What are you doing when you should be sleeping?

"What are you doing when you should be sleeping?"

In answering this question, we need to know when is "time for bed". What are the most common or habitual things you do before going to bed?

Sleepless Night

The survey shows that 69.3% of young people say they go to bed after 23:00. In addition, 52.5% of young people are addicted to the night and actively join the army of staying up late. Amazfit big data shows that women go to bed earlier and longer than men. Women fall asleep at an average of 23:40, while men fall asleep at an average of 00:03; women sleep for an average of 7 hours and 14 minutes, while men sleep for an average of 6 hours and 53 minutes[1].

According to CNNIC data, as of June 2019, the number of mobile Internet users reached 847 million. The busy work life during the day makes more and more young people in cities feel that the night is the only time they can freely spend, and they have to do what they really like to make up for the busy day. Browsing Moments, short videos, Weibo, shopping on Taobao, and listening to audio apps have become pastimes for young people aged 15 to 35 before going to bed.

The survey shows that among those who stay up late, 50.6% do so passively and 49.4% do so actively. Among them, 58.9% stay up late more than three times a week on average, and more and more people do not want to sleep subjectively. They (also known as the Firefly Tribe) pursue a free life and new things, staying up late to watch TV series, play games, chat, eat supper, go shopping, etc.

The activities that different generations engage in during the night are shown in Figure 1[1].

Figure 1 The activities that different generations do when they stay up late

Regular work and rest

Work at sunrise and rest at sunset.

The ancients summarized the twelve-hour timekeeping method based on the sun's circadian rhythm. Later, they discovered that the qi and blood in different meridians of the human body have ups and downs at different times, and summarized the "Ziwu Liuzhu" law. Ziwu refers to the time of day, Liu means flow, and Zhu means infusion. It is believed that qi and blood flow in the twelve meridians continuously, one meridian per hour, and circulate day and night, as shown in Figure 2.

Ziwu Liuzhu embodies the holistic concept and rhythmic concept of "harmony between man and nature", which is beneficial to regulating Qi, blood, and consciousness, stimulating positive energy and mental and physical vitality, and restoring human health.

Figure 2 Meridian Flow Chart

Zi hour: 23:00-01:00, representing the beginning of a new day. The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine states that "all eleven organs depend on the gallbladder". When the gallbladder meridian is strong, gallbladder qi will be generated; bile will be renewed and help digest food. The gallbladder is equivalent to a transfer station for human waste, which performs preliminary classification and processing of the waste collected by the triple burner. If you do not fall asleep before Zi hour, gallbladder qi cannot be generated, disrupting the gallbladder's function of drainage, resulting in symptoms such as dizziness, dark circles under the eyes, and yellow complexion. In severe cases, gallstones may be formed due to poor bile metabolism [2].

Chou time: 01:00-03:00. According to traditional Chinese medicine, the liver stores blood, and blood returns to the liver when a person lies down. In a deep sleep state, blood returns to the liver in time, and the liver's detoxification function is exerted. If one does not fall asleep at Chou time, the blood cannot be purified and replenished, which further leads to metabolic disorders and liver diseases, resulting in symptoms such as dizziness, dark complexion, irritability, and obesity [2].

Early to bed, early to rise

Nearly one-third of our life is spent sleeping.

Some people think that sacrificing sleep can buy them more time to work, study, and make money. In fact, this is not the case. Without one-third of the foundation, how can two-thirds of the building be built? Currently, most people believe that sleep can help the body conserve energy, promote growth and development, eliminate metabolites, and enhance immune function and learning and memory [3].

If you think that lack of sleep will only cause you to feel distracted in the morning or throughout the day, you are wrong. Short-term poor sleep can lead to low work efficiency, emotional instability, and a tendency to make mistakes or have accidents; long-term poor sleep can lead to obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, etc.[4]

If you are a wise man, you will definitely agree to do the right thing at the right time. Sleep is so important that it must be the right thing to do; what is the right time, I believe you already know. Relevant data show that the later you go to bed, the less deep sleep you have. The survey shows that the average sleep time of people who go to bed early (23:00) is 7.88 hours, and the average sleep time of people who go to bed late (01:00) is 7.26 hours. 60.7% of people who go to bed early are full of energy the next day, while 58.3% of people who go to bed late feel sore and in poor condition the next day.

Maybe you want to say that sleep is indeed very important, and you want to get up early and go to bed early, but you are always busy all day long.

what to do?

First of all, we should really take health as the first priority, rather than thinking that health is the most important when we are sick. Presumably, some work that is not very urgent or has little significance can be done the next day or declined politely.

After four weeks of sleep training, Stanford University basketball players shortened their 80-meter round-trip sprint time by 0.7 seconds, increased their free throw shooting percentage by 0.9, and their 3-point shooting percentage by 1.4[5]. In addition, studies have shown that companies can maximize their chances of success by improving their employees’ sleep[6].

Secondly, is time management scientific? You can use some small tools to record and analyze time, such as time record lists. When planning work, give priority to sleep time[7].

Table 1 Time Record List

If you really don’t have time to go to bed early or take a nap, it is recommended to consider the golden 90-minute sleep rule [5]. First complete the first 90 minutes of sleep, then get up and get busy with work.

Maybe you are a firefly tribe member who has to stay up late due to your job, or you are used to the night and enjoy the colorful nightlife, or you are confused and puzzled about the future and need to vent your anxiety and impetuous negative emotions.

Maybe you are a young working mother with a heavy workload, taking care of children and doing housework. You have no choice but to stay up late or suffer from insomnia. The time after putting your children to sleep is truly your own, and you can catch up on unfinished work, watch short videos, visit Moments, shop, chat, or use Weibo.

No matter what, the sleep debt you owe will have to be repaid sooner or later.

Bad sleeping habits (including irregular work and rest schedules) can easily lead to chronic insomnia and circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorder; long-term lack of sleep will increase the risk of physical diseases (such as obesity, diabetes) and mental disorders (such as depressive disorders).

It is difficult to put down your phone. You can try to gradually shorten the time you spend playing with your phone before going to bed, or do some things when you wake up early. Short videos, shopping, and watching TV series can only bring short-term pleasure, and then you may feel more empty and anxious. You can try soaking your feet before going to bed, listening to soothing music, or taking deep breaths and meditating to gradually calm your heart and make it peaceful.

summary

Night life is quite rich, and it is important to go to bed early and get up early.

How can you have the best of both worlds? Have fun when you need to have fun, and sleep when you need to sleep. Occasionally staying up late or sleeping late may be allowed, but it should not be a habit. Put down your phone and have a good night's sleep!

References

1.2020 Xilinmen China Sleep Index Report

2. Popular Health Magazine. Why should people go to bed before 11pm?

3. Zhao Zhongxin. Sleep Medicine. Beijing: People's Medical Publishing House, 2016.

4. Lu Lin. Guidelines for the comprehensive prevention and treatment of insomnia disorders in China. Beijing: People's Medical Publishing House, 2019.

5. [Japan] Seiji Nishino. Stanford High-Efficiency Sleep Method. Beijing: Cultural Development Press, 2019.

6.Barnes CM, Watson NF. Why healthy sleep is good for business. Sleep Med Rev. 2019;47:112-118. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2019.07.005

7.Takahashi M. Prioritizing sleep for healthy work schedules. J Physiol Anthropol. 2012;31(1):6. Published 2012 Mar 13. doi:10.1186/1880-6805-31-6