Did you know that sleep is affected by light and darkness? Perhaps that’s the reason many persons say “daytime for work and nighttime for sleep”.
The hormone that is responsible for sleep is known as melatonin. It is secreted by the pineal gland that is located in the brain.
The secretion of melatonin is enhanced by darkness and hindered by light and that is one of the reasons persons tend not to be able to sleep comfortably in the daytime. This might be quite a predicament especially for those who work on shifts. Imagine you work all night and can’t sleep well in the day, to me, that spells inadequate rest and a feeling tired most of the time.
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Note however that there are other aspects of daytime versus nighttime that hinders sleep, like noise, activity, and heat which are more dominant in the day than in the night.
So, with this being known, how can we sleep better in the day?
- Darken the room as much as possible, this way melatonin will be secreted more freely and sleep is more encouraged.
- Find a place that is relatively noise free. This limits external stimulation that will prevent sleep.
- Ensure you cool down your sleeping environment whether with air conditioning or fans, either way, you will avoid the misery that heat brings.
- Put phones and other gadgets on silent or take it away from your sleeping area.
Sometimes too, the body has developed a sleep pattern where it is difficult to be tricked into sleeping with the above measures. In this case, it is advised that you stick to the ‘sleep plan’ and in due time this new method of encouraging and accomplishing good sleep will be successful. It makes no sense to sleep and still not feel rested.
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