Sleep is as important to our bodies as eating, drinking and breathing and is vital for maintaining good mental and physical health. Sleeping helps us recover from mental as well as physical exertion. Everyone is different so to find out how much sleep you should be getting you need to determine your personal sleep needs. Research suggests that adults (18+) should have between 8 and 9 hours of sleep a night, the optimal time for sleep being between 10pm and 2am. There are many consequences if you are not sleeping enough; everyone has experienced fatigue, which can cause a short temper and lack of focus. The occasional night without sleep may make you irritable the next day however isn’t harmful to your health. However if a lack of sleep is a regular occurrence the effect on your health may start to become more serious.
Health
Poor sleep puts us at an increased risk for conditions such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Getting a good night’s sleep allows your body to recharge and can help to heal damaged cells as well as boosting your immune system. Sleep restriction affects blood sugar and reduces insulin sensitivity, which means that sleeping less than 6 hours a night has shown to increase your risk of diabetes, specifically type 2 as being sleep deprived changes the way your body processes glucose, which the body uses for energy.
Environment
Using your phone, watching TV or eating certain foods before going to sleep can have an affect on the quality of your sleep. If you find yourself experiencing poor sleep try to adjust the environment in which you are sleeping. For example, changing the temperature, noise levels, the amount of light in the room or not using screens before settling down.
Attitude
Sleep is important for various aspects of brain function. Good sleep improves memory performance as well as enhancing problem solving skills. Getting enough sleep helps you function well throughout the day and can make you more productive when faced with tasks. The most affected area from sleep deprivation, is your attention span as well as making your reaction times slower, which is a skill that keeps us safe especially while driving.
Lifestyle
Exercising during the day can allow you to have a better quality of sleep at night. Mental health issues such as depression have been linked to poor sleep quality and sleeping disorders. So it is important to lead a healthy lifestyle to allow you to get good quality sleep and improve your overall health.
In summary therefore,
Do:
– Establish a relaxing pre-sleep routine to help you get to sleep easier at night. Take a bath, read a book or practice relaxation exercises an hour before bed. Adjusting your bedroom or environment can help aid in a better sleep and continue feeling relaxed after practicing these techniques.
– Reduce your exposure to blue light in the evening. This is most commonly found in smartphones and computers so try and put your phone away an hour before bed to allow you for a better quality of sleep.
– Try to wake up and go to bed at consistent times, this will help you get your body into a pattern and can help aid long-term sleep quality. You may even eventually no longer require an alarm clock!
– Try meditation before bedtime as this aids relaxation and calms the mind.
Don’t:
– Don’t sleep more during the weekend to make up for lost sleep during the week and don’t think that sleeping extra for one night will cure all your fatigue problems. Yes the way to catching up on lost sleep is to sleep more but this is unlikely to happen with one single early night after months of restricted sleep. Try starting on a weekend and adding on an hour or 2 of sleep a night when you’re tired and let your body naturally wake you up in the morning.
– Don’t rely on caffeine or energy drinks as a short-term solution. It may boost your energy and concentration temporarily but it can ultimately disrupt your sleeping pattern even more in the long term.
– Similarly, don’t eat junk food or food high in sugars in the evening as this can impact your sleep quality.
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positive lifestyle changes, I’m more than happy to answer any questions you
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