How do you turn on your sleep mode?
We wish to challenge all Kuopio residents to improve the quality of their sleep!
Good-quality sleep is important to us all, but unfortunately many people experience their fair share of sleep problems. Take this opportunity to provide peer support and let us know what helps you relax, recover and sleep!
Studies show that approximately 25% of Finns sleep too little. The demands of our everyday lives often result in reduced sleep and diminished sleep quality. This can be detrimental, as sleep plays a comprehensive role in supporting both the mind and body. During sleep, the mind and body have a chance to rest so energy levels can be restored. In particular, sleep revives the functional capacity of the brain, which is essential for mental health.
Getting enough sleep
- improves your memory
- makes learning more effective
- boosts your creativity
- strengthens your resistance
balances your body, mood and muscle recovery. It also affects your performance and general health. In addition, sleep maintains your hormonal balance.
Here are five tips for better sleep you can try tonight and tomorrow morning:
- Make sure that your bedroom is kept cool. The optimal temperature for falling asleep is approximately 18–21 °C.
- Go to bed at the same time every day. Having a regular schedule is crucial for falling asleep. You should maintain your sleep pattern during holidays as well.
- Avoid strenuous exercise just before going to bed. The heightened alertness and higher blood pressure caused by exercise make falling asleep more difficult. Try going for a leisurely evening walk a few hours before going to bed instead.
- Make the bedroom a ‘no screens’ zone. The blue light emitted by phones and other devices tricks our bodies into thinking it’s time to wake up.
- Stop hitting snooze. Hitting the snooze button can trigger a new sleep cycle and confuse the body’s circadian rhythm.
Many shift workers suffer from insomnia or severe tiredness. Here are a few tips to help you recover and sleep better even when your daily rhythm varies:
- After a working day, do something nice and relaxing at home.
- Following a night shift, try to get as much uninterrupted sleep as you can.
- Do your normal evening routines even if you need to go to sleep at an unusual time.
- Remember to keep your regular rhythm during your holidays as well.
- When you’re working a night shift, eat your main meal at the beginning of the shift in order to stay alert until the end of the shift.
- A healthy diet and regular exercise can help you cope and sleep better.
Don’t believe everything they say about sleep! Sleep is associated with a huge number of beliefs and myths. We want to break the most common myths on your behalf and help you sleep and feel better!
You can recover from sleep debt by sleeping longer at the weekend. Not worth it! Sleeping at the weekend and staying up late during the week disrupts your daily rhythm and makes it more difficult to get restorative sleep. Our body likes consistency which means it’s beneficial to get out of bed around the same time every morning. This includes weekends as well.
Some people only need four hours of sleep. Incorrect! Studies show that we need to sleep 6–9 hours a day. People who sleep only a little do not necessarily function better with less sleep – they just don’t realise how tired they are. Not getting enough sleep makes you inefficient and affects our performance, assessment and concentration. In addition, too little sleep weakens your immune system.
Everyone needs eight hours of sleep. Not necessarily! Adults typically need 6–9 hours of sleep. In addition to getting enough sleep, it’s also important to pay attention to the quality of sleep. Even a long period of sleep can be intermittent and light, in which case it isn’t refreshing enough.
Older people need less sleep. Not quite! Ageing itself does not change the need for sleep, but it does lead to a gradual reduction in the duration of the deepest sleep stage. As sleep becomes more superficial, light, noise or aches can wake you up more easily.
Exercising in the evening helps you fall asleep. Not true! People’s sensitivity to physical activity differs. It can relax some people, but stimulate others. Exercise that increases your heart rate too close to bedtime may leave your body highly stimulated and delay the onset of sleep. Light exercise, which does not raise your heart rate or cause shortness of breath, can make it easier for you to fall sleep.
Contact information
Tanja Tilles-Tirkkonen
Coordinator of Wellbeing Promotion
tanja.tilles-tirkkonen@kuopio.fi
Tiina Nykky
Coordinator of preventive substance use