Three Key Elements to a Good Night's Sleep

You probably ask yourself all the time what makes a good night’s sleep? If you google it, you’ll most likely see lists upon lists of top ten tips or the 5 best secrets to a good night’s sleep. Whilst these lists probably have great ideas, they may be redundant without understanding the key elements that make a good night’s sleep.

We’ve narrowed it down to three key elements for a good night’s sleep:

1. Duration
2. Continuity
3. Depth

Now you know the three elements let’s expand on what they are so you have a basic understanding and can apply those great tips you see everywhere including our Instagram 😉.

1. Duration

Duration refers to the length of time that you sleep for, your sleep needs to be long enough that when you wake up the next day you are feeling refreshed and alert. Generally speaking, for an adult this is between 7-9 hours of sleep, with the length being longer for teenagers and young children.

2. Continuity

Your sleep needs to be long and uninterrupted, even if you are still getting your required hours of sleep a night if you are waking up multiple times this can affect the overall quality of your sleep. There are four stages of sleep that humans go through each night:

1. Stage 1 – A light sleep that only lasts a few minutes and is a transition period between wakefulness and sleep. Our body and brain start slowing down.
2. Stage 2 – Occurs when the body starts transitioning from a light sleep to a deeper sleep. Our bodily functions continue to slow down, muscles relax, eye movement stops and our body temperature reduces. On top of this brain waves slow down further.
3. Deep Sleep – Our heart rate and breathing rate are at their lowest during this part of the sleep cycle. The muscles and eyes are also very relaxed, and the brain waves become even slower.
4. REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep – Occurs roughly 90 minutes after falling asleep, this is closer to a state of wakefulness with our breathing and heart rate increasing as well as our eyes start to move rapidly side to side behind our eyelids, this is when most of our dreams occur.

As you can see our body slides through different and important stages of sleep each night and can do this multiple times, so if you are repeatedly waking up during the night you are disrupting your bodies sleep cycle.

3. Depth

This ties in with the stages of sleep we touched on above when talking about sleep continuity, you want your sleep to be deep and restorative. This means we especially want to make sure we are reaching the third and fourth stage of sleep known as slow wave sleep.  Slow wave sleep is attributed to play a pivotal role in brain restoration and recovery as well as memory consolidation, whilst also producing human growth hormone which repairs tissues and cells in our bodies. All very important for us to be functional humans the next day.

Now you are equipped with the understanding of the key factors making up a good night’s sleep, you can now start creating a sleep routine that will aid you in sleeping the required amount and protecting it from interruption.

Is getting a better night’s sleep one of your New Year’s resolutions?

Sleep is vital to our everyday well being.  Getting the right amount of regular sleep will make you feel more energised and motivated, helping you to achieve other goals that you might have for this year, such as doing more exercise,

Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time.  It will help create a natural rhythm, and sleep-wake cycle for your body. 

Also ensure you are getting the recommended amount of sleep for someone your age.   For an adult this is 7-9 hours a night.  For a guide on the recommended sleep time for different ages check out https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/how-much-sleep-do-you-really-need.html

Look at what can influence the quality of your sleep, and work on making changes where needed.

• Have your evening meal at least two hours before bedtime. Having a full stomach can make it difficult to sleep.

• Avoid caffeine late in the day. Caffeine is a stimulant and although it may give us a much needed wake-up or boost during the day, it can also affect our sleep and contribute to us feeling more tired the following day.  Although there are conflicting views most agree that coffee that should be avoided at least 3-7 hours before bedtime.  Learn more in our Blog “Is how much coffee you drink affecting your sleep” from September 19 which can be found below.

• Likewise try to avoid alcohol at least four hours before bed. Although alcohol may help you get too sleep, it will disrupt your sleep during the night and is associated with more frequent waking up.

“Another reason people get lower-quality sleep following alcohol is that it blocks REM sleep, which is often considered the most restorative type of sleep. With less REM sleep, you’re likely to wake up feeling groggy and unfocused.”  - sleepfoundation.org 

• Have a set time before bed that you use to wind down and relax. Don’t overstimulate your body or brain. Avoid strenuous exercise, watching a scary or dramatic TV show, stop checking your work emails or social media….. Try a relaxing bath, mediation, reading or listening to soothing music.

• Dim your devices screens in the evening and try putting a curfew on your devices of 1-2 hours before bedtime. The longer the better, and avoid checking email or social media in bed.  The blue light emitted from devices such as smartphones, tablets, computers and the TV, can at night all reduce the production of the sleep hormone melatonin.  This may result in difficulty sleeping and increased drowsiness during the day.

Ensure your bedroom offers the best possible sleep environment

• Keep the bedroom dark at night and ensure the room temperature is not too hot or too cold.

“A cool 16-18°C (60-65°F) is thought to be an ideal temperature in a bedroom. Temperatures over 24°C (71°F) are likely to cause restlessness, while a cold room of about 12°C (53°F) will make it difficult to drop off.”  - Sleep Council UK 

• Ensure your sleep environment is healthy. Dust mites found in bedding are a common cause of asthma, allergies and asthma.  Protect-A-Bed mattress, pillow and quilt protectors will provide an allergy barrier against any dust mites living in your mattress or quilts.

• Keep the bedroom for sleep and free of distractions. Where possible no televisions, computers, radio’s and phones.

It may take a little adjustment for you to get into a new routine, but just remember that if you are getting the right amount of sleep regularly you should feel better and have more energy for the things you want to achieve.

Sleep well, live well

5 tips to improve your sleep this daylight savings

It is the first Sunday of October and we all know that means it is daylight savings time.

Daylight savings puts our clock forward an hour and although this can be fantastic for people who want to enjoy those long summer nights it can have a negative impact on our sleeping patterns.

Even one hour of sleep loss over a few nights can have marked effects on our mood and health.

The effects of the initial time change for daylight savings on the body is often likened to jet lag.  Losing an hour of light in the morning and gaining it at night it effects our bodies as if we are in a different time zone.

This is because changing the clock in either direction changes the principle time cue (which is light) for setting and resetting our 24-hr natural cycle, or circadian rhythm. Therefore, our internal clocks become out of sync.

As it is staying light later in the day it can be harder to fall asleep and likewise staying darker in the morning can make it harder to wake up.

Tips to help you adapt your circadian rhythm to the new time:

1. It is advised to aim to get eight hours of sound sleep, fatigue can exacerbate the negative effects of changing the clock so avoid depriving yourself of sleep and go to bed at an appropriate time.
2.  Avoid alcohol close to going to sleep. Studies show that it reduces rapid eye movement or (REM) sleep, thus impacting on your brains ability to sleep properly.
3. Limit caffeine intake 6 hours prior to bed, research has shown that caffeine taken 6 hours prior to sleep has significant effects on sleep disturbance. This will impact on your ability to get a restful sleep.
4. As light suppresses the secretion of the sleep-inducing substance melatonin expose yourself to light during the day, but minimise all light sources when you go to sleep.  Try to avoid the blue light from cell phones and other screens at least two hours before bedtime.
5. Improve your sleep hygiene. Sleep hygiene refers to creating a sleep friendly environment through things such as calming bedtime routines, exercising several hours before sleeping, listening to music, reading a book or having a hot shower before bed.

Spring your clock's forward and get the most out of the warmer days by undertaking good sleeping habits.  With a good night sleep you will feel and function better.