15th of March, World Sleep Day

A healthy sleep is the key for a fresh body and a clear mind. Many people decide how will be their days when they get out of bed. When you get good sleep at night, you don’t only wake up happier and more peaceful, but you can focus much better, think more effectively and even better control your appetite during the day. In the long term, you can significantly reduce your chances of suffering from heart diseases and diabetes.

Sleep has Always been Important

The importance of sleep for health and happiness is not a perception specific to our era. The Greek god of sleep, Hypnos, and the Celtic goddess of sleep, Caer Ibormeith, show how much people in ancient times cared about sleep. In modern times, sleep can be easily replaced by other things. The number of things that are required to be done in just 24 hours a day cause many people to give up on their sleep. Although sleep is sweet, many people who want to keep up with the pace of the business life following the Mechanisation Era began to see sleep as a burden. Florence Nightingale spent only 4 hours of his day asleep. Nikola Tesla had a maximum of 1 hour naps, and Thomas Edison saw sleep as just a waste of time. Recent research shows that productivity and sleep are an inseparable pair. Seeing that the one-year bill for sleeplessness to the country is 138 billion dollars, Japan is making some arrangements to ensure that its citizens sleep sufficiently and efficiently. Most of the workplaces in Japan even prepare sleeping rooms for their employees during the day.

How did the World Sleep Day Come Out?

Sleep is as important as eating, drinking and breathing. On the other hand, the speed that prevails in the era we are living in causes people’s interest in sleep to decrease every day. Sometimes an urgent job that needs to be completed makes sleep to be pushed to the second plan, sometimes watching a film or surfing in social media can be seen more precious than sleep. Such reasons led to the World Association of Sleep Medicine to organise a special day for sleep. Since 2009, the third Friday of March is celebrated as World Sleep Day with events around the world. On this special day, which aims to raise public awareness about sleep, funds are collected for the researches carried out on sleep. On the other hand, sleep camps are held all over the world. Participants do not take their technological equipment, receive advices for a healthy sleep in the camps away from the noise of the city and enjoy a sound sleep in the nature.

How to Calculate the Ideal Sleep Time

 Although the need for sleep may vary from person to person, the experts indicate that an adult should not sleep for more than 11 hours and less than 7 hours. In order to calculate your ideal sleep time, you can note down the time you entered your bed on a standard day when you feel sleepy and the time you wake up without any cause. You can easily find the ideal time for you, considering that the average time for falling asleep is 20 minutes. If it is not enough for you no matter how long you sleep or having trouble falling asleep, you should contact a sleep specialist immediately.

Suggestions for a Good Sleep

- The rhythm of the sleep is determined by a hormone named melatonin. In order to get the full efficiency from the sleep, it is recommended to be in bed between 23.00 and 02.00, when melatonin is heavily excreted. It is important that your daily sleep time and sleep routine are fixed.

- A room that is not completely dark or the blue light emitted from the mobile in your hand makes it difficult to fall asleep by blocking the melatonin excretion. So it makes you have a sleepless night.

- It is necessary to avoid excessive food or hunger before sleeping. Do not drink caffeine drinks within three hours before sleep.

- It is advisable to get away from the stress of the day and to have a relaxing activity in order to fall asleep more comfortably.

- Sleep hygiene is a must for healthy and quality sleep. A comfortable mattress and pillow that supports your body, as well as sheets and linens that do not make you sweat make it easier for you to sleep.