Sleep: restless nights and difficult awakenings

Abrupt waking at 5 am? Chilled sleep? Great insomniac beach? Impossible to close your eyes while lying down? A bit of all this? And in the morning you wake up tired? Raplapla?

In any case, on arrival, for sure, you feel tired, as 1 in 2 French who says bad sleep. However, sleep is essential for the body, which takes the opportunity to launch large revisions all over the place. According to the National Institute of Sleep and Vigilance (INSV), we sleep more than a third of our lives and it is "determinant for growth, brain maturation, development and preservation of our cognitive abilities ". Sleep would also intervene in cardiovascular protection, and its role in many diseases would still be very underestimated. Finally, it is "essential for the adjustment of many of our hormonal secretions, and we now know that its reduction in quantity or the alteration of its quality promote weight gain and the risk of obesity". Missing more than that: the kilos argument! It is really time to opt for a real big dodo repairer .

Sleeping is not wasted time. The lack of chronic sleep induces a whole lot of malfunctions in the metabolism. For example, decreased production of leptin , a nocturnal hormone related to satiety . This drop of leptin pushes us to eat more. The lack of sleep is therefore fattening. But the health consequences go far beyond: irritability, anxiety, sensitivity to pain, diabetes and, in children, poor performance.

According to the sleep specialists, we must first review our sleep ritual . Our main mistake? Too often the calm phase that precedes is omitted. For 1-2 hours, it would be necessary to prepare his night and his sleep: no sport, no screen (neither TV nor computer), no noise, no cigarette or exciting, but quiet activities like reading. Cuddling, they, promote sleep. Finally, you have to go to bed regularly at the same time, in the dark and in a rather cool room (between 18 and 20 ° C).

Day / night: sorting

Everything is connected: wakefulness and sleep, day and night "We all have a sleep / wake rhythm," explains Professor Joel Paquereau, CHU Poitiers and INSV president. We are awake to sleep well and sleep to wake up, he recalls. And, for that, it is necessary that the two phases are very contrasted. In other words, sitting all day long, it's not terrible, because it's not much different from lying down. During the day, do not hesitate to move, walk, pedal ... In short, be active, what you do not do at night. "Only a period of active and constructive awakening, combining work and leisure, ensures a restful sleep ," confirms Anne Tardy, author of 10 minutes to sleep well (Marabout) and ex-great insomniac . Yes, a healthy lifestyle promotes a good sleep. But how can we avoid the worries of the day nibbling on our nights? The advice of the insomniac: do not spend the nights with the worries of the day. "Before going to bed, I take 5 minutes to carefully note everything related to" tomorrow ". Once my worries put away, she adds, I can go to bed and walk in more sweet thoughts. "

Review his sleep BABA

" The majority of those who consult for sleep disorders do not apply simple basic recommendations ," notes Dr. Xavier Drouot, sleep center of Henri-Mondor Hospital (Créteil). They remain incredulous about their effectiveness. However, we prepare our night in the 4 hours before falling asleep, "he recalls. Exit, then, the TV and the computer, the evening before going to sleep (or, worse, in the bed). We reserve his room to the dodo and amorous tramps, we drop the temperature to 18 ° C (even burying under a thick duvet, truffle in the fridge and feet in socks -a study has shown that it was worth better to have warm feet to fall asleep). And, especially, no sport in the evening, in the hope of getting tired: by increasing the internal temperature of the body, we thwart the arrival of sleep. Finally, you do not have to binge on coffee, including in the morning: "Caffeine accumulates in the body, says Dr. Paquereau, and five or six espressos, even swallowed before 3 pm, can disrupt sleep. Same recommendation for cola drinks.

To offer a bath

It's not green, it's true, but still better than a sleeping pill, right? A small bath at least 2 hours before bedtime helps to relax (by lowering blood pressure) and, as a result, promotes restorative sleep (characterized by a drop in blood pressure). "Provided that the bath is not too hot, says Dr Xavier Drouot. The skin is at 32 ° C, it must be pleasant: around 36-37 ° C, but not 38-39 ° C because it increases the internal temperature of the body, which is a real obstacle to sleep. » You can add essential oils. Not pure, but in a neutral base for bath: 7 drops of lavandin HE and 7 drops of bergamot HE to relax body and mind. Or, another option: bath infusion made from lavender, orange blossom, lemon balm and chamomile. We slide a bag in the water of the bath and relax (Infusions of bath Zzz, of the English mark Hedgerow Herbals, 5,90 € the 3 packets bio, on sale exclusively on www.composition-naturelle.com). And to find out more: Recovering sleep, Guillaume Gérault, naturopath, Albin Michel, collection The little book of essential oils, € 4.90.

Manage brightness

Our body reacts a lot to the day and its light. Question of hormones. During the day, the white light closes the secretion of melatonin, the chief sleep hormone, which controls all the restorative phases of the night, "like the growth hormone, especially secreted during the first cycles of sleep", says the Dr Drot. As soon as this light decreases, our brain receives the message "night" and begins to secrete the famous melatonin . "It is better to sleep shuttered shutters because on moonlit nights, the moonlight is quite white, close to that of the sun," says the specialist. The interest of respecting a good rhythm day / night? Promote the secretion of this hormone, related to our biological clock set, whatever happens, over 24 hours and gives, at a time, the beginning of sleep. We do not play with impunity with this rhythm. Thus, when traveling, it is easier to recalculate with the schedules of the country of arrival taking a maximum of light in the morning and wearing dark glasses in the afternoon, to influence our melatonin.

Find the door of sleep

We each have one, which is our own. We must spot it because our biological clock is designed to leave us a niche of 15 minutes not to be missed. Otherwise, it is necessary to wait 1 h 30 for the next sleep cycle. "When we yawn at 10 pm, we should be able to go to bed but, often, we have files in progress, we must take care of the house or children ... in short, we have plenty to do. Modern society forgets biological rhythms, " says Dr Xavier Drouot. But even if there is another cycle some 90 minutes later, the signs will be less clear. So we risk missing them again. We end up sleeping, overcome by exhaustion. This is why we are almost all lacking sleep, including deep sleep. This one is longer in the first cycles and a little less in the last ones, more occupied by the paradoxical sleep, that of the dreams. We miss our best hours of sleep ! So, as soon as we yawn - often at the same time, and for some, it can be as early as 9:30 pm - that we have heavy necks and itchy eyes, it is better not to resist. On the other hand, if you are lying down, regardless of these signs, and you have not slept for at least 20 minutes, it is better to get up rather than stay in bed to ruminate on this sleep that does not come .

Calm his legs

When one is the kind to have legs gigoteuses , one sleeps less well. Simply because involuntary movements due to impatience in the legs interfere with falling asleep and falling asleep. But at each end of the sleep cycle, there is a short awake phase - normal - which we do not remember. But if you suffer from the "restless legs" syndrome, you may not go back to sleep. And sometimes, the impatience felt is so painful that it can even interfere with deep sleep. Finally, the quality of sleep is very inadequate, even to the point that we doze a part of the day. Good to know: this syndrome is sometimes linked to a lack of iron. Supplementation is often effective in this case. It is best to talk to your doctor to determine the origin of these disorders.

Stalking her spouse's snoring

Yours or darling-darling. Of course, noise is an enemy of sleep.
For snorers, you should also consider sleep apnea syndrome (around 8% of the adult population), which is characterized by respiratory arrest. This results in repeated breathing pauses (ten seconds to a minute and a half). His night becomes a real marathon and his day is filled with moments of drowsiness. These sleepers less easily reach deep sleep. According to the INSV, the reliable benchmarks to know if one suffers from it: the headache on waking, somnolence the day, sleep almost systematic in front of the TV or reading and the age, since this syndrome touches more frequently people over 50 years old. It is necessary to consult sleep specialists to set up a suitable treatment.

As for the " small snorers " of winter, without apnea, they can try the respiratory patches (Arko Respir, 7 patches, Arkopharma ...).

Take precautions

It looks like the recommendations of our moms in our childhood, but hey, you are delivered anyway ... Better not to drink too much water at night and even less alcohol.
If the bladder is naturally programmed to produce less urine at night, bugs can occur, especially in some more sensitive people. "It is generally acceptable to spend 8 hours without urinating, says Professor Paquereau, but when the bladder is too full - and this threshold of tolerance varies depending on the individual - it may happen that you have to get up to go to the toilet. This fragmentation of sleep is obviously a source of long-term fatigue. "

But to prepare yourself to fall asleep and relax, do not refuse a soothing herbal tea.
Try for example valerian , hops (against nervousness) and hawthorn (against stress). The relaxing effect of the herbal tea also comes from the taste, the smell, the warmth of the cup in the hands, the time you give yourself ... short, the ritual. Replace the sugar with a spoonful of honey. You can also take these plants in capsules.

If I wake up in the middle of the night, what do I do?

Our internal clocks result in identical cycles from one night to the next. It is not unusual to wake up often at the same time. On the other hand, the impossibility of going back to sleep every night hides no doubt a problem of insomnia .

To get up or not? If you are fully awake, you do not need to stay in bed. Better to get up to change your mind, take a book, and only go back to bed when you feel tired again. And go back to bed when the signs of sleep reappear. But by then, we do not kill time by looting its fridge, otherwise we restart the entire process of digestion in stride. And if sleep is not far (awakenings are short), we try to catch up with ...).

- A breathing "in rhythm" on four times: inspiration by the nose, then one blocks his breathing, lungs full. One expires by the mouth, then one blocks one's breathing, empty lungs. We are thus approaching the natural rhythm of breathing when we fall asleep.

- A homeo reflex. For awakenings between 1 am and 3 pm, the treatment is Arsenicum album (the cure for anxiety), to be taken in 15 CH at night, at the rate of 5 granules. But after 4 o'clock in the morning, the awakenings are rather due to worries of the professional type, one then moves towards Kalium phosphoricum 9 CH, 5 granules to take on waking and at bedtime. Of course, all these treatments are to be adjusted with his homeopath.

- The false good idea. Stay in bed without getting sleep, thinking you are resting anyway. We start to rehash, to dread his day tomorrow, and the stress rises.

How are we sleeping?

Our sleep is broken down into different phases of activity: slow sleep (light and deep) and REM sleep.

? In slow slow sleep, we are in the relaxation phase: the cardiac and respiratory rhythms slow down, the muscles relax ... The physical fatigue fades away little by little.

? In deep slow sleep, organs regenerate, blood sugar regulates and in the brain, energy consumption (sugar oxygen) has dropped by 30%, this allows intellectual rest.

? In REM sleep, the brain is "boiling", it is the phase of dreams, and our body appears in anarchy: irregular respiratory rhythm, instability of pulse and heart rate. Not very relaxing, but intellectually very structuring!

Learn to relax before sleeping