Tips to improve sleep quality

A fundamental factor to maintain an adequate functioning of the organism and prevent diseases is to have adequate, repair and constant rest.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), A person should sleep between 7 and 8 hours a day to guarantee good health Physical, mental and emotional.

In Guatemala, different factors influence people’s sleep quality and the amount of hours dedicated to rest. However, specialists in the subject insist that sleeping the right hours is as important as a healthy eating or performing physical activity frequently.

Among the effects of a good sleep quality include maintaining immune, nervous, cardiovascular, metabolic and neurological systems in balance. All of them, vital for each person.

Andrés Monterroso, biomedical engineer and operational director of the Rest Clinic, specialized in sleep, explains that different factors can affect the quality of our dream and affect our performance during the day. Since a good rest guarantees good performance in our daily activities. On the contrary, not sleeping well can cause physical and mental performance problems.

Therefore, Monterroso lists a series of tips that can be useful to improve sleep quality. These are:

• Reduce cortisol levels: Cortisol is also known as stress hormone. When a person maintains high levels of cortisol, it can have problems such as hypertension, general weakness and even sleep alterations. One of the ways to improve sleep quality is to exercise, have a healthy diet, try to have healthy social relationships and adequately manage time.
• Search for help from a sleep expert for specialized care: A sleep specialist can be a good option to solve some sleep disorder or establish an adequate sleep routine, to guarantee a repair dream without interruptions.
• Avoid self -medication: Many people resort to the consumption of medicines or substances that, in theory, favor or induce sleep. However, it is important to notice that some of these are counterproductive. Always before incurring this practice it is better to consult with an expert or health professional.

• Make meditation or stretch practices: It is recommended that, as part of our sleep routine, an hour before sleeping, at least to reduce cortisol and achieve a deep sleep, the person stretches to relax the body or meditation practices to eliminate tensions.
• A pleasant space: Finding a suitable place to sleep with ideal light and temperatures is vital to achieve a deep and healthy sleep. The room to rest must have the necessary conditions and comforts so that the person can sleep without problem. Lighting, noise and even hygiene are factors that influence sleep quality.
• Eating properly at night: Sleep specialists recommend avoiding spicy or very spiced food before sleeping, as this can generate discomfort at night and interrupt sleep. The ideal is to have dinner about three hours before bedtime and do it in a balanced way.
• Avoid the consumption of sugar and caffeine: Substances such as sugar and coffee are stimulating and in a certain way they can interfere with sleep reconciliation. Avoid consumption helps reduce insomnia risk.