The doctor named the basic rules for falling asleep quickly.

Sound and healthy sleep is the foundation of well—being and productivity. However, the modern lifestyle, with an excess of stress and constant use of gadgets, often provokes problems with falling asleep or disrupts the quality of sleep. On April 10, Ekaterina Demyanovskaya, a neurologist and expert at the Hemotest laboratory, told Izvestia how to prepare for bedtime so that it would be sound, and what not to do before going to bed.

"The first step to getting a good night's sleep is to create a relaxing atmosphere. The brain receives a signal that it's time to sleep when certain conditions are met: coolness, humidity above 45% and darkness. The sleep hormone melatonin is produced only in complete darkness, even better if the temperature in the bedroom does not exceed +21 degrees. Therefore, an hour before bedtime, you should ventilate the room and reduce the brightness of the light in the room. Use soft lighting, turn off the TV and computer screen, close the curtains so that the light from the lanterns from the window does not enter the room," she advised.

According to her, using devices with screens before falling asleep can significantly worsen the quality of sleep, since the specific light from them affects the brain especially strongly, even if the screen brightness is turned down to a minimum and a "night theme" is used. An hour or two before bedtime, it's better to put your gadgets aside.

The doctor added that it is advisable to do quiet things before going to bed, so as not to excite the nervous system. In two or three hours, you should stop working, solving problems, playing sports, and watching movies. Books are also undesirable to read. You can listen to an audiobook, but it's better to choose something not too exciting.

A walk in the fresh air, simple breathing exercises, meditation, and a warm bath help to calm the mind and prepare the body for rest. They reduce stress and promote relaxation. The expert explained that daily stress causes muscle tension, sometimes so intense that the muscles spasm, which prevents a person from falling asleep. The condition is aggravated by sedentary work and lack of physical activity. A bath or yoga helps to relieve tension in the muscles and improve blood circulation.

The choice of food and drinks for dinner is also important. The doctor said that heavy food, especially fatty or spicy, can cause discomfort, which will affect the quality of sleep. It is better to avoid heavy dinners two to three hours before bedtime. However, you should not go to bed hungry either: It will be even more difficult to fall asleep this way. To relieve hunger, you can eat a banana or a handful of nuts. With them, the body will receive potassium and magnesium, which help relax the nervous system and fall asleep quickly.

"Five to six hours before bedtime, you should not eat sweets, drink coffee, black and green tea, as sugar and caffeine increase the excitability of the nervous system. Alcohol can cause a hypnotic effect, but it disrupts the quality of sleep and can lead to frequent awakenings, so drinking alcoholic beverages "for better sleep" is also not recommended. It is better to prefer herbal teas such as chamomile, lemon balm or mint tea, they have a calming effect and can help to relax. You can also drink warm milk — tryptophan in its composition contributes to the production of melatonin," concluded Demyanovskaya.

Earlier, on March 14, Sergo Tsenteradze, a neurologist and somnologist at the Department of Sleep Medicine at UCB No. 3 of the Sechenov University Clinical Center, told Izvestia that sleep disorders can be a factor provoking depression. He stressed that sleep is essential for the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases. So, even one sleepless night leads to an accelerated accumulation of beta-amyloid in the brain, a protein that plays an important role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.