3 tips voor een goede herfstslaap

Het is donker en koud. De ideale slaapomstandigheden zou je denken. Toch kan je slaapritme en de kwaliteit van je slaap juist in de wintertijd, door diezelfde wintertijd, behoorlijk verstoord raken. Hoe dat komt en wat je ertegen kunt doen, lees je hier.

Seeing too little (day) light

Omdat je in de herfst en winter minder daglicht ziet, kan de lichaamsproductie van belangrijke slaaphormonen, zoals melatonine, serotonine en cortisol, beïnvloeden, worden verstoord. Hierdoor raakt je circadiaans ritme ontregeld (de 24-urencyclus van je lichaam). Waardoor je meer vatbaar wordt voor stemmingswisselingen. Ook wel bekend als de winterdip.

What are you doing well?

Stick to your normal sleeping habits. Taking an extra nap during the day, sleeping in extra long or getting to bed earlier only creates more confusion. Try to get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep. To take in more daylight, especially in the morning, you could consider purchasing a daylight lamp.

Hello humidifier, bye dry air

We all like to have a good time. So the heating comes on during the cold days. Fine. However, there is also a disadvantage to all that (unnatural heat). Static hair, chapped lips, chapped skin...that's because the air inside gets a lot drier when you turn on the heating. Your throat, nose and eyes also suffer from it. Everything gets irritated. And that can cause you to wake up at night.

What are you doing well?

Choose a humidifier. Such a device ensures that the air in the house absorbs moisture. This prevents dryness of the nose, throat, mouth, eyes and skin.

The nightcap that isn't a nightcap

Now that you're on a break, don't drink alcohol (of course). But before you did this, or in the future you might do this, you will. Keep in mind that alcohol has a major impact on the quality of your sleep. It does help you fall asleep faster, but it detracts from the overall quality of your sleep. We wrote an article about it before: 'Sleep well with a fresh head† Here you can read exactly what your sleep cycle is like and the influence of alcohol.

What are you doing well?

Don't drink alcohol because it makes you fall asleep so well. Look for alternatives. These alternative nightcaps are mentioned in the article 'Sleep well with a fresh head', but you can also find them here: 'A nightcap, but different†

Source: sport.be.