Darkness in a room is the basis of a proper sleep. The hormone melatonin is responsible for sound sleep, it is produced by the endocrine gland by the pineal gland and sends signals to the brain that it is time to relax. Melatonin levels naturally rise every night after dark.
Thanks to melatonin, our muscles relax, the feeling of drowsiness intensifies, and the body temperature decreases slightly. The peak production of melatonin occurs at three in the morning, then its level begins to fall and remains at a low level all daylight hours.
Evening exposure to light prevents melatonin from being produced in the right amount. If the light is on in your room before going to bed, then melatonin will be produced ninety minutes less than when the lights are off in the evening.
Due to the low level of melatonin, there are problems with falling asleep and shallow sleep during the night. In addition to feeling overwhelmed the next morning, sleep with light sources can provoke an increase in insulin, increase the risk of depression and even gaining excess weight.
What you need to do to sleep in complete darkness
- turn off the bright overhead light in the room an hour before going to bed;
- get rid of the luminous equipment in the bedroom – modems, electronic clocks and so on;
- charge mobile phones away from the bed. Firstly, this way you won’t wake up from an unexpected nightly notification, and secondly, there will be less temptation to leaf through social networks before going to bed (the blue light of gadgets also interferes with sleep);
- wear a sleep mask if it is not possible to completely turn off the light;
- hang thick curtains on the windows and close them every evening.
Question: is it true that orthopedic pillows are better than usual?
What does your pillow look like? Brand new and voluminous or crumpled due to long use? The quality of sleep depends not only on air temperature, the amount of light in the room, but also on a pillow, mattress, blanket. Today, in every pharmacy and home store, orthopedic pillows are sold. Rectangular foam pillows with a roll under the neck and a “memory effect” adjust to the shape of your head (and cost several times more than usual). Manufacturing companies say the orthopedic pillow helps improve sleep quality and supports neck health.
Previously, many things were called “healing”, but now they have replaced this word with “orthopedic”. Healing pillows are one of the marketing tricks. The main value of orthopedic pillows, according to manufacturers, is a dense cushion, which is located under the neck during sleep. But for such a design to be beneficial, it is necessary to sleep strictly in one position: on the back, motionless throughout the night. Usually a person turns in a dream, changing position every 20-40 minutes, and shifts his head in different directions.
Neck health consists of many factors, in addition, in all people the spine is in a different condition. We can not say that an orthopedic pillow can improve the health of the neck or spine. This requires an integrated approach. Maximum – an orthopedic pillow can make it easier to fall asleep if for some reason you are not sleeping well on a regular soft pillow.
The American Sleep Fund advises you to pay attention to the position in which you wake up: most likely, you spend most of the night in this position. If you sleep on your side, choose a pillow that will support your head and neck. These are just pillows with a roller made of dense materials.
People who sleep on their backs should choose thin pillows – they reduce the strain on the neck.
Those who have a sore neck or upper back need a pillow that preserves the natural neutral position of the spine. A recess in the middle of the pillow helps hold the head, and higher edges support the neck and relieve tension.
