If possible, turn off all light sources or wear a sleep mask.

The theory is that growing up with a black-and-white television plays a role here. So... will our children dream in 4D?

Exercise and activity during the day increase your oxygen uptake and improve stress reduction. Both can promote restorative sleep. If there’s no time to exercise, try to at least move around more during the day.

17 hours of sleep deprivation are said to correspond to a blood alcohol level of about 0.05 percent; 24 hours of sleep deprivation act like a blood alcohol level of .1 percent. The risk of traffic accidents and workplace accidents also rises.

Treating sleeplessness early on could, therefore, often prevent depression.

This is caused by too little sleep or a sleep deficit over several days or weeks, but also by driving during times when you are normally asleep.

Drinking alcohol in the evening creates unrest during the second half of the night; it reduces the REM sleep phases and impairs breathing when taken in higher doses.

According to one study, tiredness not only whets the appetite for unhealthy junk food and sweets, but also causes us to eat more overall. This is probably the result of disruptions in hormonal balance and in the metabolism.  

While we sleep, our brain stores new things it has learned, connects them to existing knowledge and even tries out creative new solutions. Success is closely linked with the length of your sleep.

But as a rule, we don’t notice it, because our brain does not register waking sequences shorter than 3 minutes.