The best ways to fight insomnia

Sleep deprivation is linked to a range of health conditions, from an increased risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity to anxiety, depression and poor cognitive function.

It turns out that lack of sleep is strongly linked to the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, so much so that even those who eat a healthy diet are still at risk of developing the disease if they get less than 6 hours of sleep per night, according to research published in the journal JAMA Network Open.

In this regard, leading experts revealed the best ideas for improving sleep:

- Sleep in a warmer room starting at the age of 65 years

A new study has found that if you are 65 or older, you should sleep in a warmer room.

It was previously believed that most of us should sleep in a room with a temperature between 16 and 18 degrees Celsius. But an American study published in the journal Science of the Total Environment found that elderly people should sleep in a room with a temperature between 21 and 23 degrees Celsius to get optimal sleep.

Professor Russell Foster, director of the Institute of Sleep and Neuroscience at the University of Oxford, said: “Older people are more likely to be less active and therefore produce less heat, so they need to rely on external heat.” In order to sleep well, your core body temperature should drop by about one degree.

- Organizing naps

Excessive morning sleep on weekends, or long naps, can cause problems that affect the biological clock.

It is recommended to avoid napping on the weekend as much as possible, and to do so only occasionally, when you are in dire need of sleep, but it is best that its duration does not exceed 30 minutes.

- Use the snooze button

A 2023 study found that hitting the snooze button three times during a 30-minute period before waking up properly boosted performance on some cognitive tests.

However, it depends on the length of the nap, and if you nap for a long time, you will be more groggy when you wake up. It is recommended to shower with cold water for 30 seconds, and eat something immediately after waking up, to help you feel alert quickly.

- Focus on your sleep times, not their duration

Having a consistent sleep routine is a stronger predictor of early death risk than sleep duration, according to research published in the journal Sleep.

The research found that those who tended to sleep and wake up at regular times were 48% less likely to die.

The researchers advised sleeping and waking up within a time period of one hour, for example, sleeping between 9 pm and 10 pm and waking up between 6 am and 7 am.

Irregular sleeping and waking up leads to high levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which increases blood sugar levels and the amount of blood pumped by the heart per minute.

- Use a light box in the absence of sunlight

A review of 15 trials including 600 people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's found that using light boxes improved their sleep.

If you are not able to get natural sunlight within an hour of waking up, use a light box.

- Make sure the bedroom is dark

A recent study showed that even a small amount of light can disrupt sleep.

"Too much light at night doesn't allow the body to properly rest and turn off the stress response, effectively leaving us in a state of over-arousal, which can interfere with recovery and metabolism," says researcher Sophie Bostock.

She recommends turning off all lights in the house at night and wearing an eye mask or using blackout curtains while sleeping.