Sleep through: So it works again!

35 percent of Germans know what it means to be awake at night: Especially women and men in the second half of life suffer from insomnia, Insomnia, as doctors say. Because with age, not only does our body change, but so does our sleep? sleep through is difficult.

"The sleep architecture, ie the distribution of sleep stages, is becoming more unstable," explains Professor Jürgen Zulley, head of the Sleep Medicine Center Regensburg. One reason for women: menopause. The lowering of the estrogen level in the body leads to hot flashes, and that disturb the night's sleep considerably. Once the hormone levels have settled at a lower level, healthy sleep returns.

Anyone who has trouble sleeping through will get sick in the long run

Sleep is a basic need, without it we become ill. After just three nights of continuous waking, participants in an experiment began to behave strangely, to talk nonsense, or even to hallucinate. Why this is so, science can not explain so far. In sleep labs, the phenomenon is observed and measured, but still there are many puzzles for the researchers.

Sleep through sleep affects us

One thing is certain: sleep is a highly active matter. He makes important repairs to the body and mind. Decisive for this are two phases: In deep sleep, our immune system is working at full speed, the brain releases growth hormones and builds new cells.

Sleep through: Important for your health

In dream or REM sleep (from the English "Rapid Eye Movement") move our eyes under closed eyelids like a tennis game back and forth. Our brain works more than in the waking state, we dream hard and process the experiences of the past day, Over the years, the dream sleep, but especially the deep sleep phases decrease. While young adults still spend 19 percent of their bedtime in this phase, the proportion of deep sleep between 36 and 50 years drops to three percent. "This is completely normal, a natural change and not a disease," says sleep researcher Jürgen Zulley.

What helps to sleep through?

Age alone is still there no adequate explanation for bad sleep. US researchers have shown that social involvement, good friends and lived faith are always a gentle cushion. Other proven tips to sleep through:

Sports
Healthy eating
sex
Gentle herbal remedies of valerian and hops
Essential oils such as lavender and chamomile (for example, in aroma pots)

On average, we wake up 28 times a night. A relic from early evolution. At that time, the nature-built wake-up alarm should protect us from danger? Sleeping through was not intended. Today he makes no sense anymore. Luckily we usually do not notice this awakening at all. Only those who are awake for more than three minutes remember it.

Causes of poor sleep: snoring and the thought carousel in bed

Snoring at the partner can keep us awake all night. But even brooding in bed disturbs the sleep and lead to sleep disorders: Whenever you have thoughts in your head, they often prevent us from falling asleep quickly. The fatal thing about it: Problems like to emerge at night. This is due to drowsiness hormones that depress our mood in the dark. Watching is also typical from two or three o'clock in the morning. Because after crossing nocturnal zenith, the body begins to release the stress hormone cortisol to make us slowly wake up for the next day? then it was with sleep.

Sensitive people are more likely to suffer from insomnia

"Sensitive people are more likely to suffer from sleep problems," says psychologist Sabine Eller, who heads the sleep laboratory Schillerhöhe near Stuttgart. All those who are particularly attentive to their environment, who are already sensing problems from afar and whose mind-set spirit constantly works without switching off, the mind-carousel often can not stop. Falling asleep or sleeping through is impossible.

Our brain as a PC

Sleep researcher Eller compares our brains to a computer: during the night, a special program cleans up the hard drive and sorts the data. This program is called "restful sleep". With him we process our impressions and problems. However, if at night, due to constant pondering, data is constantly being downloaded to our hard disk, that's too much for us. We are getting more and more excited and developing sleep disorders.

Especially in times of biographical upheaval, when life gets mixed up, it makes us insomniac and inability to sleep. For most, sleep comes back a bit behind. In some, however, insomnia nestles as a permanent guest, becomes chronic. "Then the lack of sleep dominates the whole life," explains psychologist Eller. These insomniacs are worried about the next night. Instead of relaxing, they cramp more and more.

Sabine Eller advises such people: "Imagine not sleeping." Paradoxically, this often works and staying asleep works again. This advice can not hurt either. Because who does not sleep, does not get sick immediately. Every three days, the body gets its minimum of sleep. But when the pressure gives way, some doze peacefully.

We sleep more than we think

It can also be helpful to say goodbye to misconceptions. Too many errors about sleep haunt the heads. So insomniacs often swear, "I have not gotten an eye." And that, although you can often have four or five hours of healthy sleep in their lab. The fact is: We estimate ourselves enormously at the felt duration of the awake and how often we wake up. The seemingly sleepless time can therefore be confidently halved. Subjectively, this gives us the feeling that we slept well.

How long we should sleep

The actual sleep duration is by no means decisive. That everyone should sleep on average seven hours a night is a myth. Science knows people who need a lot of sleep and those who can do little with it. Einstein supposedly needed 14 hours a night, Napoleon only four. If a marmot gets less during the week and an express sleeper on the weekend gets more sleep, that's not dramatic. Over the years, we all need less anyway, sometimes just five hours a night anyway.

There is a chance to fall asleep every 90 minutes

Also wrong is the assumption that we can fall asleep at any time. Because the drowsiness works like a paternoster with open entry. Who jumps at the right time, dozes off and can also sleep through often. Who misses this, must wait for the next entry? mostly 90 minutes long.

That's how long it takes for our inner, "circadian" rhythm, which keeps us awake around the clock and sleepy phases, sends us the next wave of fatigue. Then there is a chance for a few minutes to fall asleep and a sound sleep. After that we will be fresher again and have to wait again. Therefore, anyone who listens to his body immediately goes to sleep when the inner clock gives the signal, not sooner or later.

How our natural rhythm resonates depends on whether we sleep or are morning or evening types: "Larks" can tear up trees at seven o'clock, "owls" are only really awake from noon. From the age of 50, however, all humans become "over larks", because the inner clock changes. We go to bed earlier and often wake up very early. The clear day-and-night rhythm gradually clears, and sleep and waking are more evenly distributed every 24 hours. As a result, we are tired during the day and do not sleep so deeply at night.

Our internal clock helps to sleep through

It is best then to live as consistently as possible after the internal clock and get up at regular times and go to bed so that sleep sets in. Even those who are already at dawn putzmunter should not lie down or even continue to sleep. Early risers will quickly appreciate reading the paper for a quiet hour or doing soothing yoga exercises at dawn.

And who wakes up at night and can not fall asleep again? The should stay as calm as possible, sleep researcher Zulley advises. For no sleep without relaxation and no relaxation without sleep. The 61-year-old makes even on sleepless nights, nothing: "I just lie there and enjoy it, not yet have to get up."

Exciting facts about our sleep:

On average, we Germans sleep seven hours and eight minutes every night, go to bed at 22.47 and get up at 6.23
Nearly 22 percent of Germans keep their naps. The risk of a heart attack decreases thereby according to an American study by 37 percent. Even a nap of 30 minutes on three days a week should work wonders. If you sleep badly at night, however, should lie down during the day for a maximum of 20 minutes, otherwise the nocturnal sleep is even more difficult
While sleeping we keep it out for at least eight hours without eating. The reason: Then the hormone leptin is released, which ensures a feeling of fullness
40 to 60 times a night we change our posture. Anyone who moves too much or too little sleeps restless and bad. Therefore, it is important to have a bed where the mattress and frame are individually adapted to the body shape and weight of the sleeping person. This is achieved precisely with new types of spring suspensions with elastic wings that move in all directions
12 million Germans have breathing pauses while snoring.The consequences of this "sleep apnea" in the affected people are high blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmia, tiredness during the day and microsleep. A nasal mask can help, sometimes even losing weight
Internal restlessness, nervousness and nocturnal leg cramps that disturb sleep can be a sign of magnesium deficiency. A four-week intake of the mineral can replenish the body's memory