Light deficiency disturb the winter sleep

"Light deficiency disturb the winter sleep"

"Researcher: We are sleeping less and worse."

"It is difficult to get out of bed this time of year."

"And that is precisely the problem. We miss the important morning light makes us more alert. "

"– We get poorer quality sleep during the winter, " says sömnforskaren Arne Lowden."

"It is no secret that we often feel tired and listless during the winter months, maybe even depressed. "

"It is, of course, the lack of light that is the culprit, since the sun goes up later absence of the ordinary light and the body is not receiving any signal that it is time to wake up. It also makes us feel more tired during the daytime, above all, it becomes clear in the afternoons."

"In a study published in the new online Clock & Sleep Arne Lowden, stress and sömnforskare at the stress research institute in Stockholm, investigated how Kirunabor sleep in the winter compared with the summer. "

"– of course It is a bit extreme with Kiruna. I have looked at people who worked day, with the same hours all year round. It differs not so much between seasons in the level of activity, measured how much you do, but there are large differences in light level, " he says."

" We've looked at what happens with sleep in connection with the business and in conjunction with available days. When we see that people go to bed later in the winter and goes up later in the morning, even though it has the same working hours."

"Worse quality of sleep"

"But the study is also that we, contrary to what you may think, sleeping a short time and worse during the winter nights."

"– Yes, there is an effect on the sömnlängden. In Kiruna, it is a fact that we have looked at the differences in a week's time. It is that you sleep 20 minutes less. In connection with the working days, it is even less of a difference, then it is just ten minutes. But on the weekend it can distinguish a half-hour of sleep. But what's worse is, we get the worse the efficiency, that is to say, it is poorer quality of sleep."

"– You are not sleepy. The brain gives no signal that it must change the behavior and go to bed. And it depends on the hormone melatonin which makes us sleepy at night and that is governed above all by the morning light."

"Arne Lowden says that all of the light that we get before lunch gives your brain the signal that we will be early risers and kvällströtta."

"– All of the light that we get in the afternoon and evening signals in contrast to the brain to set, so we are postponing the rhythm. These include shift workers and young people who are up late. In the winter we get all for a bit of morning light, so the body believe that we suddenly are in a different time zone... We are like young people in any way, begins to take sovmorgnar, sleeps longer on the weekend and don't get any morning light. They already kvällspigga becomes even more kvällspigga in the winter."

"' Bet in the morning light”"

"According to the study, do we behave and act as pack animals during the winter. We go to bed basically the same time all of them."

"– In Kiruna, go to bed between eleven and half past twelve in the evening. Then you are dagtidsarbetande and sleep in six-and-a-half-hour roughly, on average. But during the weekends you can get up to seven or more than seven hours of sleep. In the summer it sleeps a little longer. "

"What shall you do about that you have so poor quality of sleep during the winter?"

"– There is a lot you can do, it is the general sömnråden. But I would focus on the morning light. Make sure to sit near a window at work or take the opportunity to go outdoors when it is bright."

"You should go out at lunch?"

" Absolutely, but like before – it is the morning that is most important. The sooner, the better. Also, try to walk or bike to work. Or whatsoever to expose herself to the daylight. The light in the afternoon makes us more stable in our circadian rhythm."

"the Body miss the evening"

"Frida Rångtell, sömnforskare at Uppsala university, says that one of the problems is that the body does not notice when it is the evening of:"

"– Many get pretty light during the day because we have the lights indoors, but the levels are still usually considerably weaker than natural daylight. But then we continue to have it bright in the evening and have the same lights lit. It is important to actively create a difference between day and night. Trying to get as much natural light as possible during the day and then extinguish in the evening."

"What has our monitors, computer, mobile, tablet and tv, for the importance of sleep?"

"– In the studies I have seen so far, there is a link between onscreen fundamentals in the evening and worse sleep. But one should also not just demonise today's technology, many might be listening to an audiobook when going to sleep or relaxing music. It is not just black or white. It depends on what you are doing with this technology, " says Frida Rångtell."

"And how is sleeping sömnforskarna themselves during the winter? They ought to be able to all the tricks. "

"– Then, I sleep quite short and a bit bad. Sleep depends on so many different things. Has been stressful at work for example, it is a very good sömnförstörare. I have and unfortunately, it destroys my sleep. But I also have a ljusterapilampa on my desk, " says Arne Lowden."

"Frida Rångtell realized when her daughter was born that she had to take the sleep as it came. Now is the daughter of four years."

"– sleep Sleep may not be perfect all the time, but it helps not to rush. And it is quite natural to wake up several times during the night, so long as you don't have problems to fall asleep. The realization that his sleep may look different and not to stress over it has helped me very much, " she says."

"7 tips – so taking a nap soundly during the winter months."

"✓ Was there as much as possible during the bright hours, preferably early in the morning."

"✓ close a window when you're working."

"✓ Have good dagsljuslika lamps if you are working indoors."

"✓ Try to wake up and put you in the same times every day, the brain is an expert on learning patterns."

"✓ Avoid coffee and tea in the evening – it seems refreshing so that you can get hard to sleep."

"✓ Avoid mobile and tablet devices before bedtime – they are sources of light."

"✓ make sure to be physically active so that you will be tired, but not too close to bedtime. "

"Sources: Arne Lowden, Frida Rångtell"