Many things can interfere with us getting enough sleep. A late night movie, completing a work assignment or a night out with friends.
For an adult the recommended amount of sleep for our bodies to function effectively is 7-9 hours a night. Sleep debt is where there is a difference in the amount of sleep we should be getting versus the amount of sleep we are actually getting.
Short term sleep debt can result in a lack of concentration, irritability and poor judgement, affecting our ability to learn and complete tasks, and increasing the likelihood of accidents or errors to occur.
As sleep is restorative, longer term a chronic lack of sleep can contribute to health problems including obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and a weakened immune system. You may also be more susceptible to experiencing anxiety and depression.
If you have had a late night or are feeling tired a nap may help during the day, reducing fatigue, increasing alertness, improving your mood, performance and reaction time. A nap may also help you prepare for and be able to better cope with a late night out, shift work or a long drive.
Ideally a nap should only be 15-30 minutes long. This will ensure that when you wake you are still in the lightest stage of non-REM sleep. Any longer, where you enter the deeper stages of sleep you risk waking up with what is known as sleep inertia. Feeling groggy and perhaps more tired and with less energy than before your nap.
Many of us enjoy a weekend sleep in, catching up on sleep lost during the week. Whilst it may seem a good idea and make you feel less tired, if you are sleeping in do not sleep for more than 2 hours longer than normal. Sleeping late into the morning can further disrupt your sleep patterns by making you feel less sleepy when you should be going to bed at night.
Sleeping in or taking naps may make us feel less tired in the short term but they are not a solution for long term chronic sleep debt and the potential long-term effects on your health.
Avoiding sleep debt, and providing your body with the sleep it needs requires a regular sleep routine and good sleep hygiene habits.
It may take time to get into a routine but by following good sleep hygiene and a regular sleep routine you will regain the energy you have been lacking and it will benefit your long term health and wellbeing.
Sleep Well, Live Well
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
It is the first Sunday of April this weekend which means daylight savings is over, and it is time to turn our clocks back an hour at 3am to 2am.
Today, most smartphones and computers will automatically do this for us, but if you have an analog clock you should set yourself a reminder to do this before you go to bed Saturday night.
As the days shorten, by turning our clocks back, it means we are exposed to more bright light in the mornings.
As quoted in a 7 news article, Sleep and Circadian Researcher at Central Queensland University Amy Reynolds says
“Exposure to bright light in the morning, which happens when we are not on daylight saving time, is more ideal for our systems, as it synchronizes our body clocks to the day, and to the social requirements we have in the world, things like starting work and school in the morning.”
Changing our clocks in either direction changes the principle time cue (which is light) for setting and resetting our 24 hour natural cycle, or circadian rhythm. Therefore, our internal clocks become out of sync.
Turn back your clocks this Sunday and remember that with a good night sleep you will feel and function better.
If you are finding yourself feeling tired and sleepy during the day a nap may be beneficial. Reducing fatigue, increasing alertness, improving your mood, performance and reaction time.
A nap may also help you prepare for and be able to better cope with a late night out, shift work or a long drive.
As recognised by the Sleep Health Foundation of Australia
"Naps can also be good at times when you feel sleepy and you are worried about how well you can do things if you continue without rest. If you feel drowsy during a long drive in the car, a short nap can be taken in a rest area. This will make you more alert during the next phase of the drive.
Some studies have found that if you start to feel sleepy while driving, it helps to have a cup of coffee, immediately followed by a nap of about 15 minutes. The caffeine takes about 30 minutes to start working so when you wake up both the nap and the caffeine will start to make you feel more alert."
The secret to waking up refreshed from a nap is setting an alarm and making sure you don’t nap for too long.
Ideally a nap should only be 15-30 minutes long. This will ensure that when you wake you are still in the lightest stage of non-REM sleep. Any longer, where you enter the deeper stages of sleep you risk waking up with what is known as sleep inertia. Feeling groggy and perhaps more tired and with less energy than before your nap.
However “If you’re lucky enough to be able to lie down for 90 minutes, your body should have time to make it through one complete sleep cycle where you go from the lightest stage through the deepest stage of sleep and back again, so you’ll wake feeling refreshed.”- sleep.org
“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
Be mindful to remember that a nap does not replace a good night’s sleep. A nap too late in the day may make it harder to fall asleep at night. And if you find that you are relying on naps during the day or you are not able to sleep at night due to naps talk to your doctor.
Jet lag occurs when you fly across one or more time zones.
Daylight plays an important role in our body’s natural biological clock or circadian rhythm, affecting the release of Melatonin which tells us when we should go to sleep and wake up. Jet lag occurs because our body's circadian rhythm has not had time to synchronise to the change in time zones.
The result, our body is telling us to stay awake when it’s late at night, or telling us it’s time to sleep when it is the only the middle of the afternoon.
Jet lag, affects different people differently, and can happen to anyone regardless of their age or level of fitness.
As recognised by betterhealth.vic.gov.au it is also often worse if you are travelling in an easterly direction
Your circadian rhythm (body clock) is less confused if you travel westward. This is because travelling west ‘prolongs’ the body clock’s experience of its normal day-night cycle (the normal tendency of the body clock in most of us is slightly longer than 24 hours). Travelling eastwards, however, runs in direct opposition to the body clock. If you suffer badly from jet lag, it may be worthwhile considering a westerly travel route if possible.
The symptoms of Jet Lag vary between people. They may include:
Jet lag generally lasts for 2-3 days and although there is no cure there are things that you can do before, during and after travel to help.
Before Leaving
During the Flight
After the Flight
“It is important that you sleep for no longer than 30 minutes and that you are awake for at least 4 hours before you go to bed.”
Most importantly be prepared to give yourself the time to adjust. It will often take at least 2-3 days.
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.
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.
Sleep is vital to our health and well-being, affecting how we feel, and how productive we are.
If you are not getting the 7-9 hours of quality sleep a day that most adults need, you may be among other things, lacking in energy, getting frustrated easily, feeling sleepy during the day and having trouble concentrating.
Just remember that what works for one person may not work for another and it is not always possible to stick to a set routine. By adopting these habits however your sleep should improve. With the right amount of quality sleep you will feel better and be more productive. If you are not finding anything that works you should consult your GP.
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