Have you ever wondered why you fall asleep more easily when sitting or lying on the sofa than when you are lying in bed? A neurologist explains why. According to him, it is an important mistake to think that sleeping on the couch helps you sleep in the first place.
Almost everyone falls asleep easily on the couch, but most of the time, when they go to bed, sleep is lost. Even if this situation is experienced regularly, the sleep pattern is lost. So what’s the secret to falling asleep easily on the couch?
Neurologist Karol Uscamaita says that people with sleep problems often develop bad habits that make it difficult to rest. “For example, they believe that falling asleep early in a place other than their bed helps them fall asleep faster. This is a false belief. There is no basis for this. That’s why some people have a bad habit of falling asleep on the couch,” Uscamaita says. According to him, the reason for this behavior is due to the way the brain forms habits.
Uscamaita says, “For example, if a person gets into the habit of eating lunch or dinner very early, they will get hungry much sooner. The same thing happens with sleep. If a person always falls asleep on the couch before going to bed, the brain will think it’s time to sleep while still in a comfortable place. On the other hand, if that person then goes to bed but looks at their cell phone or thinks about something, the brain perceives the bed as a place of activity and therefore is not ready for sleep. So it’s important to condition the brain, the bed as a sleeping place.
Uscamaita also has a solution: “Go to bed at that point and try to sleep for a maximum of 10-15 minutes. If you manage to fall asleep in less than 15 minutes, perfect. If not, get out of bed and do something relaxing in a relaxing place. But don’t fall asleep.” Go back to bed when you feel sleepy again. You have to repeat this process until it becomes a habit. So the next time you feel like you’re going to fall asleep on the couch, go to bed.”