The 10-3-2-1 method for a deeper and better sleep
Sleeping is not a luxury, it is vital. Because it affects that, the mood and the immune system. From the skin to heart to muscles - all organs and cells in the body have time to regenerate and charge the energy reserves for the day.
Anyone who has ever gone through the night has already had to know how difficult the next day can be. And yet the important rest period in the stressful everyday life is usually in the last place. With the 10-3-2-1 method you can change that, create an evening routine and theimprove fundamentally. Here you can find out how the sleeping method works.
The 10-3-2-1 method: That's why a sleep routine is so healthy
A Germany -wide study by the Federal Statistical Office, which is raised every ten years, showed the most sleep in 2022: Children and adolescents under the age of 18. In adulthood, the average sleeping time then drops and only rises again in retirement. Why is that? Children are brought up with a firm sleep routine. They take a afternoon sleep every day at the same time, are brought to bed in the evening and often wake up every day thanks to the internal clock at the same time. So they develop a healthy “sleep-wake rhythm”-also known as the circadian rhythm. After all, the human body loves routines.
In adults, on the other hand, this quickly gets out of balance. There are many reasons for this: be it due to jet lag, shift work or long nights with endless scrolling on Tiktok. The consequence of the irregular rest periods: lack of sleep. In order to be full of energy during the day and develop a healthy sleep routine, a lot of time and dedication is usually required. But the 10-3-2-1 method costs neither money nor time and should finally help us to take a regular rest and faster falling asleep. You can read everything you need to know about it.
This is how the 10-3-2-1 method for better sleep works
This method is primarily about avoiding things that negatively affect the quality of sleep. It comprises four rules. The numbers each refer to the period of how many hours before going to bed you should delete certain things from your everyday life. This is how the sleep routine actually begins in the morning. The best: You don't have to plan an extra time in the evening, but only avoid certain activities throughout the day. Sounds very simple, isn't it?
10 hours before sleeping: Avoid caffeine
The first rule already sounds relatively self -explanatory. Caffeine is the durator par excellence and therefore anything but beneficial for a good sleep. So far so good. However, the 10-3-2-1 method says that you should avoid drinks or meals containing caffeine ten hours before falling asleep. That sounds very extreme, but if you react sensitively to caffeine, you should give your body enough time to process it. After all, the stimulant can not only make it difficult to fall asleep, but also inhibit and even shorten the deep sleep phase.
3 hours before sleeping: do not eat serious meals
Heavy meals can also disturb sleep. Why? Because the body still has to process the whole food. The stomach and intestine also follow their circadian rhythm. If you eat a lot too late in the evening and too shortly before sleeping, you forced the intestine to be active again from the actual rest phase. The body must therefore make a particularly effort to process this meal, which keeps it from relaxation and stops regeneration processes.
Because digestion also consumes energy reserves. It also increases body temperature, which means that it becomes more difficult to fall asleep. Because before our body temperature does not drop by about a degree, it is not possible to fall asleep physiologically at all. For this reason, many find it difficult to do in hot summer nights. Incidentally, alcohol also disturbs the sleep, since it reduces the number of REM sleep phases (deep sleep).
2 hours before sleeping: just no longer work
The more you approach the bedtime, the more the focus should be on relaxation and calm. Even if we have all learned or worked deep into the night, we should avoid this in the future. In any case, our sleep will thank us. Because everything withconnected, the cortisol level drives up. And this inhibits the production of the decisive sleep hormone melatonin.
In addition, the constant carousel of thoughts disturbs when falling asleep. Switching off usually does not succeed from now on. We can calm down all the work animals that are concerned about not being finished: If you sleep more and better at night, the next day at work is much more productive.
1 hour before sleeping: Avoid screens
Even if the study situation is currently not clearly showing whether the blue light of the displays actually interferes, according to 10-3-2-1 methods, screens should be deliberately switched off at least an hour before sleeping. And for the simple reason that, whether television, laptop or cell phone, it is just so difficult to find an end.
How often did you get lost on Tiktok in the evening or bent a sequence of your new favorite series because you just couldn't stop? If you consciously sit down the deadline not to use a screen an hour before sleeping, it is also easier to go to bed really at the planned time.
Sleeping better: This is how the 10-3-2-1 method succeeds
In the evening, the 10-3-2-1 method does not rob any time at all. But a successful sleep routine needs at least some planning. It is best to think about which time you want to go to bed regularly at the beginning of the week and when you best eat dinner.
Let's say you choose a bedtime at 10 p.m. That would mean that you shouldn't drink coffee and no cola after twelve noon. To remember it, it can help if you stand up for a alarm for twelve o'clock so that you know that you now do without caffeine. Real coffee lovers set the alarm clock better for eleven o'clock so that there is still enough time for a last latte. Because enjoyment is of course allowed - only best at the right time.
