What makes you sleep well?

“Early sleep and early wake up makes no regrets,” says a well-known proverb. But is it the only way to have a good night‘s rest? IKEA shares their knowledge about the quality sleep and even more practical tips on how to improve it.

The golden rule
Apply the golden rule of three-thirds to your sleep: divide your day evenly into 8 hours for sleep, 8 hours for work and 8 hours for rest. If at least one third suffers, unfortunately others will suffer too. A person with poor sleep is less able to work and does not have the energy for quality rest. Equally, if you work too hard and suffer the lack of rest, it is impossible to sleep well. Therefore, sleep for at least 7 to 9 hours every night.

Less sleep, more calories
The doctors say that even one lost hour of sleep can affect your body. It will take four well-slept nights to get this one hour back. Scientific studies also show that when there is a lack of sleep, a person consumes an average of 200 kcal more the next day than a well-rested one. So, if you don't want your body to crave for sweets or an extra portion of food, try to sleep for at least one hour longer.

Sleeping like a log isn't a must
Some people think that quality sleep is when you fall like a log and open your eyes only at dawn. But in reality it is absolutely normal to wake up 5 times at night. And the older person gets, the more time he or she wakes up.

“Research shows that if we woke up at the same time every morning and had enough sleep (7 to 9 hours) at night, we would eventually gain even more time. When we are refreshed and well rested, we can do more, act faster, better and make less mistakes.”

Dariums Rimkus, Head of interior designers

Tips for better sleep
1. Create your bedtime rituals: take a shower, have a light snack, etc. You've read it right, it is not recommended to go to bed when you are hungry as a hunter. Bananas, ripened cheese, cottage cheese, milk and turkey are the products that can help you fall asleep. However, it should be a small bite rather than a large portion of food.
2. Get more light during the day. To fall asleep more quickly, you need to get enough light during the day. Go outside every day, especially if you are older, since the natural sunlight helps to release more sleep hormones at night. Reduce light in the evening as much as possible and avoid any sources of it during the night using the blackout curtains.
3. Warm up the body, cool down the room. It is much harder to fall asleep when you feel chilly. Warm up by taking a bath, drinking a cup of tea, putting a heater or a pair of socks on your feet. Your bedroom, on the contrary, should stay cool, ventilated and unlit. A TV, a phone and other devices that emit blue light will scatter the dreams.
4. No caffeine, smoking or alcohol before going to bed. Before going to bed, preferably during the whole second half of the day, you should not smoke or consume alcohol and caffeinated beverages such as coffee, coke or black tea. It is wrong to believe that alcohol helps to fall asleep. Yes, it makes you feel sleepy at first, but you will wake up in a few hours, since the alcohol metabolism products have an irritating effect that distorts the architecture of sleep.