We all love to sleep, don’t we? There’s nothing quite like climbing into bed, fresh sheets, snuggling up under the covers and dozing off into the land of nod.
However, for many, sleep doesn’t come easily and around 1 in 3 people in the U.K. suffer from insomnia – the difficulty of getting to sleep and staying asleep for long enough to feel refreshed in the morning. It is especially common in the elderly.
Our sleeping patterns over the years have changed due to many reasons, such as longer working days, leading to sleep deprivation. Historically, we were programmed to wake up with the sunrise and go to sleep with the sun setting and researchers have found evidence that this is the way that our sleep hormones work. Stress hormones are released in higher amounts in the morning and more relaxing hormones are produced when the sun goes down. However, they have discovered that even for those who may spend long periods underground in darker circumstances that this rhythm remains. Many, however, in modern day life are not getting the recommended 7-9 hours that we should.
Sleep is vital for so many reasons in life. Sleep plays a critical role in our thinking and lack of sleep can therefore have an impact on our cognitive processes. It can impair our attention skills and concentration, affect learning and prevent us from making correct decisions. It can also slow down our reflexes and alertness leading to accidents. From a healthcare perspective, it is vital in its role of healing. Poor sleep can lead to longer recovery time as your body struggles to cope with the extra load on it. Long-term lack of sleep can raise the risk of serious illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. Lack of sleep can also be one of the main factors in obesity, so if your new year’s resolution is to lose weight, prioritising sleep will help.
Here are a few tips to consider if you’re struggling with poor sleep.
- Minimise light sources, especially those associated with technology. The blue light tricks the body and slows the production of melatonin, which triggers the sleep process, before bed.
- Turn up the noise (the right kind!) – this may sound counterintuitive, but adding the right kind of relaxing noise can help you sleep better.
- Set a bedtime alarm. Our body clocks work to a rhythm, and a daily routine can help reinforce this. So, setting an alarm to wake up and another to go to bed, encourages routine and regularity. This can help to go to sleep and make staying asleep much easier.
- Eat the right foods. Certain foods and drinks are known to be sleep disruptors such as caffeine, spicy or garlicky foods, whilst others, such as camomile tea can be relaxing as part of your bedtime routine.
- Cool the room – your body temperature naturally lowers to help it wind down for bed, so a cool atmosphere can naturally induce a feeling of sleepiness. Once you’re asleep your body temperature continues to lower, so a cooler environment can be supportive of this process.
- Embrace meditation – a calmer mind leads to calmer sleep. Clear those thoughts before bedtime to aid a better, more restful sleep. If meditation doesn’t appeal, then try jotting those preoccupying thoughts or worries down to free up your mind so that you can switch off.
Now, go switch off that phone, relax and get the shut-eye that we all probably need. Rest isn’t being lazy, it’s essential for health and well-being.
