Many people know that staying up late is not good for their health, but they overlook another key aspect of sleep: whether they sleep regularly.Recently, a medical study showed that compared to people who sleep regularly, people who have a significant difference in sleep time each night are biologically older
Many people know that staying up late is not good for their health, but they overlook another key aspect of sleep: whether they sleep regularly.
Recently, a medical study showed that compared to people who sleep regularly, people who have a significant difference in sleep time each night are biologically older.
Good sleep can help the body achieve high-quality self repair.
Combining new research and expert perspectives, I will tell you how to harvest high-quality sleep as a health boost.
Interviewed experts
Sun Wei, Director of the Sleep Medicine Department of Peking University Sixth Hospital, and Meng Fanlei, Psychotherapist at the Sleep Medicine Center of Beijing Huilongguan Hospital
Sleeping regularly is a longevity advantage
Researchers from City University of Hong Kong in China and the University of Augusta in the United States analyzed 6052 participants with an average age of 50, including their sleep onset time, wake up time, sleep duration, sleep efficiency, etc. Their biological age was analyzed using blood samples.
The results showed that participants with significant deviations in sleep time and significant differences in sleep on weekdays and weekends were 9 months older in biological age compared to those with stable sleep habits.
Specifically, compared to those with regular sleep patterns, participants who had a significant deviation in sleep time, significant differences in sleep on weekdays and weekends, unstable sleep duration, and more sleep supplementation had a biological age increase of 0.74 years, 0.77 years, 0.63 years, and 0.52 years, respectively.
The relationship between four sleep parameters and biological age
In summary, this study reminds us that maintaining regular and stable sleep habits can help slow down the aging process of the body. Improving the regularity of sleep may be a new way to extend healthy lifespan.
The 'sleep biological clock' can be cultivated
Perhaps you have already realized that if you go to bed at the right time and get enough sleep, your energy will be more than enough. Once you violate it, you will not be able to handle it.
There are currently two recognized factors that regulate sleep, one is the biological clock, and the other is sleep self balance.
Simply put, the two key factors that affect sleep are "being regular" and "getting enough sleep".
Guo Xiheng, the chief physician of the Sleep Medicine Center of Beijing Chaoyang Hospital affiliated with Capital Medical University, also stated that to obtain healthy sleep, firstly, do not sleep too late and ensure time; Secondly, sleep should be regular and staying up late should not become the norm.
Sleep rhythm can be understood as the 'biological clock', which refers to the pattern of sleep awakening, and can be trained through fixed bedtime and bedtime. Adhering to the same bedtime every day can easily form one's own internal biological clock over time. No matter how good or bad your sleep is, stick to it.
People with insomnia especially need to fall asleep regularly
For those with insomnia, it is recommended to go to bed around 11 pm and get out of bed around 6 am. After 2 weeks of improvement in insomnia, gradually extend the bedtime.
It is generally recommended to extend the sleep duration by 15 minutes per week until the ideal sleep duration is achieved. If insomnia worsens after prolonged bedtime, it is recommended to maintain the original bedtime and not continue to extend it.
Two Grasps for Harvesting Quality Sleep
Approximately one-third of a person's life is spent in sleep. A healthy person can tolerate hunger for up to three weeks, but if they don't sleep for three days, they will become irritable and even find it difficult to continue their daily activities. How can I sleep regularly and adequately?
Sleep regularly
From the perspective of biological rhythm, it is generally believed that staying up late after 23 o'clock is considered. The human body's self-healing activities are mostly carried out before 3am, so the quality of sleep between 23:00 and 3am is particularly crucial.
Sometimes we know it's time to go to bed, but we are reluctant to put down our phones,
People with obsessive-compulsive disorder of staying up late may try the following tips:
1. Standardize bedtime habits
Replace the compulsive behavior of staying up late with specific behaviors before going to bed. Suggested behaviors include washing, making facial mask, soaking feet, taking a hot bath, listening to some soothing and gentle music, and fully dimming the indoor light.
2. Cultivate the conditioned reflex of being trapped at the sight of the bed
Tell yourself that the bed is only used for sleeping, and do not do anything unrelated to sleep in the bed, such as watching mobile phones, watching TV, reading books, etc.
You can move around in areas such as the sofa and living room first,
Don't go to bed until you feel really tired. If you can't fall asleep after lying for 30 minutes, you should leave the bed and do something that helps you relax. Wait until you feel sleepy before lying back in bed. Through repeated training, cultivate the conditioned reflex between the bed and sleep.
3. Reduce nighttime mental labor
Improving work efficiency during the day, while working at night can keep the brain in a high-speed state, which is not conducive to falling asleep smoothly.
4. Relax before bedtime
When nervous, the body will adopt chest breathing, with rapid breathing and shallow exhalation. Deep breathing and abdominal breathing can reduce physical stress and relax the mind. It is important to master slow, deep, and long breathing techniques.
Sleep well
The recommended sleep duration for adults is 7-8 hours, with 6 hours being the bottom line of health and a maximum of 9 hours.
The international medical journal 'Annals of Behavioral Medicine' warns that sleeping less than 6 hours at night for three consecutive days can lead to physical and mental deterioration, including physical symptoms such as irritability and gastrointestinal discomfort.
The University of Colorado in the United States and the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom found that compared with people who slept 6 to 9 hours, people who slept less than 6 hours and more than 9 hours increased the risk of myocardial infarction by 20% and 34% respectively.
If you need to work night shifts or travel frequently, you can try to improve your sleep quality by:
In clockwise chronological order: for example, first the day shift (9am to 5pm), then the night shift (4pm to 10pm), then the night shift (11pm to 7am), and finally return to the day shift.
Ensuring sleep duration: Since the circadian rhythm of sleep has changed, sufficient daytime rest becomes even more important.
Optimize melatonin secretion: During daytime sleep supplementation, the environment should be as dark as possible, such as using blackout curtains, eye masks, etc.
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