March is National Awareness Month on sleep.
During most of my life, the dream has been simple. When I was a child, my dad read me a history of bedtime, usually «the donation tree», and would be asleep before the child took all the branches of the tree. (That book is deep, by the way) and could sleep anywhere. From Ottomans questionable in the hotels to the central seat on a turbulent flight, I was the McDreamy woman.
It was not until the 30 years that I realized how bad the insomnia nights can be. There is nothing worse than getting into bed, counting sheep (or glorious reddish potatoes), just to spend the next seven hours throwing, turning and looking at the ceiling thinking of EverrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyythinggggGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG.
Around 1 in 4 women and people assigned to birth (Afab) experience some insomnia symptoms, such as problems to reconcile sleep and problems to fall asleep. Beyond the discomfort of everything, insomnia can have serious effects on mental and physical health, as a greater risk of mood disorders and cardiovascular diseases, the number one cause of death for women in the United States
It is more likely that women have insomnia than men, so it is not surprising that women are also more likely to take prescribed sleep pills. But new investigation It shows that night aids may not give it the stellar sleep that you think you are receiving.
«Sleeping pills can sleep it, but you may not have the quality of sleep you need because it is not really greeting and restoring restorative dream,» said Nicole Sondermann, NBC-HWC, CCSH, RPSGT, clinical sleep health educator and member of the Healthywomen Women’s Health Counsel Council (WHAC).
Look: how to sleep well at night >>
Restorative dream and sleep pills
So what exactly is the restorative dream? Sondermann said he implies going through all sleep cycles without being disturbed and waking up with mental clarity to start his day. Think about it: if you wake up feeling rested and ready to buy in Trader Joe’s on Saturday morning, you probably had a restorative dream.
A reason why restorative dream is so important is that it allows its body and its brain to heal. It also gives the brain time to eliminate waste, including toxic proteins that could accumulate and interrupt the flow of information between neurons. But a new innovator study Reheated sleep pills can interfere with this «cleaning» process.
In the study, the mice received a common prescribed sleep pill. And while the mice fell as fast as the mice that received a placebo, the researchers found the flow of cerebrospinal fluid, which helps clean the brain during sleep, decreased by approximately 30%. Sleep pills can also suppress the production of norepinephrine waves that clear toxins in the brain during the dream of non -fast ocular movement (REM), which is important for learning, memory and cognitive function.
«Then, if you are taking a sleeping pill, you are sedated, but you are not going through the process that your body must pass during the Rem Dream,» said Sondermann. «I like to compare it with a washing machine. You can rinse something, and all the spáds come out and rinse, rinse, rinse and leave clean. Or you can make the rinse of a fast cycle, but the soap spies are still there. Therefore, it can smell well, it can look good, but if you run it again and again, more soap salts.»
Although the study tested the brains of mice, researchers noticed that humans have the same brain circuit, which could mean that sleeping pills can also interfere with brain health during sleep for humans.
Read: Insomnia treatment options >>
The importance of sleep hygiene
Sondermann said that prescribed sleep pills may be necessary for some people and useful when prescribed for the right reasons. Even so, the best path to restorative sleep is to practice good sleep hygiene.
A useful sleep routine varies from person to person, but good sleep hygiene can include:
- Awakening and going to bed at the same time every day
- Practice meditation and relaxation exercises 30 minutes before bedtime
- Turn off all electronic 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime
- Limit naps in the afternoon of the afternoon
Read: Sleep hygiene verification list: Top 8 healthy sleep habits >>
For racing thoughts of the 2 am, Sondermann said that the cash breathing technique can help. Here we show you how to do it:
- Grant in the thought/problem that is bothering you while inhale through your nose.
- Contre your breathing for four seconds. While containing breathing, recognize the stressful and hug.
- Exhale long and slow as you tell yourself that you are letting go.
- Repeat as many times as necessary.
«You are not solving the problem, but you are not going to let it control you,» said Sondermann. «The liberation of CO2 is actually relaxing your body. And on a psychological level, it is releasing what controls your thoughts.»
The restorative dream may seem an impossible dream on insomnia nights, but good sleep hygiene can make a big difference in your general health.
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