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.

Can't Sleep?

Do you find it hard to get to sleep or do you wake up during the night thinking about things?

Frustrated and tired do you begin watching the clock and start worrying about not getting to sleep or not getting enough sleep?

If you are finding that you are having difficulty sleeping, try following these tips.

1. Mindfulness Meditation

Find a quiet, comfortable place to sit and close your eyes.  Focus your mind on your breath, inhaling and exhaling deeply.  Continue focussing on your breath. Don’t allow your mind to wander to the days activities or the future.  Regularly practicing mindfulness meditation for five minutes or more, can help you relax and let go of your daily stresses.  A technique that at bedtime, you can also undertake to help your mind relax and fall asleep.

2. Exercise during the day

Exercise has been found to help reduce anxiety and stress.  Although hitting the gym, or participating in group sports is not an option right now, make sure you undertake some form of exercise each day.  Take a walk around the block or try an online workout or yoga class.   It takes as little as 5-10 minutes a day to reduce stress, boost mood and keep the body strong while improving alertness during the day and sleep quality. 

3. Set-aside ‘Worry Time” in the early evening

Get into a routine of setting aside some time each evening to think about the things that have happened during the day and the things that you need to address tomorrow or in coming days.  Jot down the problem, or what is worrying you and make plans or develop possible solutions.  Writing things down will help you process what you are thinking about and help you free them from your thoughts when it is time to sleep.

4. Keep an hour before bed as “Wind Down Time”

Have your evening meal at least two hours before bedtime and avoid caffeine and alcohol late in the day.   Allow your mind and body to relax and wind down at least an hour before bed.  Play quiet music, read a book or take a bath.  Avoid, the evening news, social media and using screens, which emit blue light.

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.

By keeping us engaged and stimulated they are also hard to walk away from and make it difficult for our brains to relax and wind down at the end of the day.

5. Ensure good sleep habits and comfortable sleep environment

Keep a regular bedtime, and try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.  This helps create a natural rhythm, and sleep-wake cycle for your body.

Ensure the bedroom is free of distractions.  No televisions, computers, radios and phones.

If your mobile phone is in your room and used as an alarm, ensure it is in do not disturb mode so you are not woken by late night text messages or notifications.

Keep the bedroom dark and ensure the room temperature is not too hot or cold which may make you restless and it difficult to fall asleep.  According to the Sleep Council UK

 “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.” 

Make sure 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.

“If you get into bed and cannot fall asleep after 20 minutes, get up and return to another space in the house to do a relaxing activity, such as reading or listening to music. Lying in bed awake can create an unhealthy link between your sleeping environment and wakefulness. Instead, you want your bed to conjure sleepy thoughts and feelings only.”  - sleepfoundation.org

Getting a good night’s sleep is vital to your health, well being and ability to effectively function during the day, so if you find you are having continuous problems getting a good night’s sleep talk to your doctor.

Sleep well, live well