Sleep as a cure

Daily sleep can do much more than just provide us with energy. Because it also acts as a remedy and can help against many diseases. It does not matter whether the illness is psychological or physical.

Sleep fights the cause, not the symptom

Especially in today’s world, people are too quick to take medication. If you have a cold, then you have to take these 5 medications. If you are depressed, then you get these drugs. If you have this illness, take this.

And there is no end to this attitude. There are constantly new diseases and new medicines, which are miraculously created exactly for this disease. But what was there first?

As a simple example we can take the common cold. No matter if you take medicine or not, you are sick in about 7 days. Why take medicine now? Why not resort to the better and time-tested remedy: sleep and rest.

The body is capable of many things, including healing itself. Sleep cures mainly the causes and does not only relieve the symptoms. But only if he gets enough rest.

Normally, a person should get 6-9 hours of sleep a day. If sleep lasts longer, the body does not get up to speed and you stay tired all day long. Too little and it can lead to illness and circulatory problems.

Men can get by with 6-8 hours a day. Women, on the other hand, need a little more sleep, on average they should get 7-9 hours a day. Even more sleep is needed for children and in case of illness.

Mental illness can be caused by lack of sleep

At night, the body does much more than just sleep. Because the night is an important phase for the development of the happiness hormone (serotonin) and immune system hormone (interleukins). So a lack of sleep can, over the long term, make us feel unhappy and listless.

This appearance are the first symptoms of depression and burnout. In addition, a lack of sleep can also cause these problems, just to name a few:

• Circulation problems,
• Depression,
• Burnout,
• aggressiveness or
• lack of concentration.

According to a recent study, 350 million people worldwide suffer from depression, including around 4 million people in Germany alone (study by frnd.de).

The reason for this is not only the technological developments that cause constant stress, but also the resulting sleep disorders and periods of stress.

During this difficult time, one should focus more on the important things in life (family), go out into the fresh air more, enjoy the sun, do sports, and strive for a good and healthy sleep rhythm.

5 tips for a longer night

A healthy sleep does not consist of only one component, but is the interaction of several factors. Only if all are considered it can lead to a better sleep. If only one factor is not present, it can become the reason for a sleepless night.

1. Create the right atmosphere

Man experiences with his 5 senses. In the bedroom all 5 senses should be pleasantly satisfied. A quite useful method is the teaching according to Feng Shui.

It has as a principle the harmonization of man with his environment. For the bedroom it means now to consider the following things:

• Use pleasant and calming colors,
• Observe the orientation of objects,
• less is often more and
• the bedroom is a place of rest.

With these simple rules, the bedroom gets the right atmosphere. This includes absolute darkness. In evolution man has 100.000 years needed to fully adapt to new conditions.

In 98.000 v. Chr. there has been no lighting. Therefore, the strong deep sleep can only develop as soon as every light and electrical device is switched off.

2. A good quality bed

The centerpiece for a bedroom is always the bed. One should always go for high-quality beds. Because we spend a third of our lives in bed. It can make for nice dreams, but also for pain in the morning.

High-quality box spring beds are particularly in vogue. By their special structure with 3 layers they offer:

• very high comfort,
• a large lying surface,
• pleasant height for getting in and out of bed,
• Help against back pain and
• an advantage for allergy sufferers.

3. Acquire a sleeping rhythm

The human body loves habits and routines. If we go to sleep and get up at the same time every day, the body gets used to it within a very short time.

Now this has the advantage that the body can already prepare for sleep like Swiss clockwork. This makes the biorhythm more regulated, sleep more intense and in the morning there is a real boost of energy.

Tip: Go to sleep at the same time every day and get up at the same time every morning. And this during working hours and vacations.

4. Physical activity before falling asleep

Physical activity includes all kinds of sports, whether endurance or strength, walks and activities with your love partner. After each phase of tension the body is exhausted and needs a rest phase. And what would fit better than a long round of sleep??

There is no difference in the type of sport. The main thing is that the workout is intense and tires out the body. Besides, sport has the advantages of keeping fit and relieving stress. Which now leads to the last tip.

5. Avoid stress

Everyone has experienced it at least once, you lie in bed and can’t sleep. You wind from right to left, back again. A quick glance at the clock and the time does not pass.

You finally want to stop thinking and start sleeping. And after many hours, the alarm clock rings and we are tired. Exactly what we do not want to have.

Stress also makes situations fly high, but it must be avoided during sleep. A round of exercise before sleep is usually enough. Otherwise, it also helps:

• to read a book,
• to meditate or
• Just enjoy the night at the window.

What definitely does not belong in the bedroom

There is, of course, as everywhere, a list of things that do not let us sleep at night. This can be quite banal things like a smartphone.

But they can prevent the body from using its deep sleep phase for regeneration and prevent you from falling asleep due to other effects.

Screens are taboo

Because screens emit a blue light. It is perceived in the body as daylight and makes us wake up again. And yet we want exactly the opposite, to sleep deeply and soundly! Therefore, turn off the monitors at least 1 hour before going to bed.

Even for workaholics there are already tools for this. With the smartphone and some laptops there is the night mode, which switches off the blue light. The screen now gets a strange color. If the laptop or computer does not have this option, there is the software f.lux, which takes over exactly this process.

Based on the geographical position it calculates the time for sunrise and sunset. In America, this software is very much used by startups and is completely free of charge.

Smartphone is only allowed in the bedroom for charging

The smartphone is both a curse and a blessing. We are constantly reachable, even if we don’t want to be. And at night it is definitely the wrong time to be available. Therefore, turn off your cell phone and take it into the bedroom only to charge it.

And for anyone who now thinks that yes, an emergency could happen during the night: The probability of an emergency happening at night is 33%, usually even less, because accidents happen during the day.

And calculated on the probability of an emergency in itself, the chance already drops to less than 0.0001. But the probability of a bad night’s sleep is 100%.

Therefore, you should actually consider whether your health is more important to you or being available all the time.