Ah, sleep; can’t live with it, can’t live without it. Or something like that. Seriously though, why is that when you’re so tired you can barely press play on Netflix (and that’s really bloody tired), you can’t sleep?
It’s the absolute worst, and then you start thinking about how it’s the worst that you can’t sleep right now and that makes it even worse because the stress means you can’t sleep and soon it becomes THE WORST THING EVER TO HAVE HAPPENED.
That’s why you need to take note of this handy tip from *New York *magazine, in its ‘The Science of Us’ video series. It’s so easy that you’ll be embarrassed that you didn’t think of it all by yourself. But then, we’re not scientists (unless you are), so don’t beat yourself up too much.
The ultimate sleep hack? Put your feet outside of your duvet. Yes, really.
Research has shown, time and again, that there’s a link between high body temperature and alertness (ie the hotter you are, the more alert you are), which means the opposite is also true and any drop in temperature makes people feel sleepy. Weird, right? I always thought a warm environment made me drowsy, but it turns out that a lowering of your internal temperature signals that it’s time for the body to sleep.
The feet (and hands, FYI) contain blood vessels which help regulate body temperature, so sticking your feet outside of your duvet cools the bloody and this chilled blood recirculates and lowers your core temperature which should help you drift off. Genius.
Here’s the nice little video which explains it all, including a bit more of the sciency stuff.
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Sleeping In A Messy Room Could Make You More Tired The Next Day
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photograph: Eylol Aslan
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.