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
NEWS
COVID-19 AND SOCIAL JET-LAG
A team of researchers took advantage of the Covid-19 pande- mic and the increase in remote working offices at home to study a phenomenon called “social jet lag”. As a result, the qua- rantine measures seem to have allowed many people to return to their natural wake-sleep cycle. Many of them were even able to wake without setting the alarm clock!
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".
THE HOME OFFICE AND SLEEP
Ideally, the remote home office should be located in a room other than the bedroom. If it's not possible, make sure you don't see it from your bed. Dr. Christine Blume, a sleep researcher at the University of Basel explains. "If it's too close to you, your thoughts may have a hard time switching off from your work, even when your day is over."
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
CORONASOMNIA
The pandemic has increased sleepless nights. A study from the University of Southampton, United Kingdom, has shown an increase in the number of people suffering from insomnia in the country: from one in six before the pandemic, we have now reached one in four. Mothers, essential workers, women, and ethnic minorities are particularly affected. This is caused by increased anxiety linked to uncertainty regar- ding the future.
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