"Wake up at 1~3 a.m., vigilance is bad liver!"
"Waking up naturally at 1~3 a.m., the liver meridians are blocked! ”
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Waking up early in the morning is a problem for many people, but some articles on the Internet always blame the early morning wake up to the liver problem, and there are even claims that it may be liver cancer, is there really a scientific basis?
First, always wake up in the middle of the night, is it really liver cancer?
It is rumored that waking up at 1~3 o'clock at night is actually a distress signal sent by the liver, which is likely to be caused by liver cancer, is there a scientific basis for this statement?
In fact, this statement mostly refers to the meridian theory of traditional Chinese medicine, and 1~3 o'clock at night belongs to the liver meridian. But we can't simply link it to liver disease, there are many factors that affect sleep, and more research is needed to support whether it is related to liver cancer.
Waking up frequently at night may be related to these problems:
1. Aging
Older people tend to wake up early, such as 60-year-olds may wake up 2 hours earlier than people in their 30s.
2. The sleeping environment is not good and the room is too hot
Being in an overheated environment will make it difficult for people to fall asleep, and bedding, sleeping clothes, etc., will also affect normal sleep.
3. High mental pressure
Stress can cause the activation of areas of the brain related to attention and wakefulness, which in turn can lead to insomnia.
4. Disease
(1) Menopause syndrome
Middle-aged and elderly women often wake up in the middle of the night is likely to enter the menopausal stage, and women at this stage often feel weak energy and poor sleep quality due to the decrease in estrogen and progesterone secretion in the body and some degenerative changes in other physiological structures. This bad mood can easily induce physiological changes such as anxiety and depression, which will eventually further affect the quality of sleep and form a vicious circle.
(2) Myocardial ischemia
If you wake up in the middle of the night and feel palpitations, or if you have severe arrhythmias, it may be caused by myocardial ischemia. When the muscles near the heart are not active, resulting in blood can not be pumped out and returned normally, the blood supply function of various tissues and organs of the body is stimulated, and after being transmitted to the brain center, the brain will wake up the brain function to regulate, making people wake up.
(3) Sleep apnea
This is a very common sleep-breathing disorder characterized by nocturnal snoring, intermittent apnea, breath holding, and difficulty concentrating. Suffering from sleep apnea syndrome can lead to personality changes, mental confusion, etc., and will also cause adverse effects on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, digestive system, endocrine system, etc.
In addition, hyperthyroidism, gastroesophageal reflux, prostatic hyperplasia, etc. may also cause physical discomfort, resulting in early awakening, so the causes that affect sleep cannot be blindly thought of on liver cancer.
Did you know that sleep is important for health? The quality of sleep may be directly related to a person's longevity.
Second, Harvard new study: high-quality sleep extends life by 5 years, see if you meet the standard?
About 1/3 of a person's life will be spent in sleep, but many people do not reach this time and suffer from insomnia. The Chinese Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Insomnia in Adults (2017 Edition) clearly states that insomnia refers to a subjective experience that is not satisfied with the duration/quality of sleep within the appropriate sleep time and environment, and affects daytime activities.
Recently, researchers from Harvard University have analyzed the data of more than 170,000 Americans with an average age of 50, observed the health of subjects in 2013~2018, and scored their sleep status according to 5 sleep indicators (each score is 0~1, out of 5).
The results found that compared with 0~1 points, the risk of all-cause death decreased by 30%, the risk of death from cardiovascular disease decreased by 21%, the risk of cancer death decreased by 19%, the risk of death from other diseases other than these two diseases decreased by 40%, and the average life expectancy was 5 years longer.
Through research, it can be found that good sleep is very important for health, how to judge whether your sleep is good? The 5 indicators in the study are as follows:
(1) The average sleep time is 7~8 hours per day.
(2) Stay up late and sleep no more than twice a week.
(3) Difficulty falling asleep less than twice a week.
(4) At least 5 days a week, wake up feeling refreshed and energetic.
(5) Do not take any sleeping pills.
I believe that many people cannot meet this standard, so how to improve their sleep quality? Teach you a few methods.
How can I have quality sleep?
1. Create a good sleep environment
A good environment is very important for sleep, and the bedroom temperature is recommended to be kept at 18~20 °C and the humidity is kept at 60~70%. When sleeping at night, pay attention to keeping the environment dark and quiet, which can help promote sleep.
2. Go to sleep at 10 p.m
22 ~ 6 o'clock at night is a low level of cortisol release in the body, and falling asleep at 22 o'clock can help eliminate the chronic stress accumulated in the body. After waking up in the morning, cortisol secretion will gradually increase, allowing people to enter work and study more efficiently.
3. Relax physically and mentally
A good mood is also helpful to promote sleep, some people who feel stressed can drink milk, bubble their feet, listen to music, etc. before going to bed, and do not let the bad emotions during the day be brought into sleep.
4. Bathe and soak your feet before going to bed
Bathing in warm water and soaking feet before going to bed can help shorten the time to fall asleep and improve the quality of sleep, because bathing and soaking feet can quickly drop the core body temperature and achieve the effect of falling asleep quickly.
Many people are troubled by insomnia and find various ways to help sleep, but some widely spread sleep aids are actually not reliable.
Fourth, these sleep aids are wrong and should be avoided
1. White noise to help sleep?
White noise refers to the sound composition of 20 Hz ~ 2000 Hz that can be heard by the ear, and its power spectral line is partially evenly distributed, and the brain can quickly adapt to its existence. Studies have found that white noise can indeed solve the problem of difficulty falling asleep in some people, but it will increase the number and time of waking up at night, but it is easy to make the quality of sleep worse. White noise can be used to fall asleep in the short term, but long-term use is not recommended.
2. Drink alcohol to help you sleep?
Alcohol can inhibit the activity of the nerve centers of the brain, producing a certain sedative effect and making people fall asleep quickly. However, alcohol will increase REM sleep, which can easily lead to dreaminess and multiple awakenings at night, and alcohol is easy to relax the respiratory muscles and aggravate sleep apnea, which is why many people wake up the next day after drinking alcohol and are as tired as they are not sleeping.
3. Exercise to help sleep before going to bed?
Strenuous exercise before going to bed can cause the sympathetic nerves to be overexcited, and the brain will also be excited, which can easily cause difficulty falling asleep.
Having good sleep is positive for health, and people with poor sleep quality can make changes from some details. Of course, don't put too much pressure on yourself, otherwise it will easily backfire.
Resources:
[1] "[Knowledge] Poor sleep quality always wakes up in the middle of the night Be careful is related to several diseases". HealthTianjin.2022-08-27
[2] Harvard: There are 5 criteria for good sleep, all of which extend life by an average of 5 years! 》. Life Times.2023-02-24
[3] "10 Tips to Help You Get a Good Night's Sleep". HealthChina.2021-04-05
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