Sleep is the time of waking up and going to bed. To feel rested and full of energy, you need to determine the most appropriate regimen and strictly follow it.
For this, it is necessary to take into account:
- individual needs for sleep (someone feels vigor after sleeping for 6 hours, and for someone it may not be enough for 8 hours);
- age (young children sleep longer, then the total duration of sleep decreases, reaching in adults, from 6 to 9 hours);
- the nature of the activity (working in shifts, even with a strong desire, cannot adhere to the standard regime).
Why sleep patterns are disturbed
The reason for the failure of biological rhythms can be stress, irregular working hours, the need to care for a child or a sick relative. Often, the regime gets lost due to travel or long-distance business trips, when you have to adapt to different time zones.
Sleep patterns in adolescents are often caused by video games that they play at night in secret from their parents. Although many adults also stay up late on forums and social networks to the detriment of sleep.
How to restore sleep to an adult
You can try to restore the lost sleep and wakefulness regime on your own. It should be borne in mind that this will require self-discipline and a lot of time – at least 4-5 weeks.
By following these tips, you can try to get yourself back to normal sleep:
- Go to bed and get up at the same time every day. It sounds paradoxical, but give up the idea of sleeping off on weekends and holidays. Only in this way will the body acquire the habit of waking up and falling asleep at the same time. If absolutely necessary, you can deviate from the usual time by no more than two hours.
- Move towards your desired schedule gradually. You don’t need to force yourself to go to bed a few hours earlier at once. Be patient and “shift” the time gradually – by 10-20 minutes.
- Fight daytime sleepiness. Don’t go to bed during the day, no matter how much you want to. Because of the day’s rest in the evening, you will definitely fall asleep later than planned.
- Do not use caffeinated drinks, dietary supplements, and medications (including cola and green tea). If there are no contraindications, replace your usual drinks with floral or herbal teas ( rooibos or preparations with lemon balm, chamomile, valerian).
- Over -the-counter melatonin drugs ( Melaxen , Circadin ) will help you switch to a different rhythm . They are a sleep hormone that regulates our circadian rhythms. Melatonin should not be taken for more than 2 weeks without medical supervision.
- Give up bad habits. If quitting smoking is not possible, then reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke and do not smoke before bed.
Contrary to popular belief, “drinking a glass at night” does not promote sound and healthy sleep. - Reduce your time in bed. We often sleep much longer than our body requires. This is especially the case with the wrong mode.
- Exercise daily. It can be any kind of physical activity, the main thing is to finish the workout a few hours before going to bed. Some people think that fatigue after a muscle load will help to fall asleep, but this is not the case.
- Follow sleep hygiene tips to keep your bedroom as comfortable as possible.
These simple rules will help any adult to restore normal regimen. But, if you followed all the advice, and there has been no progress, then perhaps you have developed a serious sleep disorder, with which it is worth contacting a specialist somnologist.
How to restore a child’s sleep pattern
Children’s sleep is very different in structure from that of an adult. Babies sleep a lot, then the duration of sleep decreases. In order for the child to form the correct sleep pattern, it is worth listening to the following tips:
- Stick to a consistent regimen. Teach your child to get up always at the same time, regardless of whether he is going to kindergarten today or not.
- Teach your toddler to fall asleep alone. Often the child develops seemingly harmless habits, which later create many problems. This is falling asleep in the bed of the parents or the presence of an adult until the child falls asleep.
- Create a pleasant bedtime ritual. Read fairy tales, put a certain toy in the crib – so the baby will understand that it’s time to sleep.
- Older children should also be prepared in advance for rest: do not give sweets in the evening, do not play outdoor games before going to bed, end computer entertainment in advance.
Children develop habits very quickly, so it is much easier for them to restore their sleep patterns than for an adult.
It is important to remember that a prolonged absence of adequate rest is harmful not only by the appearance of fatigue and decreased performance, but can also lead to the development of serious diseases.
Therefore, if within a few weeks you have not achieved any success in restoring the regimen, do not risk your health – contact a sleep center.