When does sleeping protect your heart and brain?
Did you fall asleep watching the evening news, or did you not go to bed before midnight? Both extremes are not good. Not only will you not wake up refreshed in the morning, but you will also increase your risk of heart disease.
Quality sleep is a necessary prerequisite for good health, strong immunity, good physical condition, and mental health. Fluctuations in sleep patterns can fundamentally shake off the entire organism, while fluctuations in the sleep hormones melatonin, stress hormones, and happiness hormones can have far-reaching effects. Therefore, sleep disturbances are one of the possible triggers for diabetes, heart disease, or cancer growth.
The best time to lie down. Not only the number of hours you spend in bed matters, but also the time you go to bed. Rest should respect the natural circadian rhythm and the alternation of light and dark. According to a recently published study in the UK, the ideal time to go to bed is between ten and eleven p.m. "On the other hand, going to bed after midnight is at the greatest risk," said David Plans of the University of Exeter, one of the study's authors. If you go to bed late, you are still sleeping at dawn, not because the body begins to wake up naturally because of dawn.
Misaligned internal clocks play an important role in many bodily processes. They can disrupt hormones, cause hot flashes or, conversely, a constant feeling of cold and worsen the condition of the heart and blood vessels. At the same time, irregular lying down, disturbing light stimuli, and frequent awakenings during the night can interfere with normal sleep.
The researchers found all of these significantly more common conditions in people who went to bed before 10 p.m., which, according to their conclusions, meant too early. Staying in bed for too long does not bring more refreshment, only irregular and restless sleep. And it is this that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.
According to a survey of 88,000 people, the association between erroneous bedtime and cardiovascular problems differed in men and women. For men, who are most prone to problems if they go to bed before 10 o'clock, while for women, falling asleep too early and falling asleep after midnight are both harmful. Obviously, there are fundamental differences in how the male and female hormonal systems respond to circadian rhythm disturbances," explains David Plans. Improper sleep timing can not only affect sleep quality, but also blood sugar levels and blood pressure. Long-term failure to pay attention to sleep hygiene can worsen the course of diabetes and lead to stroke or heart attack.
How sleep relates to the psyche. Disrupted sleep, especially lack of sleep, can also cause anxiety and lead to depression — problems that women are more likely to fall into than men. Perhaps also because they often put unfinished business aside and take stock of new tasks, which only creates more stress. Do you have trouble calming down before falling asleep? Try herbal medicine. "Valerian has long been used to improve sleep, and St. John's wort is also effective. It is also important to adjust the mentality, and Willow helps with this. You can also use linden, bacopa, lavender, and Baikal chrysanthemum to promote healthy sleep.
Do you wake up in the middle of the night and can't sleep? Not only does the heart need sleep, but the brain needs sleep too. "Memories, for example, are only formed when you're sleeping. Thoughts are integrated into the brain and the so-called weeds are removed," explains Martin Jan Stránský, a neurologist at the Národní Polyclinic in Prague. Quality sleep helps improve learning, concentration, and productivity, as well as emotional and social intelligence. When you sleep well, you'll be able to read other people's faces more easily and even respond better to stressful emotional stimuli — in short, you'll be more empathetic to others.
