How to sleep well at night

The need for sleep will vary from individual to individual. However, normally, we need a good sleep for an average of eight hours during night.  Sleep disturbance/ deprivation will cause the following:-

• Drastic effect on our body’s ability to metabolize glucose, leading to symptoms that mimic early-stage diabetes.
• Trouble in thinking properly
• Putting on weight, 
• Frequent Road rage incidents because of lack of sufficient sleep.

Inadequate sleep is the cause of many vehicle accidents because our brain’s frontal cortex relies on sleep to function effectively. Insufficient rest will adversely affect the frontal cortex’s ability to control:-

• speech,
• access memory,
• ability to solve problems,
• efficiency in driving,
• concentration in day to day affairs,
• sports activities,
• work on job and
• studies.

Healthy people who have sleeping disorders will have symptoms of ageing at early age and early diabetes, as their glucose metabolism will fall by, upto forty percent, which will cause weight gain. When healthy people get sufficient sleep, seven to nine hours for most adults, the above physical reactions will disappear and they will regain their energy.

To have a good sleep during night:-

We must avoid late-night snacks, particularly items which are high in sugars and starches. They will raise our blood sugar levels, making it difficult to sleep. Later in the night, those levels will fall, which will keep us awake. We must eat a high-protein snack several hours before going to bed. High-protein snacks like low-fat cheese will provide the L-tryptophan needed by our body to produce melatonin and serotonin which will help us to have a good sleep. With our high-protein snack, we may eat small pieces of some fruits like apple. Fruit sugar helps the L-tryptophan cross the blood-brain barrier. We must not eat dairy food items and wheat products because they will affect our sleep, causing sleep-apnea, excess congestion, gastrointestinal upset, and gas trouble.

We must make our Bed-room as dark as possible,at night/during sleep. Even a little light creeping into the room can throw off our circadian rhythm and our pineal gland’s production of melatonin and serotonin, which help us to sleep. This applies to the toilet also and we may use a night-lamp in the toilet. Because, when the toilet light is switched on during night sleep will be disturbed to others if the light is of high intensity.

We must not watch television before bedtime, which will stimulate our brain, making it hard for us to fall asleep. It also disrupts our pineal gland due to the bright light from the television.

We must not keep the alarm clock or watch or mobile phone near our bed, because waking up and seeing the time will stress us.