6 A MINIMUM OF SIX HOURS OF SLEEP The National Sleep Foundation recommends a minimum of 6 hours of sleep per night for people between the ages of 18 and 64. A lack of regular sleep has negative consequences on health: it may become difficult to concentrate and cause memory loss and forgetfulness. Continued loss of sleep over time may lead to depression, increased blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Light influences our internal clock: all the more reason to pay attention to the colour of your lighting. Blue light inhibits the production of Melatonin, our sleep hormone. In the evening and especially in your bedroom, warm shades of red lighting is preferred to increase the production of Melatonin. Candle- light is ideal, but for practical lighting, choose lighting bulbs of around 3000 Kelvin (K). Many are labelled as "warm light". CHANGE YOUR LIGHTING TO SLEEP WELL
THE POWER OF THE MIND CAN AFFECT OUR SLEEP A study of 22 people at the University of Fribourg showed that the instructions sleepers receive before sliding into the arms of Morpheus can influence the quality of their sleep. Those who were told to sleep "as badly as possible" took almost twice as long to fall asleep as their collea- gues who were encouraged to sleep "as well as possible" or "normally".
Lack of sleep could make us more vulnerable to pain. This has been shown in a study conducted by psychiatrists from the University of St. Gallen, highlighting the fact that lack of sleep decreases the activity of a part of the brain that is associated with motivation and the reward system. SHORTER NIGHTS MAKE US MORE SENSITIVE TO PAIN
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