For World Sleep Day, we explain some of the habits that promote healthy sleep.

Good sleep is a matter of habit. We suggest giving Tokei (which means ‘clock’ in Japanese), a method based on good routines that help retune biological rhythms for quality sleep, a try.

Although Tokei sets the ideal pace for life, you can always adapt it to your needs, aiming to come as close to it as possible.

The 7 tips for a good night’s sleep

1. Wake up with natural light. Wake up with the light of dawn, not with the alarm clock. If you can’t leave the blind open because of light pollution, use a sunrise alarm clock.
2. Train in the morning. Exercise in the morning and outdoors for natural light exposure. If you can’t, walk to work and try to work out when it’s still light out.
3. What and when to eat. Follow a healthy diet (such as the Mediterranean), eat dinner 3 hours before bedtime, and refrain from consuming stimulants (coffee, tea, chocolate) 6 hours before bedtime.
4. Overnight fasting. Include melatonin-rich foods, such as oily fish, vegetables and dairy products, in your evening meal. This meal should be light, but enough for a 12-hour fast.
5. Take a micro-nap. A short, 20-30 minute nap after eating is recommended. If you can’t a nap, use your lunch break to relax in the sun.
6. Orange lights. The orange light of the sunset gets us ready for sleep. Create a similar ambience at home after your evening meal by dimming the lighting and using warm lights.
7. Airplane mode. Turn off mobile phones, tablets and computers 2 hours before going to bed. You avoid the blue light from the screens, switch off from your day and start to gradually relax.

Sources:

El Método Tokei. Dr. Eduard Estivill and Dra. Carla Estivill. Ed. Plaza & Janés.

This post is also available in: Portuguese (Portugal)