The highest participation of somnologists is observed in the winter – in the SberHealth health service, we note the highest number of calls to socialbites.ca in January last year.
This winter, appointments with a sleep specialist at clinics were recorded 10% more often than in the fall and 27% more often than in the summer, according to the company.
“Sleep problems in winter occur for a variety of reasons. The main thing is the short daylight hours, the “wake-up” time in hours is no different from summer, but there is a lack of natural light. Artificial lighting is used much more often in the winter, which disrupts circadian biorhythms (our internal clock responsible for “sleep and wake” periods). Short daylight hours can affect a person from extreme drowsiness, i.e. due to a lack of light, the sleep hormone (melatonin) can be produced in large quantities, whereas on the contrary, one can experience insomnia as artificial lighting can reduce production. this is melatonin. , – explained the therapist of the service, Alena Khripkova.
In addition, physical activity and outdoor activities decrease in winter and these are two factors for a good sleep.
“Moreover, in winter, taste habits change more often – in summer the choice falls on fruits and vegetables, which are something light, and in winter we prefer heavy foods. Sleep conditions also have a strong influence – low humidity due to the heating season, as well as lack of air due to constantly closed windows, greatly affect the quality of sleep, ”the therapist added.
The company also stated that both women (53%) and men (47%) experienced sleep problems equally last year. Most often, young people aged 23-34 turn to somnologists – almost a quarter of all calls (22%). While people in the age group of 45-60 (19%) and 35-44 years (18%) complained slightly less about sleep problems, the healthiest sleep was seen in young people aged 18-24 (12%).