Is 'Catching Up on Sleep on Weekends' Really Okay? 'Bedtime Habits' to Improve Sleep Quality

Introduction

“I’m so busy with work or school during the week that my sleep time inevitably gets cut short...”
I’m sure many people feel this way.

And haven’t you thought something like this?
“I’m sleep-deprived during the week, but I can make up for it by sleeping a lot on the weekend, right?”

For example, sleeping 6 hours on weekdays, but 9 to 10 hours on Saturday and Sunday.
“This will reset my fatigue for the week!”

You might feel that way.
Certainly, sleeping longer on weekends may improve the sleepiness and fatigue caused by sleep deprivation during the week.

However, it doesn’t necessarily mean that “sleeping longer on weekends makes your weekday sleep deprivation completely disappear.”

So, what should you do?

Of course, ensuring enough sleep time is important.

But many people will say, “I know that already.”

In modern times, with so much to do—work, study, housework, childcare, hobbies—some people say, “I want to increase my sleep time, but I can’t.”
That is why we want to focus on “how you spend your time right before going to sleep” this time.
Even if you sleep for the same 7 hours, “7 hours spent looking at a bright screen right until you fall asleep” and “7 hours spent after preparing for sleep” may result in different ways of falling asleep and different sleep environments.
Instead of just trying to secure sleep time, let’s also look at “how to spend the 1–2 hours before sleep.”

Sleep quality doesn’t start “after you get into bed,”
it starts before that

Do you think of sleep as
“something that starts the moment you press the power button”?
Actually, that is not the case.

Before you fall asleep, your body gradually switches from


“active mode”to“rest mode.”
To use an analogy, it’s like slowing down a car gradually instead of stopping it suddenly from 100 km/h.Rather than continuing to stimulate your brain and body with work, games, social media, or videos right up until you go to bed, it is important to create an environment where your body can easily switch to “it’s time to sleep soon.”So, what specifically should you do?

1. How many minutes before bed is it okay to use a smartphone?

First, the concern is smartphones.

“It’s not good to touch your smartphone before bed.”

We hear this often.

So, 30 minutes before bed?

1 hour before?

2 hours before?

Exactly how many minutes before should you stop using your smartphone?

This requires a bit of caution.
There is no established, clear boundary that applies to everyone, such as “absolutely no smartphones 60 minutes before bedtime.”

What is important is not just the “light from the smartphone.”

By looking at your smartphone, things like this also happen:
* Social media information comes in
* You end up watching videos one after another
* You get excited by games

* You think about replying to messages
* You delay your bedtime thinking “just one more”
In fact, regarding the relationship between screen use and sleep, associations with lower sleep quality and sleep problems have been reported.

Recent studies also suggest that pre-bedtime screen use needs to be considered from multiple aspects, including content, light, and usage methods.
That is why the first thing you should try is the rule: “Do not use your smartphone for ‘entertainment purposes’ from 30–60 minutes before bedtime.”
You don’t need to ban it completely.
Setting an alarm.
Checking tomorrow’s schedule.

Making necessary contacts.
You don’t need to be nervous about avoiding even these uses.

The point is to “stop using it in a way that excites your brain.”
And if you can, don’t bring your smartphone into bed.

It is also important to make “bed = a place to sleep” rather than “bed = a place to look at social media.”

2. Is it better for the room to be “pitch black” when sleeping?

Next, we want to focus on “bedroom brightness.”

Even if you think “it’s fine because I turn off the lights,” you might have a nightlight on.

The TV is on.

Smartphone notifications light up.

Light from streetlights enters from outside.

There is surprisingly a lot of light in the bedroom.

Nighttime light may affect physiological rhythms such as your internal clock and melatonin, and associations between exposure to nighttime light and sleep problems have been reported.

Therefore, the simple measure of “making it as dark as possible when sleeping” is worth trying.

However, here too, rather than chasing numbers like “it’s definitely okay if it’s below X lux,” it is easier to practice by looking at “whether there is unnecessary light entering your bedroom.”

For example:
* Turn off the bedroom lights

* Don’t sleep with the TV on
* Place your smartphone face down
* Reduce notification lights
* Use curtains if light enters from outside
And, right before bed, dim the room lighting itself a little to switch to “night mode.”

This also becomes a kind of “preparation for sleep” for your body.

3. Is a bath better “1–2 hours before” rather than “right before bed”?

This is a point that is surprisingly not well known.

You might think, “If I take a bath, my body will warm up, so won’t it be harder to fall asleep?”
However, a warm bath can have a positive effect on sleep depending on the timing.

Studies have shown that taking a warm bath at around 40–42.5°C 1–2 hours before bedtime may shorten the time it takes to fall asleep and improve sleep efficiency and subjective sleep quality.

Moreover, there are studies that have shown effects even with a bath of about 10 minutes.

Why is that?

The point is “that your body temperature drops after warming up.”

When blood flow to the surface of the body increases due to bathing, it becomes easier for heat to escape from the body afterward.
And it is thought that the drop in the temperature of the core of the body leads to a state where it is easier to fall asleep.

In other words, the flow is: Warming up in the bath -> Then, body heat escapes -> It becomes easier to fall asleep.

Therefore, rather than “a hot bath right before bed,” it is worth trying the method of “taking a bath at a comfortable temperature 1–2 hours before bedtime.”
However, there are individual differences in bathing time and temperature, and research is not yet sufficient.

4. How much should you avoid “caffeine right before bed”?

“If I drink coffee at night, I can’t sleep.”

This is famous, right?

But the question also arises, “Until what time is it okay to drink it?”

Since individual differences are very large here, rather than thinking “absolutely forbidden after X o’clock,” it is important to check for yourself, “Does consuming caffeine in the evening or later affect my sleep?”

It’s not just coffee.

* Energy drinks
* Green tea

* Black tea

* Cola

* Chocolate
also contain caffeine.

Even if you think “I’m fine because I don’t drink coffee at night,” there is a possibility that you are consuming it from other sources.

5. Exercise before bed is not “the more you do, the better”

Many people have heard that “exercising makes it easier to sleep.”

Certainly, moderate exercise during the day may have a positive effect on sleep.
However, it does not necessarily mean that “if you exercise intensely right before bed, you will sleep even better.”

If you exercise intensely right before bed, your heart rate and body temperature rise, and your body may enter active mode.
Therefore, the realistic approach is “exercise during the day” and “if you exercise at night, avoid intense exercise right before bedtime.”

6. Make the last hour “time for sleeping”

Let's summarize everything up to this point.

For example,

2 hours before bedtime

Take a bath.
↓
[1 hour before bedtime,]
Dim the room lights a little.
↓
[30-60 minutes before bedtime]
Step away from smartphones, videos, and other
highly stimulating content.
↓
[Just before bedtime]
Darken the bedroom and
create a relaxing environment.
↓
[Bedtime]
The body naturally drifts into sleep.
In this way, you are not

'just changing the moment you fall asleep', but rather
'designing the time leading up to sleep.'

Sleep

does not begin the moment
you get into bed.
The preparation begins little by little

tens of minutes or hours before that.

If you can't increase your sleep time,
try changing 'before you sleep'

'Let's ensure enough sleep time.'

This is certainly correct.

However, in reality,

there are people who say,

'I can't increase my sleep time that easily.'

That is precisely why,

instead of looking only at sleep time,
look at your 'pre-sleep environment'.

Are you using your smartphone right up until you go to sleep?

Is your bedroom too bright?

How is the timing of your bath?

Are you consuming caffeine late at night?

Is your mind overstimulated
by work or games right up until bedtime?

Try reviewing these small elements
one by one.

Sleep is not

'an event that suddenly starts when you get into bed.'
It is the final preparation time of the day,

gradually guiding your body toward sleep
before you actually fall asleep.

Instead of aiming to sleep for 10 hours on your day off,
try thinking about 'how to spend the last hour of today'.

Even just doing that

might change your perspective on sleep

a little bit.

And above all, what is important
is not to try hard by thinking 'I must sleep deeply'.
Sleep is

not something you create by trying hard, but something you prepare for by creating an environment where your body can sleep naturally.

Starting tonight, just one thing.
Try putting your smartphone away a little earlier.

Try dimming the lights a little.
Try taking a bath a little earlier.

Why not start with such small

'preparations for sleep'?



If you want to change your sleep,

start not from the moment you fall asleep,

but from 'before you sleep'.