sleep health education

There is no universal standard. As long as you are not obviously tired after waking up and can complete work and life tasks normally during the day, your sleep is healthy. There is no need to impose general requirements such as 8 hours and going to bed early and getting up early.

When I was doing a free sleep science clinic in the community, I met 62-year-old Aunt Zhang. She sat down with a bag of sleep-aid tea and melatonin and the first thing she asked was, "I only sleep 5 hours a day. Will something big happen sooner or later?" ”I gave her a simple daytime reaction and cognitive function test, and the results were better than those of many peers who slept 7 or 8 hours. I told her that she didn’t need to worry about sleep time at all. She later gave me feedback that after letting go of her obsession, she rarely woke up in the middle of the night, and she became more energetic during square dancing during the day. This "8-hour obsession" is actually the source of sleep anxiety for most people today. Survey data from the Chinese Sleep Research Association in 2023 shows that nearly 70% of the respondents will become anxious because they have not slept enough for 8 hours. On the contrary, the more anxious they are, the more they cannot sleep, falling into a vicious cycle.

What deserves more attention than the duration is actually your sleep rhythm. A young girl born after 1995 who works in Internet operations came to me for consultation. She said that she followed the legal alarm clock for 90-minute sleep cycles on the Internet and woke up on time for 6 hours (4 cycles) every day. As a result, after half a month, she was fishing every day at work. She drank coffee until she felt flustered and still felt sleepy. I looked through her sleep diary and discovered that she was slow to fall asleep. Sometimes she would lie down for more than 20 minutes before falling asleep. She would set an alarm clock on a hard cycle, which would often pull her out of a deep sleep. It would be strange if she wasn't sleepy. There are actually differences in the academic circles on the application of sleep cycles. The traditional sleep medicine association recommends adjusting your schedule based on a 90-minute cycle, while the emerging chronobiology school believes that the length of each person's sleep cycle is inherently different, ranging from 70 minutes to 110 minutes. There is no need to apply a universal formula. It is more accurate to not feel uncomfortable after waking up than anything else.

As for the most controversial question "whether going to bed late is definitely harmful to the body", there is currently no absolute conclusion. Some studies believe that long-term circadian rhythm reversal will increase the risk of metabolic diseases and cardiovascular diseases. Other tracking studies show that as long as you maintain a fixed schedule for a long time, even if you go to bed at 1 a.m. and wake up from 9 a.m. every day, as long as the rhythm is stable, the health risks will not be higher than those of people who go to bed early and get up early. I am a typical owl type. I used to force myself to lie down at 11 o'clock, counting sheep with my eyes open until 1 o'clock, and could not fall asleep. Later, I simply followed the rhythm and changed to sleep at 1 o'clock and then wake up at 8 o'clock. On the contrary, my efficiency in writing articles and doing science popularization during the day became more than a little higher. Of course, if you are a nurse or online ride-hailing driver who needs to work frequent shifts and cannot maintain a fixed schedule, don't be too panicked. The current consensus is that catching up on sleep regularly is less harmful than staying up late. Even fragmented rest can help you reduce the risk of accidents.

Regarding the wide variety of sleep aid products on the market, don’t take it for granted. Melatonin is not a panacea. It can be used to relieve jet lag in the short term. However, if people with long-term insomnia take it by themselves, it may inhibit their own melatonin secretion, which is not worth the gain. ； Products such as sleep-aid aromatherapy and sleep-aid sprays are actually mostly psychological suggestions and are not considered IQ taxes. If they smell comfortable and can help you relax, there is no harm in using them. The currently clinically recognized first-line intervention for insomnia is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT-I). To put it bluntly, it helps you get rid of misconceptions such as "If I don't sleep well today, I will definitely collapse tomorrow." After many people have done it two or three times, their sleep quality has been significantly improved, which is much better than the long-term effect of taking medicine.

After all, sleep is actually similar to eating and drinking. Some people only need two bowls at a meal to feel full, while some people only need half a bowl. Only your body knows whether it is suitable for you. Don't be bound by various standards on the Internet, and don't worry about tossing and turning for an extra half hour of sleep. Lie down, relax, and wake up refreshed, which is the best sleep health.