What is sleep hygiene? Hygiene sleep of preschool children

What are the rules that must be followed so that evening retirement is an easy and natural event? How to put the child without screaming and crying? How to switch from daytime activity to a serene night's rest? All of these questions will be answered by the corresponding section of medicine - sleep hygiene.

Definition of term

What is sleep hygiene? This is the field of medicine responsible for the development of activities for the normalization of sleep, as well as studying the impact of the environment on the well-being and natural biorhythms of man. The problems associated with a difficult night's sleep, sudden nightly awakenings, a heavy rise in the morning, continued vigilance and freshness during the day, relate to this section of medicine. Sleep hygiene studies a person's habits, his morning and evening rituals, any actions that help him fall asleep deeply and calmly, that is, all the factors affecting the process of a normal night's rest.

There are four main components that affect the quality of sleep:

- The age.

- Daily rhythm.

- Stress-forming factors.

- Reactive and social substances (nicotine, caffeine, alcohol).

Age

Age plays a big role in sleeping. Usually in the fifth decade, frequent nightly awakenings become commonplace, because over the years, sleep becomes more superficial. The more often a night sleep is interrupted in a person, the more likely that in the morning he will get out of bed languid and tired. The frequency of sudden awakenings is also influenced by other factors that cause excitation of the nervous system. For example, drinking alcoholic beverages just before going to sleep can cause a hangover late at night. Over the years, the hygiene of sleep acquires greater importance for man.

Diurnal rhythm

All our life activity is subject to a twenty-four-hour cycle. It matters, at what time of the day a person is in the arms of Morpheus. The more measured and stable is his daily rhythm, the deeper and calmer the dream. Natural human biorhythm can be disturbed by a variety of reasons: daytime drowsiness, a change in the usual time of retirement to night rest, physical exercises, exposure to light. This parameter is also associated with the intersection of time zones during travel, a long light day and vigil at the computer just before falling asleep.

Stress-forming factors

Sources of stress can be various causes. For example, deadlines for submitting reports and projects, problems at work, family troubles, exams. All these worldly problems can disturb peace and sleep. To distract from such difficulties, of course, it takes time - there are simply no other ways. If a person is accustomed to working late into the night or has a habit of immediately pondering the events of the previous day before falling asleep, he simply can not immediately switch to a full rest.

Sleep hygiene involves the development of a ritual of falling asleep, individual for each person. This is a certain sequence of actions that switches the body from active wakefulness to a state of relaxation and rest. Someone helps to compile a list of the negatives accumulated during the day and ways to work with it. Someone - a warm bath or half-hour reading an interesting book, someone - listening to your favorite musical compositions. A universal solution for all does not exist. One tip: when making the ritual of going to sleep, one should not watch the time. It will be annoying and unnerving. It is better to temporarily disconnect from the urgent worries and give yourself a few minutes of serene tranquility.

Restoring forces of matter

Substances that are acceptable in society, such as caffeine, nicotine and alcohol, can have a greater impact on a person than he thinks. For example, nicotine lingers in the body for about fourteen hours, reduces the duration of sleep and increases the likelihood of nocturnal awakenings. Caffeine has a similar effect on the body, but it in small doses calms the nervous system, and in large - excites. From alcohol, first time can tend to sleep, but later it can provide too bright dreams, increased sweating and headache. All this will affect the quality and duration of the night rest.

Sleep, its meaning

Sleep hygiene is important for the life of any person. Due to unsatisfactory quality or lack of sleep, you can get serious health problems, both short-term and long-term. Incomplete rest can adversely affect the care and productivity of work.

It is necessary to reduce the normal duration of sleep for an hour and a half - and the level of attentiveness of a person will drop by about a third. Chronic drowsiness significantly impairs memory, the ability to think and make decisions, increases the likelihood of injury in the workplace. Long-term sleep shortages due to apnea (respiratory arrest) often lead to serious health problems: stroke, heart attacks, hypertension.

Rules of Sleep Hygiene

- Eating, watching television and finding out the relationship should not happen in bed. Otherwise, the body will no longer associate the bed with a place for relaxation and sleep.

- The place for night rest should be as convenient and comfortable as possible. The air temperature in the room should not exceed 24 ° C and be below 13 ° C. Extra light and nocturnal noises should be kept to a minimum.

- It is necessary to exclude drinking whenever possible after eight o'clock in the evening. A tight dinner just before going to sleep can ruin the dream, while a light snack, on the contrary, will increase the chance of a full night's rest. To quench the hunger before going to bed, it is better to use dairy or carbohydrate foods. Milk contains amino acid L-tryptophan, which facilitates easy falling asleep. Sleep hygiene prescribes the following: if a person can not sleep on an empty stomach, he should drink a glass of milk with low-fat crackers.

- People who experience a sharp burst of energy after exercise are not recommended to perform them before bedtime. Longer workouts are best planned for the morning or afternoon. Regular physical activity, especially running, aerobics and walking, improve the quality of sleep.

- Staying with pets in bed can be the reason for frequent awakenings at an unseasonable hour. If possible, it is worthwhile to provide your pet with a separate, no less warm and cozy place to sleep.

Children's dream

All of the above rules apply equally to children and adults. However, the hygiene of sleeping children has some features. From the correct ratio of sleep and wakefulness in the child's regime, his physical and mental development, the development of speech skills and, ultimately, the full preparation for school depend.

In childhood it is very important to get enough sleep. Babies of three to six months show a seventeen-hour sleep. Over time, the duration of the night, as well as the frequency of daytime sleep gradually decrease. Children of three to four years are assigned to a night rest of 10-10.5 hours, on day time - 2 hours. Preschoolers five or six years of daytime sleep is reduced to 1.5 hours, the duration of the night remains unchanged. The children quickly formed conditioned reflexes to fall asleep. This means that the creation of the ritual of going to sleep is especially important in childhood. A certain sequence of actions: washing and brushing teeth, reading an interesting book, mother's kiss for the night will make for the child the transition from active wakefulness to rest easy and natural. The sleep hygiene of preschool children presupposes the presence of a separate sleeping place, which is quite spacious and convenient for overnight stay. It is important and posture during sleep - a prolonged stay in the same position (for example, only on the right side) can lead to deformation of the spine, thorax and skull. It is necessary to monitor the quality of bedding. Pillows should be small in size (30x30cm), made of a soft feather or down. The most hygienic fillers for mattresses are hair and sea grass.

Conclusion

Thus, the hygiene of sleep and wakefulness is one of the key factors underlying the well-being and strong health of a person. Observing the above rules, you will feel a surge of strength and efficiency. To any recommendations you need to be selective, so more often listen to your body and choose what is right for you.