Posted on 03/30/2024 7:32:00 AM PDT by ConservativeMind
Feeling sleepy can make you feel 10 years older. Researchers have discovered that sleep affects how old you feel. B.
Do you ever find yourself longing for the energy and vitality of your younger years? Feeling young is not just a matter of perception—it is actually related to objective health outcomes. Previous studies have shown that feeling younger than one's actual age is associated with longer, healthier lives. There is even support for subjective age to predict actual brain age, with those feeling younger having younger brains.
In the first study, 429 individuals aged 18 to 70 were asked how old they felt, how many days in the past month they had not gotten enough sleep, and how sleepy they were. It turned out that for each night with insufficient sleep in the past month, participants felt on average 0.23 years older.
In a second study, the researchers tested whether it was indeed the lack of sleep causing participants to feel older. Therefore, they conducted an experimental sleep restriction study involving 186 participants aged 18 to 46. Participants restricted their sleep for two nights—only four hours in bed each night—and another time slept sufficiently for two nights, with nine hours in bed each night.
After sleep restriction, participants felt on average 4.4 years older compared to when having enjoyed sufficient sleep. The effects of sleep on subjective age appeared to be related to how sleepy they felt. Feeling extremely alert was related to feeling 4 years younger than one's actual age, while extreme sleepiness was related to feeling 6 years older than one's actual age.
"This means that going from feeling alert to sleepy added a striking 10 years to how old one felt," says Leonie Balter, and states that the implications for our daily lives are clear.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
Do what you can to get better sleep.
Your last post had an item about magnesium.
A magnesium supplement drink and breathing exercises pre bedtime can help activate the parasympathetic nervous system.
A great way to get to sleep is to do something very physical about 4-5 hours before bedtime.
**A great way to get to sleep is to do something very physical about 4-5 hours before bedtime.**
I prefer 2 or 3 hours before bedtime. Suppertime here is 4:30. I prefer to wait at least 2 to 2 1/2 hours after a big meal before a serious workout. Although I usually get the serious workout (about 3 times a week) done a half hour before supper.
Where do you find the breathing exercises? I would be so happy if I could get all my sleep at night instead of keeling over during the day!
I’m just stating what is known to be best for the body, but not everybody is able to adapt to what is best. Take a hot shower in that case and the cooling down effect will tire you out.
Absolutely true, coming from someone about to turn 70.
Personally, I lay flat on the ground and meditate, with ambient music on, while concentrating on slow & deep abdominal breathing.
I put my hands on my stomach to know I’m using proper form vs shallow chest breathing.
There’s a ton of information online for abdominal breathing.
Just search “abdominal breathing exercises” or “abdominal breathing form”.
I use Insight Timer for meditation. (App)
There are lots of different breathing techniques. Search online you’ll find several. Some say breathe in slow and steady, hold, then breathe out slowly (slower than you breathed in). The amount of time for each step is determined by what works for you but always exhale slower than inhale. I do a fairly simple one where I breathe in for about 6-7 seconds, then exhale for about 8-9 seconds. I don’t hold my breath in the middle. Repeat this for about 5 minutes, often less you’ll feel it working sooner. I learned this in cardiac rehab. The number of seconds you inhale and exhale is less important that the ratio of exhaling slower than you inhale. This is shown to reduce blood pressure in a few minutes. (And conversely if you exhale faster than you inhale your blood pressure will rise).
In through the nose, out through the mouth.
When I was young my grandmother taught me a totally different technique for sleep, sort of more meditative. Lay in bed and recite in your mind “toes, relax and go to sleep”. It’s a command (but say it slowly and calmly in your head) that you repeat many times until you feel your toes relaxed. Then move to your feet and do the same. “Feet relax and go to sleep” over and over. Then the ankles. Then the calves, then the knees, then the thighs etc It’s sort of meditative, like a mantra that helps you get into a trance. You focus your mind on sleep. And it’s more intentional than counting sheep. If you do this right you can start to fall asleep before you get much father up the body. I did that as a kid, it worked for me then, but when I became a teen and then in my 20s I didn’t want to sleep 😂 so I stopped doing it.
Thank you both! You each explained your technique clearly and explained the important part 😊 I am going to do these and see if they help. I am feeling a little desperate because it’s gotten worse lately.
Thanks again!
Tip #1
Get that TV out of the bedroom.
(Out of the house would be even better)
For me, it’s more like 40 years younger.
My doctor also says no screen time 2 hours before bed.
Did you try that? Did it help? I have been looking for another lamp for next to my bed as the one I have is intensely bright, so I just turn it off and put the strongest orange on my phone to read by.
Yes, but it does have to be at least 2 hours before bed. I usually listen to rain storms when I’m ready for sleep i
put my tablet in my night stand drawer. I also have black out drapes.
Cutting out screen time is the last thing I have to try, and since I had pretty permanent insomnia since before there even were computers at home and I wasn’t a big TV watcher, I had thought it might not make a difference, so thank you very much for letting me know about your experience; it gives me confidence to try it!
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