Hello everyone! This is the owner of Fusubon. Today, I'd like to write about sleep.
If you are reading this article, are you sleeping well every day?
Food is very important, but if I can't sleep, I feel tired all day and my work efficiency drops. I take a nap after dinner and can't sleep at night.
This is exactly what is meant by a vicious cycle.
I've been told that I should adjust my body clock, and although I know that, it just makes me feel even more anxious and I can't sleep.
I myself have had a hard time with my body clock being reversed, but recently I've been able to fall asleep without even realizing it when I get in bed.
Let me summarize what I've been up to.
A good night's sleep gives you energy for tomorrow
Common advice for resetting your body clock when you can't sleep
To put it very simply, we need to balance the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
To achieve that balance, it is often said that
① Get some sunlight as soon as you wake up in the morning. Eat meals at regular times.
② Create a relaxing environment before going to bed (no smartphones, good lighting, good scents, etc.)
③ Quit caffeine ④ Do moderate exercise, etc. Let's examine them one by one.
I myself tried the above when my day and night cycle was reversed.
1. Exposing yourself to sunlight as soon as you wake up in the morning and keeping meal times regular
However, even if I went to bed at 4 or 5 in the morning and woke up at 8 in the morning to get some sunlight, I would still feel sleepy in the evening or at 7 p.m., and I would wake up in the middle of the night and be unable to fall back asleep.
Or, in severe cases, some people go to bed around noon and wake up in the evening. In such cases, they cannot even get exposure to sunlight.
So, this means that if the balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems is right, you will be able to get some sunlight right after waking up,
I think it helps regulate your body clock.
Also, I think meal times are determined sequentially depending on the time you wake up, so once you're able to wake up, eating your meals at regular times will help strengthen the regularity of your body clock.
2. Creating a relaxing environment before going to bed (not looking at your smartphone, lighting, scents, etc.)
Regarding ②, when you are sleepy, you can sleep soundly even with the lights on and noisy surroundings.
When you're sleepy, it's common to fall asleep while looking at your smartphone.
Like ①, this can be said to be a measure that is more of an added benefit after your body clock has been adjusted.
I think that people who truly suffer from insomnia feel that they touch their smartphone because they are not sleepy, and so even if they try to resist using their smartphone, they still can't sleep when they can't.
3. Quit caffeine
Personally, I think it's effective. I like coffee and drink at least two cups every day, but since I switched to decaffeinated coffee beans, I feel like I've been able to fall asleep more easily. The lack of caffeine also suppresses the diuretic effect, so I recommend it because you can drink your favorite coffee after dinner without hesitation.
I also drink decaffeinated barley tea. I also recommend decaffeinated drinks for people who can't sleep at night because they have to go to the bathroom. If you can't sleep and drink several cups of coffee a day, I recommend you try decaffeinated coffee beans.
④ Get moderate exercise
Personally, I think that exercise is the most effective . And by exercise, I don't mean 10 minutes, but at least 30 minutes of exercise until you break a sweat.
I think a clue to this can be found in the fact that overseas athletes, for example, make an effort to move their bodies and sweat after traveling long distances in order to overcome jet lag.
People who don't exercise regularly have low muscle mass and low body temperature, which means that blood flow in the body is very poor.
Doing a little strength training and aerobic exercise improves blood flow, delivers oxygen to extremities, and improves metabolism.
I think there are many similarities between improving metabolism and achieving a balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
However, it can be a little daunting to suddenly start exercising on your own. For those people, I recommend the sauna!
Sweating in a sauna and then taking a hot and cold water bath can have similar effects to exercise.
When you can't sleep, try the sauna to restore the balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems
Saunas are showing signs of becoming popular recently, as evidenced by the existence of the word "saunaer."
There has been a sudden boom in saunas, with many people in TV dramas, movies, books, and even celebrities becoming sauna enthusiasts.
Did you know that the true essence of a sauna is not in the high-temperature steaming sauna room, but in the "cold bath" and the "rest" after the cold bath? Below is a summary of how to enjoy a sauna in general, so please use it as a reference.
| Saunas are not good for everyone. If you have a chronic illness, sudden contraction of blood vessels may lead to an accident, so we recommend that you refrain from saunas, especially if you have a chronic illness such as heart disease. Please consult with your doctor and make a careful decision. *Cautions when bathing in a sauna : People with high blood pressure should not bathe in high temperatures for long periods of time; People with lifestyle-related diseases should not alternate between hot and cold baths; Bathing while drinking alcohol |
How to use the sauna
First, wash your body
You will sweat a lot in the sauna, so be sure to thoroughly wash off any dirt from hair products before entering. Otherwise, the sauna room will get dirty.
Soak in the bathtub
After washing your body thoroughly, warm up your body in a bathtub. Some people jump straight into the sauna, but I recommend warming up in a bathtub first.
When you soak in a hot tub, your pores open up, allowing you to sweat as quickly as you would in a sauna.
Stay hydrated
This is very important! Make sure you drink plenty of water before entering the sauna.
Before you go to the sauna, you might want to check if there is a water cooler to drink water.
If not, be sure to buy water and drink it.
Go to the sauna
Now, it's time to enter the sauna. It is said that it is easier to sweat if you dry your body before entering the sauna, as the sweat outlet is not blocked by water. It is also good manners to dry your body before entering the sauna room.
There are two types of saunas: the "Finnish sauna" which is large, has low humidity and high temperature, and the "steam sauna" which has high humidity and low temperature, but the former Finnish sauna is more common. The temperature of a Finnish sauna is generally around 90 to 110 degrees.
The sauna is equipped with a 12-minute timer.
If you have not taken a bath, you should sweat for 10 to 12 minutes, and if you have taken a bath, you should sweat for 8 to 10 minutes.
( *The above is merely a guideline based on my personal opinion. Do not push yourself too hard. )
Get out of the sauna and sweat it out
Now, when you come out of the sauna, don't jump straight into the cold bath. It's a complete breach of etiquette. Let's wash away the sweat. Now, the temperature of the water to wash away the sweat is an issue. There are various opinions on whether to scoop water from the cold bath into a bucket or to wash it off with a warm shower, but I like to wash it off with a warm shower.
Take a cold bath
Now it's time to enter the cold bath. Start by slowly entering from your feet. If you are a beginner, start by immersing yourself close to the entrance/exit.
At first it's so unbearably cold that you feel like your heart will stop, but after about 10 seconds, you feel as if your own heat is forming a gentle film around your body.
The standard temperature for a cold bath is 18 degrees. You should stay in for 90 to 180 seconds. When your head starts to feel lightheaded, it's time to get out. Don't jump out suddenly, hold on to the handrail and get out slowly. Also, if you stay in a cold bath that is below 16 degrees for more than three minutes, your body temperature will drop too much and you will be unable to move, which is very dangerous , so please try to control this yourself.
I wiped myself off and sat on the bench.
Now, after slowly getting out of the cold bath, wipe the cold water off your body and sit on a bench. Some saunas have space to lie down. Other saunas do not have benches. In places where there are no benches, you have no choice but to sit on a chair by the shower.
This is very important, but close your eyes while feeling the body temperature slowly return to normal. You will feel dizzy, and the dizzying sensation will gradually subside. After that, your airways will open up and you will feel the sensation that sauna-goers call "settlement." Generally, you should rest on the bench for 10 to 15 minutes.
Once you get used to it, you'll be able to experience this sensation on the first try, but if it's your first time, you'll need to repeat the same routine three times.
One turn takes about 30 minutes, consisting of 10 minutes in the sauna, 2-3 minutes in the cold bath, and 15 minutes of rest. So, if you do it three times, it will take 1.5 hours. In addition, if you take into account the time it takes to soak in the bathtub and wash your body, it will take more than two hours, so it will be about the same as watching a movie.
It's easier to keep your balance by using heart rate instead of time.
*Added 2022/03/25: It is easier to convey the feeling of "getting into the sauna" to people who are new to saunas if you manage your heart rate rather than the amount of time you spend in the sauna, so we will explain how to do this.
These days, there are inexpensive smart bands on the market that can measure your heart rate, so I use one in the sauna.
My heart rate is about 60 BPM when I'm sitting and about 70 BPM when I'm standing, but when I get in the bath, I first increase my heart rate to about 100 BPM.
After that, drink some water and enter the sauna room to raise your heart rate to about 150 BPM. If the temperature and humidity of the sauna is low, your heart rate may not rise that much even if you stay in the sauna for more than 12 minutes. In such cases, your body will become too cold in the cold water bath, making it difficult to achieve the feeling of relaxation.
In my case, I keep my heart rate at 150 BPM or more in the sauna and 60 BPM or less in the cold bath, and by doing so, I find it easier to get a sense of balance. If you just can't get it all together, try managing your heart rate instead of time.
Improving blood flow helps regulate your body clock
It felt so good that I was able to fall asleep as soon as I got in bed that day. After repeating the sauna routine, my head felt so clear.
I used to do pressure training, and this may be similar to that feeling.
When you exercise, your body temperature rises and your metabolism increases. Then you cool down. I think saunas can create that situation.
Since I realized this, I started doing light strength training and aerobic exercise about twice a week.
By going to the sauna once a week and doing light exercise twice a week, I was able to fall asleep with the TV on and YouTube on when I got in bed. If I could get in bed between 11pm and midnight, I would fall asleep before I knew it, and I could wake up at 6am, or at the latest 7am.
This also helped me to get my meal times more regular: I started eating at around 8pm, lunch by 1pm, and breakfast when I was hungry.
The following is the conclusion,
When you can't sleep, you need to spend time and effort doing things like exercise or going to the sauna.
Once your body clock has shifted, you can't just take some easy steps to get it back. Exercise and sweat.
And sweat in the sauna. I started doing that little by little and was able to fall asleep quickly. Please give it a try!
If you can't sleep, it's a good idea to sweat in the bath.
Can you experience the effects of a sauna in your own bathtub?
For those who want to try sauna but can't do it every week, we will introduce a bathtub that can produce a similar effect, although it is less effective than a sauna.
The bathtub is not as hot as a sauna, but if you soak in it for a long time, you can raise your core body temperature. (Your heart rate will rise to about 120 BPM or less.) Make sure you drink plenty of water and try soaking in the bathtub for about 15 minutes, without overdoing it.
About 120 minutes before you want to sleep, soak in the bath for 15 minutes to warm up your body's core temperature. This will lower your body temperature and make it easier to fall asleep than if you didn't take a bath before going to sleep. I thought this was a bit similar to the phenomenon of hypoglycemia, where too much insulin is released after suddenly consuming carbohydrates, causing blood sugar levels to drop below the original level.
It is known that the deeper your sleep is during the first 90 minutes of sleep, the better your sleep will be after that. Many people enjoy soaking in a bathtub, but few people spend 15 minutes in it, so please give it a try.
If you sleep well, your body will have more time to produce ketone bodies, making it easier to lose weight.
After a long, good night's sleep, you will likely have a few mmol/L of ketone bodies when you wake up in the morning, making your body more likely to use fat as energy.
On the other hand, lack of sleep not only makes work less efficient, but also increases the amount of active oxygen produced by stress, accelerating cell aging. Also, continued lack of sleep makes leptin less effective.
If you can't sleep, your body is more likely to gain weight
What is Leptin?
Leptin is a hormone that acts on the appetite center and transmits information to the brain that you are full.
If insulin is the hormone that stores fat, then leptin could be said to be, in some sense, the hormone that helps you lose weight.
If you don't get enough sleep, you are more likely to experience leptin insufficiency (this is called leptin resistance; insulin resistance also means that insulin doesn't work as well), and even if leptin is secreted, it will be less effective.
Many people think that if they go without sleep and are active for long periods of time, they will use up energy and lose weight, but in reality, the function of leptin decreases, which can lead to overeating and weight gain.
Summary on sleep
To get a good night's sleep, we recommend moderate exercise (stretching, muscle training, aerobic exercise) and alternating hot and cold sauna baths + rest! In simple terms, you should sweat profusely once every few days. Sweating profusely = improved blood flow = improved switching between sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves.
Approaching sleep is also very important for maintaining a healthy body, so please try it out! See you next time!
