It is important to live a good lifestyle and to take care of your body and health. Sleep is essential for mental and physical wellbeing as many important processes take place during sleep. Thus, we should give ourselves the best possible environment and conditions to enjoy good quality of sleep.

1. Sleep in a comfortable bed in a room that is dark and quiet and has a nice temperature. Darkness triggers body to produce more sleep hormone melatonin. Comfortable bed keeps you body temperature temperate all night long and your skin dry. It contours your body and gives support. A good bed minimizes tossing and turning and allows you to sleep peacefully.
2. Go to bed and get up at regular times. This is beneficial to the rhythm and the functions of the biological clock.
3. Avoid stress close to bedtime. Avoid bringing the day’s events and problems with you to bed. Try solving them during the day if possible.
4. Spend a lot of time in daylight. This affects your biological clock in a positive way.
5. If you can’t fall asleep, get up and do something else. In a short while the need to fall asleep will return. If you wake up during the night worrying, keep an empty notebook and a pen on the bedside table and write your worries down. This way you will not need to think about them anymore and can fall asleep.
6. Exercise regularly. Exercising gets you physically tired. Exercising also helps produce sedative substances in your blood and it generates a deeper sleep, which helps you to wake up feeling rested.
7. Don’t go to bed feeling hungry; eat something light in the evening. Feeling hungry has a stimulating effect on the brain’s center of wakefulness. Take a glass of warm milk and a sandwich with a little honey or banana. All these have sleep promoting effects.
8. Drink less coffee, tea and other beverages with caffeine and chocolate. Caffeine stimulates the center of wakefulness and high levels of consumption may lead to disrupted sleep.
9. Nicotine and alcohol disturb sleep.
10. Avoid using soporifics. Longer use can lead to addiction. Always consult with your doctor if you need help in finding what causes your sleeping problems.

The optimal amount of sleep is per individual and influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Normally, adults need 7 – 8 hours of sleep. However, modern society often causes misalignment between need of sleep and the actual amount of sleep. This has harmful consequences for mental processes, metabolism, immune system and cardiovascular health.

The study conducted by American scientists* states that over the past century habitual sleep duration has dropped 1.5 hours per night. As sleep duration has declined, obesity rates have increased. Compared with those sleeping 7 to 8 hours per night, individuals sleeping less than 6 hours are at greater risk of being obese.

The scientists conducted a study amongst twins and studied the relationship between sleep deprivation and obesity. The study concluded that shorter sleep duration increases genetic risk for gaining weight.  At the same time, longer sleep duration may decrease genetic influences on body weight.

*Watson & Co. Sleep Duration and Body Mass Index in Twins:  A Gene-Environment Interaction.  SLEEP Volume 35, No. 5, 2012.  Available at www.journalsleep.org/ViewAbstract.aspx?pid=28504.