apply this information in practice, but it is possible - if you focus on the fact that slow-wave sleep lasts on average about two hours (110-120 minutes), and fast sleep - 15-20 minutes. Next, you should compare this data with the time you have to sleep and, through arithmetic calculations, calculate what time to set the alarm so that it goes off when you are supposed to be in the REM stage of sleep. For convenience, some models of electronic alarm clocks and smartphone applications have a built-in “calculator” function.

Although one can, of course, only be guided by such calculations approximately. Even if, according to average figures, you go to bed at 10 pm and set your alarm for 5 am, this does not guarantee that you will get a good night's sleep. Not always a dream occurs in ideal conditions. For starters, you won't fall asleep at exactly 10:00 p.m. Then, depending on how tired you are, the duration of each sleep phase may vary by up to a few minutes. Finally, everyone’s body and life circumstances are different, and all this directly or indirectly affects the quality and required amount of sleep. What, besides structure, does the quality of sleep depend on? Somnologists tend to focus on the following factors:
Sleep rules to help you get enough sleep
If you believe somnologists, psychologists, therapists and simply people who care about their health, then in order to get enough sleep, you need to properly organize not only the sleep time itself, but also the place, conditions, and also preliminary preparations for rest. Are there too many conditions? Not at all, especially when you consider that the average earthling spends 20 out of 60 years sleeping. In addition, it is still unlikely to bring all circumstances into full compliance with ideal requirements. Therefore, we bring to your attention an exemplary diagram of how you need to sleep in order to get enough sleep, and to what extent you follow it is up to you:
As for sleeping pills, we have no right to dissuade you from taking them, because only a doctor can order such things. But remember that any psychotropic drugs- either medications, nutritional supplements or alcoholic drinks, have only a temporary effect, fraught with a “ricochet” effect. It’s easy to get used to their help, so much so that soon it will be impossible to do without it. Is it worth becoming dependent on medication if you can normalize your sleep? in a natural way? Moreover, this is one of the most natural, necessary and pleasant states. And in order to get enough sleep, it is enough to follow just a few easy, but effective rules. We wish you to master them perfectly, to see sweet peaceful dreams every night, and to wake up in the morning in good mood and with new strength!

Sleep is an integral process human life. It is necessary like oxygen for humans. During sleep, the body rests, gains strength and energy.

Therefore, to replenish vital energy a person needs to sleep at least 7–8 hours a day. This figure is not binding for everyone. For some people, 5 hours of sleep is enough, but for many, 9-10 is not enough.

Waking up in the morning, a person should feel rested, full of energy. But often this is not the case. We get up in the morning “broken”, without sleep.

This is all due to poor quality sleep, during which the body was unable to fully restore its strength. Therefore, you need to know where it is better to lie with your head and what position to take in your sleep in order to feel confident and good the next morning.

Key Aspects

The quality of sleep depends on many factors:

1. Surfaces.
2. Poses.
3. Emotional mood.
4. Physical fatigue.
5. The presence or absence of a pillow.
6. Health conditions.

When choosing a surface to rest on, pay attention to:

• Body support.
• Is the surface being pressed under the weight of the body?
• Rigidity.

There are only three sleeping positions:

1. On the stomach. The most favorite pose of the population. According to a survey, more than 80% of people rest in this position. This position is not recommended by doctors. It negatively affects work digestive tract, the load on cervical vertebrae and spine, neck joints suffer, suppressed rib cage. After sleeping in this position, fatigue, a feeling of lack of sleep, and pain in the back and neck appear.
2. On the back. This pose is recommended by therapists, orthopedists and cosmetologists. If you sleep on a low pillow, the pressure on the spine is reduced. The pose is very useful for the face, because the face breathes, there is no pressure or impact on it. Facial skin retains youth and elasticity for a long time.
3. On the side. Many women and men are used to sleeping this way. The pose relaxes the muscles. But not very good for the spine and neck.

Many people are interested in the question of which side is better to sleep on. Previously, there was a prejudice that resting on the left side was dangerous to health.

After all, the heart is located on the left side and while resting on the left side, the load on the heart increases significantly. But this is just a prejudice. None medical confirmation no to this.

Therefore, when choosing which side to sleep on, be guided by the nuances below:

• Sleeping on the left side is beneficial for people suffering from heartburn.
• Sleeping on the right side increases stomach acid production.

In this position, you should not put your arms under the pillow, but stretch them out. Outstretched arms do not become numb, and blood flow in the vessels is not disturbed.

Sleep depends on a person’s emotional state. It is not recommended to fall asleep with a “heavy” head. It’s better to think about good, pleasant things. This will ensure you have good dreams.

People most often sleep on a pillow. But you should choose the right pillow.

When choosing this attribute, pay attention to the following aspects:

• Price. A low price cannot guarantee the quality of the product.
• Compliance with orthopedic standards.
• When resting on your back, choose flat pillow models.
• When resting on your side, choose regular elongated pillows.

If you have diseases (osteoporosis, osteochondrosis, spinal problems), consult an orthopedist before choosing a pillow.

The absence of a pillow is fraught with the following consequences:

1. Stopping blood flow to the brain.
2. Slowing down chemical processes.
3. Development of related ailments.
4. Bend of the cervical arteries.
5. Impaired blood flow.
6. Cerebrovascular accident.
7. The occurrence of ischemic stroke.

Sleep for children and pregnant women

For every mother, her baby's sleep is very important.

• Newborn babies do not need a pillow. It provokes curvature of the baby’s spine and injures the cervical vertebrae. It is advisable to place a child on a pillow after one year.
• For newborn babies, mattresses made from coconut, buckwheat, and latex are chosen. They adapt to the shape of the baby’s body, allow air to pass through, and create the optimal temperature.

Older children can choose mattresses with spring blocks.

During pregnancy, you should sleep more carefully. After all, an incorrect position will harm the future baby.

It is forbidden to sleep on your stomach during pregnancy. Sleeping on your back is harmful because future baby puts pressure on internal organs women and the vena cava. This leads to problems with the spine and disrupts the functioning of the digestive tract. Compression of the vein develops hypoxia in the fetus.

It is better for pregnant women to sleep on their side day and night. It is advisable to change the side. At night, give preference to the left side, since resting on the right side compresses the kidneys.

During menstruation, it is also better to sleep on the left side for the same reasons.

Sleep during illness

It is very important to take into account the characteristics of the surface, posture and pillow if you have problems with the spine:

1. If you have a spinal disease lumbar region choose a mattress with holofiber filling. Such mattresses are also suitable for elderly people.
2. At cervical osteochondrosis Mattresses made from sisal or linen are selected.
3. If you have a hernia, it is advisable to sleep with your legs elevated. Place a pillow under your feet.
4. If you have scoliosis, you should not rest on your stomach. During sleep, you should not sharply throw your head back.

Hair dryer - shui technique

The teachings of Feng Shui say that you need to sleep on certain cardinal directions.

To find out which side of the world to choose, use the following formula: Remember the last 2 digits of the year of birth. If possible two-digit number, add again, then:

• Men should subtract the resulting number from 10.
• For women, add the number 5.

Based on the resulting figure, adjust the sleeping place:

• Number 1 – east.
• Number 2 – west.
• Number 3 – north.
• Number 4 – south.
• Number 5 – southwest.
• Number 6 – northeast.
• Number 7 – southwest.
• Number 8 – northwest.
• Number 9 – southeast.

The hair dryer - shui technique has several mandatory rules, according to which:

• They go to bed with their heads towards the door.
• You can't rest on the floor. All the negative energy that fills the human body during rest.
• Do not place the TV opposite the bed.
• It is forbidden to paint the bedroom in bright shades.
• It is prohibited to place frames with photographs near the sleeping area.

The best rest is sleep. Everyone knows this. But to make your sleep better, sounder and longer, you should pay attention to the following tips for improving your rest:

1. Before resting, take a bath with essential oils.
2. Wash off your makeup.
3. Ventilate your sleeping area.
4. Turn off light and sound sources.
5. Refrain from watching horror films, shocking programs, or news. Don't excite nervous system.
6. Before relaxing, it is advisable to take a walk in the fresh air.
7. Have a drink chamomile tea or milk with honey.
8. Don't think about bad things at night. Leave all negative thoughts for tomorrow.

Watch the video

Related Posts

This situation occurs quite often - you went to bed, but hours pass after hours, and you toss and turn in bed from side to side, and cannot sleep. In addition, some unpleasant thoughts pop up in your mind every now and then, and you just can’t relax. Perhaps the problem of how to fall asleep may not seem so terrible to someone. However, imagine that you have an exam or an important meeting scheduled for tomorrow, and you need to get behind the wheel. And you need a good night's sleep from your nose, otherwise in the morning everything will fall out of your hands. What to do in such a situation? Of course, everyone’s psyche works differently, and the reasons bad sleep may be different. If you don't know how to fall asleep quickly, you should try various ways, and perhaps you will find among them those that suit you best.

First of all, you should pay attention to the room in which you sleep. It should maintain an optimal temperature - not too hot and not too cold. Drafts should be avoided.

The air in the room should be fresh. Therefore, it is recommended to ventilate the room before going to bed. If there is little oxygen in the room and it is filled unpleasant odors, then you are unlikely to be able to fall asleep quickly. To scent your bedroom, you can use lavender, linden and chamomile oils.

Very bright light often leads to insomnia. It is worth remembering that hormones that regulate sleep are produced only in the dark. Make sure that the windows are tightly curtained and there are no other light sources in the room. You can purchase a special sleep mask.

If you need silence to sleep, then buy earplugs at the pharmacy. Some people find that unobtrusive noise helps them fall asleep, such as the monotonous hum of a fan. You can also use relaxing music or recordings of natural sounds to fall asleep quickly.

Sometimes a person cannot sleep because he takes an uncomfortable position. Lie down so that you are comfortable. It is better to use a medium-hard pillow. If it becomes warm from your body, turn it over. For sleep, wear loose pajamas. Some people find it comfortable to sleep naked, so try this too.

Do not forget about hygiene, change your bed linen regularly. Sleeping on sweat-soaked pillows and sheets is not very pleasant. The blanket must be chosen so that it is not too light or heavy, too warm, or, conversely, does not provide good protection from the cold.

Proper food is the key to good sleep

Pay attention to what you eat for dinner. It is not recommended to eat heavily before bed, but on the other hand, going to bed on an empty stomach is also not recommended. The best decision. There are products that help good sleep: banana, milk, nuts, whole grain bread, lettuce. But protein can interfere with good sleep, the same applies to caffeine-containing drinks, spicy, fatty, sweet, nicotine, and alcohol. Often a cup of warm milk or herbal tea, drunk at night.

What to do to relax your mind

Sometimes there is advice not to think about anything while lying in bed. But in practice this is impossible to achieve; moreover, during sleep, some parts of the brain work even more intensely than during wakefulness. Therefore, moderate mental stress, on the contrary, will be useful.

Some people find reading at night helps. However, moderation must be observed here. It is best to read something light, not burdensome, but not so exciting that it could force you to spend hours reading the book. You can also try making some notes or drawings. For example, write down the most pleasant impressions of the day, an opinion about a certain film.

But as soon as you feel sleepy while reading, immediately stop what you are doing, turn off the light and lie down. If any thoughts arise in your head, try to color these thoughts black with the help of your imagination. Meditate, let go of thoughts that bother you.

Think about something pleasant. Imagine yourself in a boat floating along a river, or you are flying in the clouds, or swimming in the ocean, or walking through a flowering field, etc. Slowly delve deeper into your fantasies, noticing more and more new details.

The advice to count some animals in your thoughts, for example, sheep or elephants, has long been known. Although the advice does not help everyone, nevertheless, it is not without meaning, since it contributes to a moderate load on both hemispheres of the brain, gradually transferring it into sleep mode. Of course, you can choose some other objects or animals, the main thing is that they do not evoke negative emotions. You can imagine a pendulum swinging from side to side and count its movements.

Lie quietly, do not move, mentally relax all muscles, starting from the tips of your toes and ending with your head. While lying in bed, stretch. Stretching helps the body relax, tension goes away, and the person falls asleep. Try holding a pillow between your knees. This helps relieve stress and even reduces pain.

Perform the complex breathing exercises. Slow, deep breathing helps the body relax. Lie on your back to control how your stomach rises. By focusing on breathing, the brain is freed from extraneous thoughts.

Sleep medications

If you've had too much various methods, but still don’t understand how you can fall asleep quickly, it is recommended to use medicines. However, this must be done carefully so as not to cause addiction. It is best to consult a doctor to select a drug.

Types of drugs:

• Based on herbs - valerian, motherwort, mint, hops, chamomile.
• Tranquilizers are drugs that depress the nervous system and dull emotions. If insomnia is caused severe stress, may be the only way out.
• Sleeping pills - act on nerve receptors and stimulate the production of sleep hormones.
• Preparations containing the main sleep hormone – melatonin.
• Vitamins. Often, chronic insomnia develops due to a lack of vitamins B and D in the body, microelements - magnesium and calcium.

What to do during the day to sleep well at night

If you play sports, then your last workout should be at least three hours before going to bed. However, walking before bed is very good for insomnia.

Water procedures at night - also good way relaxation. Best in in this case a bath with special soothing additives helps – sea ​​salt, eucalyptus and pine oils. If you have problems falling asleep at night, then it is best not to nap during the day, but to wait until the evening and get a good night's sleep.

Find a way to cope with stress. Stress is the main problem of insomnia. Find a hobby that will relieve stress. Try to stick to a routine: go to bed at the same time. If you want to shift the mode, then change it gradually, starting with 10 minutes. Before going to bed, do not look at your phone or sit for a long time in front of the TV or monitor.

Morning. You wake up in bad mood and promise yourself to go to bed immediately upon returning home. Then you spend the whole day spinning like a squirrel in a wheel at work. Next comes home, gym, dinner and time with family. As a result, it’s midnight and you’re still not in bed. We will give 6 tips on how to sleep properly to get enough sleep.

What kind of dream can be called good?

Sleep is about restoring strength, cleansing and healing the body. When you fall asleep, it is as if you are lying down in a rejuvenating chamber where your body is repairing itself. To ensure quality repairs, create comfortable sleeping conditions.

A good dream is when you:

• fall asleep on your own in 10 minutes;
• waking up in the morning without an alarm clock;
• during the night you don’t even get up to go to the toilet;
• after waking up you feel cheerful;
• fall asleep and wake up at the same time with a difference of 10–20 minutes;
• even if you fell asleep 2-3 hours later than usual, waking up in the morning is easy.

These six tips will help you understand how to sleep properly to get the best night's sleep:

1. If the laptop indicator winks at you from the corner of the room or the phone screen constantly flashes, this is bad. These light sources are dangerous irritants. When you close your eyes, you stop noticing the blinking, however, your brain continues to pick up light vibrations throughout the night. As a result, you wake up irritable and angry. An excellent solution to the problem - a special Sleep mask.
2. Eliminate sound sources. Special attention pay attention to sounds from the street. Low frequencies from the hum of a transformer, the distant howling of dogs, the loud hubbub of young people will put an end to healthy sleep. Move to another room or use earplugs to block out the noise.
3. Go to bed at ten in the evening and wake up at six in the morning. Every hour before midnight gives twice the effect of the hour after midnight. If you went to bed at 10 pm, then by 12 you will have regained as much strength as you could have regained in 4 hours of sleep. That's how they work biological rhythms person.
4. The brain most actively processes information received an hour before bedtime. If you have loaded it with information from books or films, you will not be able to relax. Another statement is also true. If you can't make a decision or understand the meaning of a task, think about it directly in bed. In the morning you will wake up with a ready-made solution.
5. At night the body cleanses itself of toxins, so the worst thing you can do is eat dinner before going to bed. In this case, the stomach will intensively process food: you can forget about recovery and relaxation. Make it a rule to eat your last meal 3-4 hours before bedtime. Eliminate meat and other protein foods.
6. At night, the bones should stretch: this effect can be achieved by lying on a hard surface. Choose a firm mattress so that your spine rests most of the night. correct position. For the same reason, sleep on your back.

What else will help you sleep properly?

If you have problems falling asleep and feel exhausted in the morning, we recommend taking a course of Glycine D3. It suppresses stress hormones and allows the brain to take a break from emotions and worries. They usually appear in autumn and winter, when the body lacks light. Read more here.

Glycine D3 replaces serotonin. It is a neurotransmitter from which melanin, the sleep hormone, is synthesized. Take the course biologically active additive, and insomnia will stop bothering you.

In conclusion, we suggest watching a funny video from a famous blogger. He gives lifehacks that will help you fall asleep faster. Have a nice night, Dear friends!