Here’s what sleep expert Professor Pierre Philip, Head of Sleep Medicine at Bordeaux University Hospital, thinks: “CIt is the time of awakening that is most important, because it is this time that allows you to calculate the “ideal sleep pressure” for a good sleep and, ideally, to avoid waking up at night. “.
The ideal sleep pressure, also known as “homeostatic pressure”, regulates the transition from wakefulness to sleep.
Decisive social factors
It is performed according to the time that has passed since the last time you woke up until you went to sleep. Sleep pressure therefore depends on the length of our day, that is, the length of time we are awake, and not – as we tend to think – on the level of activity, even though physical activity is essential for good sleep.
It is clear that social factors play a crucial role. For example, fishermen and bakers do not have the same sleep patterns as waiters, nurses or truck drivers who work at night.
It is the biological clock, regulated by the genes of each individual, that determines whether it is more of a morning or evening snack.
How to calculate waking and lying down time?
For an adult aged 25 to 75,’ the starting point is his ‘social’ wake-up plan (being ready for work, managing children, etc.), most acceptable depending on his activities”explains Professor Pierre Philip. “ Then simply add 17 hours to this wake time to get a time corresponding to good sleep pressure and an average suitable bedtime.. »
Example: an alarm clock ringing at 6:30 gives the optimal time to sleep around 23-23:30, maximum.
Going to bed later leads to the accumulation of sleep debt. On the contrary, by going to bed much earlier, we risk counting sheep for a long time to fall asleep, or even experiencing night awakenings associated with too little sleep pressure.
Adjust your pace
Finally, because sleep needs decrease with age, seniors tend to become morning people. Therefore, it is advisable not to hesitate to get up earlier and add 18 hours to determine the ideal sleep time.
Elderly people often tend to go to bed too early, which is a mistake because it can lead to night waking.
Sleep does not count as restful sleep
For the restorative quality of sleep, the most important thing is not the time we go to sleep, but the composition of the different stages of sleep.
At the beginning of the night (before 2:00 a.m.), sleep is mainly characterized by phases of deep slow sleep, which are necessary for optimal brain functioning (consolidation of learning achieved during the day) and restoration of alertness (to avoid daytime sleepiness the next day).
A sleep cycle lasting approximately 90 minutes and the first two night cycles being the richest in deep slow wave sleep, it is necessary that the first three hours of sleep take place in calm conditions, with a relatively cool ambient temperature and no stimulation. Clear.
Canopy, an app to help you decipher your sleep
For better sleep hygiene, the University of Bordeaux and the CNRS have launched a virtual companion app: Kanopée, which deciphers your sleep and offers individualized advice on how to sleep better.
For individuals whose sleep problems are mild or even moderate, the application helps implement a therapeutic intervention to improve sleep.
For more serious conditions and if the situation does not improve after 17 days of support offered by the app, Kanopée allows the user to contact the sleep center and make an appointment with medical professionals.