While some can boast of never having had any sleep problems, for others, falling asleep every night is a path strewn with pitfalls.
In an article published on September 22, the British newspaper
The Independent
invites those who are angry about the pillow to try the “10-3-2-1-0” method, created in 2016 by Craig Ballentyne, a development coach and author. Canadian staff.
In July, this help was even relayed on
by an American pediatrician, Jess Antrade.
The promise ?
Facilitate sleep and even prevent nocturnal awakenings.
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Five simple tips
The “10-3-2-1-0” method consists of five tips.
The first four are to be taken before bedtime.
The 10 represents the number of hours before going to bed during which you should no longer drink coffee.
The 3 designates the number of hours during which you should not eat or drink alcohol before sleeping.
2, the number of hours before going to bed during which all work is banned, 1, for the hour before bedtime during which screens are disconnected, and 0, for the number of times the one delays waking up in the morning.
Should we see it as a miracle cure for insomniacs?
If the method is not revolutionary, it contains medical truths, comments Patrick Lemoine, psychiatrist specializing in sleep.
The first tip makes sense: caffeine can prevent sleep because its stimulating effect lasts for a long time.
"In an adult, caffeine has effects all day, you can even experience a peak up to ten hours after consumption," says the doctor.
Thus, if you want to go to bed at 11 p.m., it is better to stop the hot drink after 1 p.m.
The advice is even more valid as you get older, because the body's elimination of caffeine becomes slower.
"From the age of 60, I advise my patients to drink coffee only in the morning", comments Patrick Lemoine.
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Avoid Night Disruptors
By eating too late, our sleep will also be disturbed by our digestive work.
In case of insomnia, the evening meal must even be adapted: “it is better to eat slow sugars such as pasta or rice, because fast sugars cause hypoglycemia during the night, which can wake us up, warns the specialist. .
It is also necessary to favor small quantities and avoid “heavy” food (sauces, meat, charcuterie).
Alcohol has the same mechanism as a sleeping pill but it deteriorates the quality of sleep, causes apnea and leads to dehydration
Patrick Lemoine, sleep specialist psychiatrist
Alcohol is also to be avoided before bedtime.
"Although the drink has the same mechanism as a sleeping pill and puts us to sleep, specifies the psychiatrist, it deteriorates the quality of sleep, causes apnea and leads to dehydration, which wakes up during the night."
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Zero stimulation and no snoozing
According to the “10-3-2-1-0” method, you should stop working two hours before falling asleep.
A minimum, according to Patrick Lemoine.
“Discovering emails in the evening disrupts the sleep phase, we don't have time to digest the one that can be painful before going to bed.
This disrupts our sleep phase.
Better to move away from these stimulations after dinner, in the same way as one avoids sports sessions or horror films, because they cause too much excitement.
If you are awake but go back to sleep for ten minutes by pressing snooze, you produce REM sleep which is not restful
Patrick Lemoine, sleep specialist psychiatrist
The Canadian coach then recommends turning off any screen one hour before going to bed.
An insufficient duration according to Patrick Lemoine.
The doctor reminds us: the blue light that emanates from telephones, tablets and computers delays our natural rhythm.
"It blocks the secretion of melatonin, the sleep hormone, which must naturally occur at nightfall," he informs.
Television, on the other hand, harms us less, “because it is more than two meters from us and emits only a little blue light”, continues the specialist.
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The last advice to improve the quality of your nights concerns waking up.
For our good, we should break with a deleterious habit: that of pressing
snooze
and delaying getting up for a few minutes.
Advice validated by the psychiatrist: “if you are awake but go back to sleep for ten minutes, you produce paradoxical sleep which is not restful”.
Imposing a schedule to get up with great regularity, and not straying too far from it during the weekend, is essential when you suffer from sleep problems.
In conclusion ?
If everyone has their own rituals for falling asleep despite the difficulties, the "10-3-2-1-0" method has the merit of recalling the essential rules for good sleep hygiene.
To be applied before drawing the sleeping pills.