sleep health day

The first is whether the person is relaxed and has no obvious feeling of fatigue within 10 minutes after waking up; the second is the abnormal situation of not falling asleep for more than 30 minutes for more than two consecutive weeks, waking up more than 2 times at night, and waking up early for more than 1 hour. It doesn’t matter whether you sleep for 7 hours or 8 hours, whether you sleep at 10 o’clock or 12 o’clock.

A while ago, I helped Dr. Chen from the Sleep Department of the Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine sort out the initial consultation questionnaires for the first half of the year. There were nearly 200 patients out of 327. They were all first frightened out of anxiety by the statements that "not sleeping enough for eight hours is unhealthy" and "not sleeping at 11 o'clock is harmful to the liver." What impressed me the most was a young girl who worked in Internet operations. She used to go to bed at 2 a.m. and wake up at 9 a.m., and her schedule had been stable for almost three years. After reading a few health science articles, she forced herself to go to bed at 10:30, and she would lie down until 1 a.m. counting sheep with her eyes open. After a week in a row, she collapsed and went to the clinic to cry, saying that she was afraid of sudden death from liver cancer.

Oh, by the way, there are actually different opinions in the industry about what time is the right time to go to bed. The biological clock homeostasis theory of Western medicine believes that as long as your sleep cycle is complete and your work and rest are regular for a long time, even if you are a freelancer who sleeps at 3 a.m. and wakes up at 11 noon all year round, if the proportion of deep sleep and rapid eye movement periods reaches the standard, there will be no organic damage to the body. ； However, from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, the maintenance period of the liver and gallbladder does correspond to 11 o'clock at night to 3 o'clock in the morning. For people who are prone to cold hands and feet, sallow complexion, and insufficient Qi and blood, trying to align the circadian rhythm can indeed reduce minor problems such as fatigue and dull complexion. Both statements are correct. They are just suitable for different people. There is no need to argue over who is right and who is wrong.

There is another topic that has been debated for many years: should we take a nap? Xiao Zhou, the front desk clerk in my previous office, slept at his desk for 15 minutes at noon every day, and he felt energetic even fishing in the afternoon. Lao Li, who worked as a back-end developer next door, was exactly the opposite. As long as he slept for more than 10 minutes at noon, he would be drowsy until 3 o'clock in the afternoon before he could come back to write code. At present, both views are supported by sufficient clinical data: one school believes that taking a nap for 15-20 minutes can quickly replenish energy and reduce the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. ； Another school of thought believes that taking a nap after 3 pm, or taking a nap for more than an hour at a time, will disrupt nighttime sleep rhythms and aggravate insomnia. To put it bluntly, it is still the same sentence. Your own comfort is the most important. There is no need to force yourself to conform to "healthy habits".

Many people’s first reaction when they have trouble sleeping is to buy melatonin, sleep-aid aromatherapy, or even drink so-called sleep-aid red wine. Here’s a reminder: Melatonin is only suitable for people suffering from short-term jet lag. Long-term use will inhibit the secretion of melatonin and aggravate sleep disorders.； Alcohol can indeed shorten the time it takes to fall asleep, but it will greatly reduce the proportion of deep sleep. Many people still have a headache after sleeping for 8 hours after drinking alcohol, because they stay in the light sleep stage all night and the body has not been repaired at all. I also suffered from sleep disorders when I was working on a project two years ago. I tried all the methods for falling asleep quickly posted on the Internet. Even after counting 478 breaths to 400, I still kept my eyes open and thought about my needs. Later I gave up altogether and woke up to read two pages of the obscure "Neurobiology". My eyelids became so heavy that I couldn't lift them up in 15 minutes at most. This method worked better than any other method.

Friends who read this article today don’t rush to set the alarm clock or stock up on sleep aid products. Why not put down your phone tonight and feel your own state first: can you fall asleep naturally within 20 minutes when you lie down? Can you be able to work when you wake up the next day? If the answer is yes, then do you care what time you go to bed and how long you sleep for according to the Internet?

After all, your body outshines all health standards.