Psychologists at Cornell University in the United States believe that high-quality sleep should go through four to five rounds of deep sleep, so that the body can have a good chance to metabolize, restore physical strength, improve immunity, and help strengthen memory and learning ability.
Although some people have the habit of sleeping regularly, they still feel tired when they wake up because they are constantly disturbed during their sleep. Therefore, 6 hours of deep sleep is much better than 8 hours of intermittent sleep.
Dr Maas is also a consultant of Simmons Mattress Company. He said that the causes of sleep disorders include poor sleeping environment, unhealthy eating habits, lack of exercise, tossing and turning while sleeping, incorrect sleeping posture, mental and physical stress.
Cultivate regular sleep habits
He suggested that people who want to get enough sleep should first cultivate regular sleep habits, such as going to bed and getting up regularly without using an alarm clock and knowing how many hours of sleep they need.
In addition, when you don't get enough sleep, the doctor should not only advise you to "catch up on sleep", but also resume your normal work and rest as soon as possible so as not to disturb the physiological clock.
Other suggestions he listed include regular exercise, healthy eating, no smoking, reducing caffeine intake, harmonious sex life, not drinking before going to bed, taking a hot bath, doing some stretching exercises and minimizing stress.
Dr. Maas particularly emphasized that it is very important to maintain the natural "S" shape of the spine in order to reduce physical stress. Incorrect posture can cause back muscles to be overworked, leading to back pain or back stiffness.
He said that when it comes to correct posture, many people know that they should be "kind" to their backs in their daily lives or work, so as not to overload their backs, but there is still one thing that many people ignore, that is, to maintain a good sleeping position when sleeping.
According to a survey conducted by the Singapore Back Pain Nursing Association, in the past six months, one in five people in China suffered from back pain and neck pain.
Dr. Chen Xiangming, Senior Consultant of Orthopedic Surgery in Central Hospital, Spinal Surgeon and President of Back Pain Nursing Association, said that although it is impossible to know how many people suffer from back pain or neck pain due to poor sleeping posture from the survey, he believes that correct sleeping posture will definitely help to relieve back pain.
He pointed out that figures show that women are more prone to these diseases than men, especially housewives over middle age. The survey found that 33% of patients with back pain and neck pain are housewives.
Dr Chen Xiangming said: "People feel most comfortable when their backs are straight, so whether they are sitting, standing or even lying down, they should adjust their posture to the most comfortable level, instead of always bending their backs. When sitting down, your knees should be at right angles to the chair cushion and your back should be straight; When you sleep, you should also look for mattresses and pillows that support your spine. " Lin peibi
The best sleeping position to reduce wrinkles
The position of sleeping is not only related to the quality of sleep, but also related to aesthetics. Experts point out that what can really reduce wrinkles is not cosmetics, but a scientific "sleeping phase"-supine.
Lying on your back makes facial muscles in the best state of relaxation, blood circulation is not disturbed, and facial skin is fully supplied with oxygen and nutrition. American doctor Eugene stressed that you should insist on lying on your back from infancy. Babies are in the stage of shapeless appearance and have great plasticity. Lying on your back helps to have correct facial features and a beautiful face. It also has the significance of disease prevention for middle-aged and elderly people.
According to the investigation of 2000 patients with cerebral infarction by experts at home and abroad, lateral lying is an important cause of cerebral thrombosis, while supine lying has a preventive effect. Therefore, healthy people should sleep on their backs except when they are sick or pregnant.
Why do you want to "lie like a bow"
"Lying like a bow" is a mantra that often hangs on people's lips, referring to the posture of sleeping on one's side. Why do you sleep like a bow? There is some scientific truth in this. Let's analyze:
There are many kinds of sleeping postures, such as supine, prone, side lying and so on. Lying on your back is the most common sleeping position. The ancients called this sleeping position "corpse lying", that is, the lying position of the deceased. Although this title is indecent, the limbs can stretch freely and the internal organs are more comfortable. But lying on your back is not conducive to the full relaxation of the whole body, especially when the pressure in the abdominal cavity is high, it is easy to make people feel suffocated. Prone position will hinder thoracic dilatation, affect breathing and oppress the heart, which is an unhealthy sleeping position and should not be taken. When lying on your side, your legs are slightly flexed, and your whole body is easy to relax, which is conducive to relieving fatigue. Especially when lying on the right side, it will not oppress the heart, but also help to transport food from the stomach to the intestine. It is the best sleeping position. Ancient health experts also advocated sleeping on your side. For example, it is pointed out in "A thousand dollars must be fixed, and the Taoist forest nourishes nature": "Kneeling on your side, benefiting people's strength, and winning the battle. According to Confucius, I don't lie down, so I'm not tired when I sleep. " It is said that lying on your knees is better than lying on your back. Because Confucius did not advocate "lying on one's back" (that is, lying on one's back), he said that he was not afraid to bend his legs when he slept and stretch his limbs when he woke up.
It is precisely because when sleeping and lying down, the side of the body is bent into a "bow" shape, which makes sleeping more stable and more conducive to health, so it is called "lying like a bow".
Why can't you sleep on your desk?
During lunch break, many people are used to taking a nap at their desks. This kind of rest is unhealthy.
First of all, after people fall asleep, their body's basic metabolism slows down, and their body's temperature regulation function also drops, which leads to the decline of their body's resistance, especially in winter and spring when the temperature is low. Even if their backs are covered with clothes, they often have symptoms such as stuffy nose and dizziness after waking up. At the same time, when the head leans on the arm, the blood circulation of the arm is blocked, and the nerve conduction is also affected, which is prone to symptoms such as numbness and arm pain.
Secondly, sleeping on the table will also hurt the brain. This is because the head position is too high at this time, and the blood flowing through the brain is reduced when sleeping, which is easy to cause cerebral ischemia. Sleeping like this often, due to the reduction of oxygen and other nutrients in the brain, will inevitably affect brain function.
Therefore, you should sleep at your desk as little as possible for your health.
How do adults choose their sleeping position?
Sleeping posture is nothing more than prone, supine and lateral lying. Because of different habits, some people like to lie on their sides, while others like to lie on their backs. Statistics show that in various sleeping positions, 35% lie on the side, 60% lie on the back, and the remaining 5% lie on the stomach. From the requirements of sleep hygiene, lying with legs bent to the right is the most suitable sleeping position. In this way, the muscles of the whole body are relaxed, which is conducive to the rest of muscle tissue, eliminating fatigue, not oppressing the heart, and also helping the food in the stomach to advance to the duodenum.
Physiologically speaking, lying on the right side is more scientific. When lying on the right side, the air intake of the right lung accounts for 59% of the whole lung, and the circulating blood volume of the right lung accounts for 68% of the whole lung (due to gravity, the pulmonary blood flow of the lower lung is definitely more). When lying on the left side, the above two indexes of the left lung were 38% and 57% respectively. Compared with the percentage of blood flow, the percentage of air intake when lying on the right side is close (the difference is 9%), and the difference when lying on the left side is large (the difference is 19%). The oxygen needed by human body is transported by blood after gas exchange, which shows that lying on the right side is better than lying on the left side. In addition, the heart is located between the left and right lungs in the chest, leaning to the left. When lying on the left side, the heart is easy to be squeezed and the burden on the heart is easy to increase. It is reasonable for a normal person to lie on his side. But pay attention to the pillow you sleep on your side, or it will make your neck uncomfortable.
People with bilateral tuberculosis should not lie on their sides, but lie on their backs. If one lung is diseased, you should sleep on the patient's side when lying on your side, so as to facilitate the recovery of the disease.
Most people like to lie on their backs, and their sleeping posture is large, which is beneficial to blood circulation and is also in line with sleep hygiene. But be careful not to put your hands on your chest when you lie on your back, or you will have nightmares easily.
There are fewer people lying prone, so this sleeping position is generally not recommended, because lying prone oppresses the chest, affects breathing, increases the workload of the heart and lungs, and is not conducive to health.
In short, it is better to lie on your side and back, especially on your right side. There are many reclining buddhas in our country, and the Buddha lies on the right side, which shows that the ancients have made a clear choice.
Is sleeping posture related to personality?
The relationship between sleeping posture and personality is reflected in many literary works, but it is rarely involved in the medical field. Although some people have discussed it, it is still inconclusive whether it is really related.
Lying on your back with your limbs outstretched, some people call it the "overlord" posture. Such people are broad-minded, chubby, cheerful, opinionated and even bossy. Most of the ancient emperors, generals and military commanders were such people, such as Xiang Yu, Zhang Fei, Lu and other well-known historical figures of the Western Chu Dynasty.
Lying on your side, stretching naturally, some people call it the posture of "literary appearance". This kind of person is rational, cautious, methodical, resourceful and peaceful. Most ancient celebrities and literati belong to this category, such as Zhuge Liang, Shui Bo, a wise man in Liangshan, and Tao Yuanming, a great poet.
Sleeping on your stomach, that is, sleeping on your stomach, is called "frustrated" posture by some people. This kind of person is often frustrated when things go wrong. In film and television, people who encounter setbacks are heartbroken and lie on their beds.
Half-lying, curled up and lying flat, some people call it the "adjutant" posture. This kind of person is cautious, timid, independent and unwilling to show up too much.
Sleeping posture may be related to body shape and personality, but it is not absolute. You don't have to worry about it, sit in the right position and listen to it as if it were an interesting thing.
What sleeping position should patients with low back pain take?
People usually sleep in three positions, namely, lying on their side, lying on their back and lying on their stomach. Although sleeping on the side is the most ideal from the point of view of people's health, in real life, most people sleep on their backs (about 60%), and about 5% sleep on their stomachs. In fact, for a healthy person, you don't have to pay too much attention to your sleeping position, because it is impossible for a person to stay in a sleeping position until dawn. Most people still sleep in different sleeping positions, which is more conducive to relieving fatigue and restoring physical strength. However, for people with certain diseases or special circumstances, it is still necessary to pay attention to the sleeping position. For example, people who snore should not sleep on their backs. Because the root of the tongue often falls backwards when lying on your back, which aggravates snoring and easily causes apnea. Another example is that after 20 weeks of pregnancy, the uterus of pregnant women is enlarged, and the heavy uterus can compress the abdominal aorta in front of the spine, which slows down the blood flow of the uterine artery, a branch of the abdominal aorta, causing fetal ischemia and hypoxia. Because the pregnant uterus is physiologically right-handed, the best sleeping position for pregnant women is the left lateral position. So, what is the best sleeping position for patients with low back pain?
The normal spinal structure of human body has physiological curvature, with the cervical and lumbar vertebrae bending forward and the thoracic vertebrae protruding backward. Therefore, if there are long bone spurs, disc herniation or degenerative arthritis, the structure of bones and muscles will change, which may compress nerves, so it is easy to produce low back pain. For those who often suffer from low back pain, it is recommended to sleep on the side, which can completely relax muscles and avoid muscle tension, stimulate or oppress nerves, and cause or aggravate low back pain. If you are used to sleeping on your back, you can bend your knees or put a pillow under your knees to relieve muscle tension. If you have ankylosing spondylitis, lie flat to prevent scoliosis.
In addition, patients with low back pain have strict requirements for beds. Too soft a bed can easily cause spinal deformation and aggravate low back pain. It is best to spread a cushion (bedding) with appropriate thickness on the wooden bed, which can basically keep the spine in a normal physiological state and facilitate the sleep of patients with low back pain.