The question is simpler than it sounds: how did you sleep last night? I mean exactly when you went from awake to sleep, or if you prefer, moments before what happened? how did you get it? How did you feel at that time? It is always curious that, even though we sleep everyday, “falling asleep” is such an unknown process.
And not just by ordinary citizens, but by scientists themselves. Over the past decade, the technological leap in neuroimaging tools has brought us much closer to what is happening at this enigmatic moment when we dive into the realms of Morpheus.
And yet the web is still teeming with “quick sleep” “solutions” that are closer to magic rituals and superstitions than anything that looks like a scientifically consistent behavioral technique. What does science tell us about all of this?
A quick course in sleep neurobiology
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There are a handful of brain structures directly involved in sleep processes: the hypothalamus (which acts as a control center for arousal and contains key neural structures in circadian rhythms), the brainstem (where the transition from wakefulness to sleep takes place), the thalamus (which , in a way, is the structure which transmits sensory information to the central nervous system and which, during sleep, goes into ‘do not disturb’ mode), the pineal gland (which secretes a hormone, melatonin, which helps induce sleep by adapting to the day-night cycle) or the amygdala (which “processes” emotions and plays a very important role in REM sleep).
However, what is most interesting in all of this anatomical analysis is to realize that we do not have structures specifically dedicated to sleep. Although there are groups of neurons whose function is centered on it, but the difference between wakefulness and sleep is more in the functioning of the nervous system than in the structures involved. The main problem with “falling asleep” is how to change modes without compromising system performance..
For this reason, within the famous phases of REM and non-REM sleep, there is one (phase 1) which, although it lasts a few minutes, is extremely important. It is light sleep during which the body (heartbeat, breaths, movements) relaxes and slows down and in which brain wave patterns are starting to show that the transition from one state to another is in progress.
This gives us a first clue as to what the body takes to start the process that will put us to sleep. However, having a quiet period is not enough. As a rule, there is two internal biological mechanisms that help regulate sleep and enable synchronization these moments of rest with our physiological needs: circadian rhythms (a kind of “biological clock” that regulates many functions: from body temperature to the release of hormones) and sleep-wake homeostasis (that is, – say the need for sleep).
The three key tips for falling asleep
These three levers are the fundamental instruments available to us to facilitate sleep not only to be deep and restorative, but also to be able to reconcile quickly. In general, any techniques we can find to help us fall asleep quickly play with them in one way or another.
Relax your mind and body
Unless the need to sleep is imperative, the nervous system will not initiate the sleep process if we do not need to sleep. Moreover, he will resist it. Therefore, the first phase of sleep involves neurological, physical and environmental relaxation: is the “trick” that our body uses to verify that we can sleep.
What happens is that normally we are not able to compartmentalize our lives enough to go to bed with everything resolved. Sometimes it’s our mind that keeps thinking about open questions or problems that we can’t solve; other times it is the rest of the body that, due to the activities we have done previously, has not picked up the signals that tell it to relax.
A clear example is exercise. There is no doubt that physical activity and good sleep are linked (Loprinzi & Cardinal, 2011) and it seems that 30 minutes of physical activity most days is a good thing (Reid, 2010). However, it is advisable to do this 2-3 hours before going to bed. On the contrary, “Physiological inertia” can work against us.
It is also not a good idea to consume caffeine because This is not only related to a lack of sleep, but to a poor quality of it (Kerpershoek, Antypa and Van den Berg, 2018; Snel and Lorist, 2011). Something similar happens with alcohol (Singleton & Wolfson, 2009) or nicotine (Jaehne, 2009). However, there are people who all of this (especially the last two) help them fall asleep.
The reason is simpler than it sounds: we often use alcohol or tobacco as forms of emotional management, and for the same reason they can help us reconcile. The problem is, they do so at the cost of breaking down our ability to sleep for the long term. If we need to deal with our emotions, it is better to do relaxing tasks before going to bed. (Blanaru et al., 2012; Nicassio and Bootzin, 1974). Things like reading, listening to music or, directly, learning the famous relaxation techniques.
In reality, Most of the techniques we see on the internet to help you sleep are secret relaxation techniques.. Either the 4-7-8 technique (repeat the sequence “inhale air through your nose for four seconds; hold it for seven; and exhale for eight” until sleep) or the Sharon Ackerman method to sleep in two minutes. they are. Our colleagues at Vitónica have a good compilation to find the one that suits us best. You just need to have one idea in mind: mastering them takes practice.
Order our life
If an important part is the psycho-physiological disposition at the time of sleep, another part is the vital rhythm: making our life and our (circadian) rhythms coincide. Let’s face it, as we get older our sleep worsens more and more: more than half of older people suffer from symptoms of insomnia (Ohayon, 2002). However, studies tell us that a cohesive and organized lifestyle can help us sleep better and faster (Zisberg, Gur-Yaish & Shochat, 2010; Monk, 2010).
Moreover, this lifestyle must be daily, the week does not serve as a unit of compensation. Or, in other words, there’s no point in sleeping late on the weekends. Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day is the best option for regulating sleep be children (Mindell et al., 2015), elite athletes (Bird, 2013) or normal people.
Save sleep
As we said above, sleep-wake homeostasis is very important. It’s hard to sleep if, well, we’re not sleepy. For this reason, it is interesting to manage the hours that we spend sleeping throughout the day well. Naps, without going any further, are one of the most amazing things in the world (Rosekind, 1995): sleeping an average of 25 minutes improves our cognitive functions between 16% and 34% (Mednick et al., 2008; Naska, 2007; Saunders and Chaput, 2012).
However, they must be used correctly or they can prevent us from falling asleep at night (Dhand & Sohal, 2006). Finally: the best way to fall asleep quickly is to go to bed tired, relaxed and at the right time. This isn’t a sleeping magic trick (especially if you’ve been looking for that sleepless night motivated theme), but it’s something you can start implementing tomorrow.
Image | Jen Theodore
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