Why you sleep worse in winter?

Tips for sleeping in winter:

It’s cold and inclement outside and that has an impact on your night’s sleep. Why do you sleep worse in winter? And how do you boost your sleep?

Do you sleep worse once winter has started? You’re not the only one! Winter comes with cold and rain and then it gets dark much faster. As a result, we go outside less and we catch less daylight, two things that have an impact on your night’s sleep. What to do?

You can express the amount of light in lux. A normal summer day has about 10,000 lux, while in winter it is sometimes only 1,000 lux. Where it is very easy to take in enough light in the summer, this is a lot more difficult in the winter with those short, dark days.

GO OUTSIDE!

Due to the shortage of daylight, your biological clock falters and your sleep rhythm gets confused. For example, it often takes longer before you fall asleep, while in winter you are more tired during the day. It therefore helps enormously if you make sure that you do go outside during the day. On cold and bad weather you can dress. Just a walk during your lunch break provides a dose of that much-needed daylight. Every day 15 to 30 minutes outside already makes a difference, Do this between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

DAYLIGHT LAMP

Sleep deprivation has several negative effects. Not only are you tired and physically deteriorating, too little sleep also affects your cognitive functions. such as concentration and memory. And we’re not even talking about your mood. That can really suffer from lack of sleep and lack of daylight. before you know it, you’ll be worrying all night. A daylight lamp can offer a solution if you suffer from a shortage of daylight, and you are unable to go outside enough. Such a lamp has a light intensity of about 10.000 lux, which is comparable to direct sunlight.

REGULARITY

In any case, try to have a fixed bedtime (preferably earlier than in the summer), even if you lie awake a little longer than usual. “If you don’t sleep, you’re still resting”, your mother probably used to say, and although rest is not the same as sleep, there is a grain of ruth in it. It is a comforting thought: even if you do not fall asleep, you will rest. This helps you relax physically and mentally, creating the right conditions to actually sleep. Are you still awake after 15 minutes? Then get out of bed and do something relaxing, such as yoga, meditation or mindfulness. or use the pineal gland reflex pressure point, for activation of melatonin. It alo seems to help to lie down in an uncomfortable place such as a cold couch. This increases the need for sleep.

Another tip: make sure your feet are warm, because cold feet make it harder to fall asleep. Wear special sleeping socks, use a hot water bottle or a foot blanket if you regularly lie in bed with too cold feet.

WHAT NOT TO DO:

Even if you lie awake: your bed is only for sleeping. It’s not a place to watch an (exciting) movie or play games on your phone. Turn off that phone completely and make sure your bedroom is dark. Do not drink coffee or alcohol before bed. A cup of chamomile tea can actually help you sleep well.

AWAKE ON TIME

A fixed sleep rhythm also includes a fixed time to get up. Don’t just use that time during the week, but preferably also during the weekend. Do you have trouble falling asleep, but do you only get out of bed in the morning with pain and difficulty? Then it is not strange with those darker winter mornings. As long as it remains dark, the brain produces the sleep hormone melatonin, making it extra difficult to get up. A light alarm clock can help your body ome out of that sleep mode.

KEEP NICE MOVING!

In addition, try to keep moving, even if it is much more tempting to play Netflix under a blanket on the couch. Enough exercise will help you fall asleep better at night and wake up with more energy in the morning. Do not exercise right before going to bed, as this will only make it more difficult to fall asleep.

Finally: A snotty head doesn’t help either. This is now how you make sure you sleep well when you have a cold.

When you have a bad cold, it can be difficult to fall asleep. A stuffy nose, a sore throat and a lot of coughing is not very conducive to a good night’s sleep. Get your beauty sleep with these nine tips.

1. Use a humidifier: Dry air is very annoying when you have a cold. Therefore, use a humidifier in your bedroom at night. The steam helps against congestion and moistens your nasal passages. In addition, it helps you breathe, soothes a sore throat and soothes the irritated tissues in your nose. Do clean the humidifier regularly: this way you prevent the spread of bacteria.
2. Take a shower before going to bed. If you have a cold, take advantage of the steam from a warm shower before going to sleep. This makes breathing easier. You can also run the shower and sit in the steamy bathroom with the door closed (sprinkle some eucalyptus drops on the wall) or hang over a sink with running hot water.
3. This relieves congestion and opens the nasal passages. I’m very against nasal sprays, it can damage your nasal passages. You can even become addicted to nasal sprays through the drug xylometazoline.
4. Take care of your sore throat, gargling with salt water, and with some mouthwash will also help and clean your throat from bacteria for a quick relief.
5. If you have a sore throat and fever for more then two days, contact your doctor. Especially if you don’t hae the typical sympoms of a cold like nasal congestion and sneezing. It could also be a streptococcal infection.
6. Use some drops on a tissue with eucalyptus instead of nasal strips. keep it under your nose and breath it in.
7. Apply menthol ointment to your chest. Reduce cough by rubbing a menthol ointment on your chest and throat. This ointment also keeps your nostrils open during the night due to the strong mint scent. Do not eat the ointment or put it in your nose. Never use it on children under two years of age. They ay experience respiratory arrest due to the strong smell. There is a special baby variant available without menthol. You can use this from six months.
8. Raise the head of your bed, you may have heard that your sinuses empty more easily if you stuff a lot of pillows under your head. However, doctors say this is not a good idea as it unnaturally bends the neck and can make breathing difficult.
9. Stay in your rhythm, A cold can disrupt your normal day and night schedule but get up and go to bed at the same times as usual. Sticking to a sleep schedule will not only make it easier for you to fall asleep, it will also help you fight the next cold. One study suggests that sleep-deprived people are three times more likely to catch a cold than those who sleep eight or more hours a night.

 Thank you for reading,
Lisette