sleep aerobics

This 10-minute exercise, which does not require any equipment and can be completed while lying down, can help 80% of people with mild sleep disorders shorten the time it takes to fall asleep by 15-20 minutes. It has no side effects and will not cause dependence. It is currently recognized in the field of sleep medicine as one of the preferred non-drug sleep aids.

Speaking of which, I first came into contact with this exercise. Last year, I stayed up for a week during the 618 Big Sale. I lay with my eyes open until dawn, and went to the sleep department for an appointment. The doctor didn’t prescribe me any medicine, but just gave me a printed action chart. I rolled my eyes at that time, thinking that if I just moved my hands and feet, what would be the use? As a result, the first time I did it, I just finished relaxing my arms and shoulders, and before I finished rubbing my ears, I started to yawn. I fell asleep after lying down for 12 minutes. Before, I had to turn around for at least an hour and a half.

There are quite mixed opinions about sleep exercises on the Internet. Some people say that you have to stand and do it for half an hour to be effective. Some say that you must cooperate with the 478 breathing method or it will be in vain. Others say that it is effective only by pressing the meridians and acupuncture points of traditional Chinese medicine. I specifically asked the doctor who prescribed exercises for me. He said that these opinions are correct. In essence, as long as it can reduce the excitability of the sympathetic nerves and draw your attention away from the outside world, you can do it however you feel comfortable. There is no standard answer.

The movements I often do now are all made up, half of them are based on the progressive muscle relaxation concept of Western medicine, and the other half are acupuncture points added by my friends in Chinese medicine. If you happen to be lying in bed tonight and tossing and turning, and your mind is still thinking about tomorrow's PPT that you haven't finished yet, and you haven't gone to your child's parent-teacher meeting yet, you can just follow along and do it randomly. First, clench your fist until your knuckles turn white and your arms are a little trembling. Hold it for 3 seconds and suddenly release it. At that moment, you can feel the tightness dissipating along the fingertips. The first time I did it, I got goosebumps. Just tighten and then loosen every muscle from hands to arms, shoulders, face, stomach, legs, and feet for two rounds, and your mind will basically stop wandering.

By the way, there used to be a little girl in the same department who stayed up until two o'clock every day to catch up on the plan. Even eating sleep-aid gummies didn't help. I taught her how to do this. She found it troublesome at first, but after three days of doing it, she came to me and told me that she can fall asleep within half an hour after lying down, and she no longer has to come to work with swollen eyes the next day.

If you are prone to getting angry, and your chest feels hot and your soles of your feet sweat when you lie down, add more traditional Chinese medicine techniques. Rub the recessed Anming point behind your ears for two minutes, and press the Yongquan point on your soles of your feet until it feels a little sore. You can also rub your belly in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. If you usually have constipation, do it clockwise. If you are prone to diarrhea, do it counterclockwise. You don’t have to do 36 rounds as mentioned on the Internet, just rub until your belly is warm. I have to mention here that there are many voices saying that pressing acupuncture points before going to bed makes you feel more energetic the more you press them. In fact, it means that you are too heavy-handed, or you are thinking "Did I press the right place?" Why aren't you sleepy yet? ”, but it makes you anxious, just rub it lightly and randomly. It doesn't matter if you don't press it correctly, the focus is on your hands and you win.

The biggest pitfall I have encountered before is that I couldn't help but touch my phone to check the time while doing it. When I saw "Oh, it's already 12 o'clock, why am I still not asleep?", I instantly panicked and became more and more awake the more anxious I became. Later, I simply threw my phone in the living room to charge, and turned on an orange night light in the bedroom. When I did the movements, I didn’t think about "I want to fall asleep, I want to fall asleep." I just regarded it as relaxing my muscles and bones after a long day.

Anyway, I have developed a habit now. After washing before going to bed, I lie down on the bed, rub my ears for two minutes and then relax my shoulders. I don’t have to remember the movements. I just feel comfortable. I haven’t experienced the feeling of tossing and turning until dawn in a long time. If you count sheep with your eyes open tonight and count to several hundred, why not try it now?