Good Sleep

Chapter 2 Routines for a good night sleep

(1) make a light dark 2 hours before sleeping
(2) avoid (especially regular) noises even a fridge or a clock - earplug or snow music in small volume would also be ok
(3) your favorite slow music with regular tempo in small volume
(4) aroma - lavender, camomile, sandalwood, clary sage, sweet orange
(5) your best bed and pillow
(6) timer setting (e.g, air conditioner) - switch off in 1-3 hours after falling asleep
(7) no food and drink 3 hours before sleeping
(8) foods for a good sleep - lettuce, onion, natto (fermented soy beans, Japanese food); have enough breakfast, lunch, and then a light meal for dinner
(9) No smartphone, PC/Mac, TV, 3 hours before sleeping
(10) Take a bath / shower with 40 centigrade; decrease an inside temperature of your body. It if it's too hot (e.g., 42 centigrade), it prevents you from having a good sleep.
(11) Do an exercise; it should be light, not strong.
(12) Perform your personal ritual. It is a self-suggestion to make you sleep.
(13) Recall good things today and prep for tomorrow, to-do and schedule, clothes and things to bring, when to get up.
(14) Sex
(15) Give up something unnecessary to have enough time for sleep. Give up one of many hobbies, drinking, etc.
(16) Rhythm and routine of your life are important; medicine could be of your help, but it is only for temporary.


Chapter 3 How to be an early bird

Waking-up-refreshed techniques:
(1) Reset your internal clock by sunlight
(2) Set a reason to get up, like jogging in the morning
(3) Have a sugar content just after getting up, such as, bananas, cookies, chocolates, or orange juice
(4) Chew gum after getting up
(5) Take a shower or wash your face
(6) Have breakfast, especially carbohydrates(e.g., rice/bread) and protein. After 2 hours of your breakfast, glucose is delivered to your brain.
(7) Caffeine, e.g., green tea (gyokuro) in the best, then black tea, coffee, or other green tea


Chapter 4 Common Sense in Sleep

Sleep too long is not good because only 2-3 hours sleep at the beginning is deep (non-REM). If you sleep longer than necessary, you have more shallow sleep.

Non-REM: brain - rest, body - relaxed and unstable (e.g., blood pressure)
REM: brain - awake, body - tense and steady

Each person has his or her own best sleeping time. Some people sleep longer while others sleep shorter.

Drinking coffee and then having a nap for 15-20 min is good; if it's longer than that, you enter a deep sleep and have trouble getting up.

Dreaming a nightmare means the quality of your sleep gets worse.


Chapter 5 Those who cannot get up in the morning - ten common points

(1) lack of sleep
(2) bad lifestyle habit
(3) biological clock - out of order
(4) too much tenseness
(5) escape from reality
(6) depressive tendency
(7) suffocation
(8) too much sleep
(9) female hormone
(10) sleepy during the day


Chapter 6 How to get up refreshed
See above.