Consultant neurologist and internal medicine specialist Dr. Abdulrahim Al-Shehri revealed that the summer vacation represents a real opportunity to rebuild healthy habits, calling for investing it in improving sleep, starting exercise, and establishing a lifestyle that continues after it ends, stressing that the first step may seem simple but it is the most important in the journey of change.

Al-Shehri explained via his account on platform 'X' that organizing the vacation begins with setting a fixed daily schedule, calling for waking up before 9 am, then going outside for half an hour in daylight without wearing sunglasses, stressing that this step is sufficient to regulate the biological clock and advance bedtime, describing it as 'a scientific fact, not a personal opinion'.

He added that among the most important healthy habits is refraining from drinking coffee, tea, or any caffeinated drinks after the Asr prayer, explaining that caffeine disrupts the deep sleep stage during which the body recovers. He also recommended that naps should not exceed half an hour, avoiding sleep after Maghrib so that bedtime is not delayed.

He pointed out the importance of going to bed at the first feeling of yawning after dinner, not resisting sleep or reading in bed, and making the home lighting in the evening dim and leaning towards orange, because it does not interfere with the rise of the sleep hormone 'melatonin'.

Al-Shehri stressed the need to repeat these steps day after day, gradually increasing walking speed, then introducing light resistance exercises three times a week, noting the importance of having a light snack before exercise like a banana with a few dates and a glass of water, then drinking water after exercise and ensuring to perform stretching exercises.

He emphasized that maintaining these habits for days, weeks, and months is sufficient to turn them into a lifestyle, affirming that fixing sleep and exercise makes the rest of the health changes easier, adding: 'Do not delay... the important thing is to start, the beginning is always modest but it is the most important step'.

Vacation is an opportunity to build a habit that lasts throughout the year.

Al-Shehri explained that most vacations are spent relaxing, sleeping, and socializing, which is legitimate, but he called for adding a 'seed of exercise' to the vacation program and nurturing it throughout the year until it bears fruit.

He clarified that forming healthy habits takes weeks or months, suggesting starting with walking for half an hour for several days, then gradually increasing speed until speaking in full sentences while walking becomes difficult, then increasing the walking duration to 45 minutes reaching a full hour while carrying a backpack containing water bottles, before adding light resistance exercises and continuing them after the vacation ends.

A message to those over sixty and seventy.

Al-Shehri addressed a message to elderly people who have recently started resistance exercises and feel muscle pain, stressing that it is not too late and that they must continue and not back down.

He explained that the start is using the lightest available weights between one and three kilograms, increasing the number of repetitions until reaching fatigue, noting that repeating light weights to exhaustion provides benefits similar to heavy weights while reducing injury chances. He also recommended taking a rest between one and three days between training sessions depending on recovery speed.

Caffeine strikes deep sleep.

Al-Shehri affirmed that habituation to coffee is different from caffeine's actual effect on sleep structure, explaining that a person may become accustomed to its stimulant effect, but they still experience disruption in the deep sleep stage, which negatively reflects on body functions.

He explained that the deep sleep stage (N3) is the stage during which physical recovery from exercise and stress occurs, strengthening the immune system, secretion of growth hormone, in addition to transferring information and memories from temporary memory to long-term memory.

He pointed out that drinking coffee before bed disrupts these processes partially or completely, describing it as 'a heavy price paid for an hour's pleasure', stressing that consuming coffee, tea, or energy drinks in the hours when the body prepares for sleep ruins sleep quality and negatively affects physical and mental performance the next day, even if the person does not feel it directly.