Thank you for reading! I’m 237 from the Business Management Department, in charge of this blog post.
As a free introduction, I’d like to talk about the “Sleep Lecture” that was held on March 22nd.
Contents of the sleep course
① Sense of smell
Our sense of smell is directly transmitted to the part of the brain that is called instinct, so we can feel scents even while we are sleeping. The instructor recommended that we smell “essential oils” that have a relaxing effect to improve the quality of our sleep.
There are many scents of essential oils, so you can choose the scent that suits your symptoms.
For example, you can choose the scent of rosemary for a migraine, or lavender or citrus scents for a calming effect, so you can choose the scent that suits you at that time. It is also recommended to close your eyes and choose a scent that makes it easy to take a deep breath.
Where can I buy essential oils? As for the question, you can find them on the Internet, and MUJI, a familiar place, has a wide selection of high-quality, inexpensive essential oils.
② Vision
Watching TV or using your smartphone before going to sleep affects your sleep. Especially recently, people tend to watch short videos such as TikTok and Instagram for long periods of time. As a countermeasure, it is important to avoid using your smartphone first, but you can get a good quality sleep without stressing your eyes and brain by watching videos with existing content or lowering the brightness and moving away from the screen.
Also, falling asleep immediately after getting into bed is evidence of lack of sleep, so it is best to take 15 minutes to fall asleep. If you cannot fall asleep even after 15 minutes, one improvement measure is to get out of bed once.
③ Taste
You should also be careful about what you eat and drink before going to sleep.
I have heard that coffee before going to bed is not good, but the caffeine contained in coffee and tea lasts for about 6 hours, so you can get a good night’s sleep by avoiding drinking it at least after 6 p.m.
It is also important to finish eating at least 3 hours before going to sleep. The reason is that if you eat immediately after eating or eat too much, it takes time to digest and absorb, and the sympathetic nervous system becomes active. As a countermeasure, it is important to wait some time after eating before sleeping or to eat less.
Alcohol can help you fall asleep, but it can also lead to shallow sleep, cause your tongue to drop and make you more likely to snore, and in the worst cases, cause breathing to stop, so care should be taken.
People who get irritable when they are hungry are prone to nocturnal hypoglycemia.
In that case, consuming something that improves the quality of sleep, such as Yakult, can help you get a good night’s sleep. If you experience nocturnal hypoglycemia, adrenaline is released, which can lead to shallow sleep, so be careful.
Summary
Taking this sleep course made me realize what I am lacking in terms of sleep. I was able to learn that I am not getting as much sleep as average and that I have been putting strain on my body without realizing it.
I drink a lot of coffee, tea, and alcoholic beverages, so I will be careful not to consume caffeine six hours before going to bed and not to drink too much alcohol.
I also wanted to try the essential oils that the instructor introduced to me to improve the quality of my sleep. During the course, I actually smelled the essential oils and found them to have a great scent. The method of intake is very simple, just place tissues with the essential oils on them next to your pillow, so I recommend you give it a try.