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A Guide to Reclaiming Your Biological Clock
The "Melatonin" hormone, which allows us to fall asleep, is only secreted in pitch darkness. The "Blue Light" entering our eyes from phone, tablet, or television screens in the last 2 hours before bed tricks the brain into believing it is daytime, instantly halting melatonin secretion. It is essential to turn off screens before sleep and read a book under dim yellow light.
The human body must lower its internal (core) temperature by 1-2 degrees to be able to fall asleep. A room that is too warm prevents the brain from performing this cooling process and causes you to wake up constantly. For ideal sleep, the bedroom temperature should be 18-19°C (cool).
The caffeine in coffee and tea blocks the sleep receptors (adenosine) in the brain, and it can take up to 8 hours for it to be cleared from the body. Therefore, caffeine intake should be stopped in the afternoon (after 14:00). In addition, stopping eating 3 hours before going to bed prevents stomach acid (reflux) from interrupting sleep.
Our bodies love routine. Going to bed at the same time every day and waking up at exactly the same time in the morning, regardless of whether it's a weekday or the weekend, allows the brain to automatically encode its "sleep time."
Eating, working on a laptop, or playing on your phone in bed causes your brain to encode the bed as an "active workspace." The bed is only for sleeping; if you haven't fallen asleep within 20 minutes, get up instead of tossing and turning in bed, do something boring in another room, and return when you feel sleepy.
The information on this page is for general health advice. Please consult specialized physicians for personalized treatment or advice.
