Eating lightly, drinking alcohol, sleeping in, or even taking medication… the French people questioned as part of an OpinionWay survey agree on behaviors that they think are useful for better sleep. This was commissioned by the National Institute of Sleep and Vigilance (INSV) and the mutual MGEN (1), on the occasion of the 23rd Sleep Day this Friday, March 17.
They are nearly 6 out of 10 to experience sleep difficulties: nocturnal awakenings, insomnia, terrors. In 2021, they were 4 out of 10. 75% of them seek to remedy these disorders by adopting new habits. But not all are beneficial. Doctor Isabelle Poirot, specialist in sleep disorders at the University Hospital of Lille, is confronted with it: “Patients are quite educated and have some knowledge about what affects sleep. But not all beliefs that are applied are necessarily correct. »
Quantity at the expense of quality
Among these false remedies: the consumption of alcohol in the evening. 16% of French people believe it helps sleep. “You feel like you fall asleep faster, except that alcohol actually lightens and breaks up your sleep”, analyzes Isabelle Poirot. Alcohol also increases the risk of daytime sleepiness and insomnia. Healthier this time, practice physical activity before going to bed, to feel tired. “Playing sports is yes. But not intensely in the evening. This directly impacts the regulation of body temperature”, explains Doctor Poirot. The INSV recommends it rather at the beginning of the day.
Others choose to go to bed early, two hours earlier than the usual time, even if it means staying in bed even if the sandman does not come by. “It is above all a pledge of apprehension”, regrets Doctor Poirot, who invites you to get up and relax differently. They are then 46% to grant themselves lie-ins on weekends, to recover from their lack of sleep for the week. “It is better to prefer the nap, it is a better recovery”considers the psychiatrist.
Screens, eternal problem
“In France, there is a culture of bedtime rituals. That of sunrise is more neglected », she adds. The French know how to go to bed at a regular time, but are reluctant to get up at the same time from Monday to Sunday. However, this is what the INSV recommends. Have a regular rhythm, morning and evening, by listening to your biological clock. Because it is she who should guide our needs and our moments of rest depending, in particular, on the light. “Professional and family constraints sometimes make this regularity difficult, especially for women. Among the youngest, it is the social jet-lag. They spend a lot of time on screens while connected”, raises Professor Jean-Arthur Micoulaud, sleep doctor at the Bordeaux University Hospital. Often repeated, switching off screens – including the television – one hour before going to bed remains one of the main recommendations.
“You have to follow your own rhythm, listen to yourself, even if for that the environment, including society, must allow it”, concludes Professor Micoulaud, who is delighted that the consideration of the problem of sleep, inseparable from mental health, is progressing. The subject will be in the spotlight on Friday March 17 during the 23e World sleep day.