Let’s talk about sleep
I want to start by asking you a few questions..
How rested did you feel when you woke up this morning?
Did you require an alarm to get out of bed?
How many times did you press snooze on your alarm?
Did you go to bed when you set out to last night, or did you stay up and watch “just one more episode” on Netflix?
Last question... On a scale of 1 to 10 where would you rate sleep/recovery in your daily priorities?
If you said 5 or below, I’m hoping by the end of this article your answer may have changed slightly.
Not all sleep is equal
There are two basic types of sleep Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep which has three stages and Non-Rapid Eye Movement (non-REM) Sleep.
Sleep is vital for your health. When you are asleep your eyes are closed, muscles are relaxed and your consciousness is practically suspended. But while your body is still, your brain is actually very active.
Non-REM Stage One:
This sleep starts as a period of light sleep before you enter deeper sleep usually lasting 5-10 minutes. Your heart rate and breathing slow, muscles start to relax and body temperature drops. This stage only lasts a few minutes and during this stage you are easily arisen.
Stage Two:
In the second stage of sleep, still referred to as light sleep, eye movement, brain waves, and muscle activity start to decrease and prepare the mind for deep sleep.
Stage Three:
The third stage of sleep is classified as deep sleep, where you are much more difficult to wake. The muscles of the body become fully relaxed or ‘limp’ in this stage. Your breathing rate, blood pressure, and body temperature all decrease significantly during this stage. The body produces growth hormones, regulates immune system function, and develops and repairs muscle tissue during this stage, making it critical for physical health and recovery.
REM:
This sleep occurs approximately 90 minutes after falling asleep. Your eyes move rapidly from side to side behind your eyelids. Your breathing becomes faster, shallow and more irregular, and blood pressure and heart rate increase to near waking levels. REM sleep is somewhat mysterious, and its full function is still being studied by neuroscientists. However, it is believed that REM sleep plays a vital role in the brain’s ability to learn. It is during REM sleep that the brain processes, consolidates, and stores information into long-term memory.
Why is sleep so important?
Sleep is the pillar of health. Sleep allows the human body to consolidate emotions and to restore and repair physical needs. Without sufficient sleep you may experience one or all of the following short-term side effects.
Frequent emotional outbursts
Poor memory and concentration
Lack of motor skills (clumsiness)
Indecisiveness
Irrational thought process
Relationship stresses
Increased likelihood of fixating on one thought (anxiety)
Loss of motivation
Depression
Micro-sleep
Low sex drive
If sleep deprivation continues for a longer period of time the long-term effect on your health may include:
High blood pressure
Chronic disease such as stroke, obesity and depression
Poor quality of life (relationship breakdowns)
Weakened immune system
Healthy sleep habits can make a big difference to your quality of life.
If you are not sleeping well - or long enough - at night, try the tips below to improve the quality of your sleep and ensure you are properly rested the following day.
10 top tips for getting a good nights sleep:
Find your sleep number
I want you to start recording your sleep and wake times over the next few days. We are aiming to find that sweet spot where you are able to wake up and feel refreshed each day. For some this might be 8 hours, others may only require 5 hours of sleep per night and wake up feeling amazing. But everyone is different, so it will take some trial and error to find what feels best for you, but you will thank yourself for it later.
2. Routine, routine, routine
Once you have found your sleep number, I want you to determine how you are going to get that amount of sleep each night by scheduling your sleep and awake times. So, if you require 8 hours of sleep to feel refreshed, and you know your babe wakes at 5:00am each day, you should be aiming to be in bed by 9:00pm each night. Stick to a sleep schedule of the same bedtime and wake up time, even on the weekends. This helps to regulate your body's clock and could help you fall asleep and stay asleep for the night.
3. Create a calming sleep environment
I want you to design your sleep environment to help assist you to fall asleep. Your room should be cool, dark and free from distractions. This may look like some black out curtains, a white noise machine, fresh beautiful linen, or the use of a fan. Your room should be inviting and calming, so leave that pile of washing that needs to be folded, or work/electronics at the door.
4. Limit caffeine to the AM!
We’ve all heard it before, but I want you to aim to enjoy your liquid gold before lunch time. Caffeine is a stimulant, and if we want to have a restful night’s sleep then unfortunately enjoying another cup past lunch time is going to affect our bodies normal functioning to transition to sleep. If you find yourself reaching for another cup of coffee or tea in the afternoon, maybe look at transitioning to decaf, or enjoy a large glass of water or some fruit for that energy hit. Your future self will love you for it.
5. Create a bed time ritual
How does your body know its time to go to sleep if you haven’t told it what to do? Now we all have a little bedtime routine without even realising it, like brushing our teeth, washing your face and pulling the bed covers back, but I want you to really focus and fine tune this ritual. What are some other things you could put in place to show your body its bedtime? Things like turning harsh lighting off, reducing electronic use one hour prior to bed, reading, spraying a sleep-inducing room spray, enjoying a warm shower/bath or maybe it using a beautiful body cream. Your body needs time to shift into sleep mode, so spend the last hour before bed doing some form of calming activity.
6. Get active!
Exercise daily! We all know we can benefit from moving our bodies in some way. Vigorous/moderate exercise is best, but even some light exercise is better than no activity. Exercise at any time of day, but not at the expense of your sleep.
7. Limit screen time
For some people, using an electronic device such as a laptop, tablet or phone can make it hard to fall asleep, because the particular type of light illuminating from the screens of these devices is stimulating to the brain. If you have trouble sleeping, avoid electronics before bed or in the middle of the night, or if you have an iPhone you can turn on what’s called ‘Nightshift’ which turns off the blue light on your screens.
8. Eat when your Nanna does
If you are having dinner too close to bedtime, your body is focusing on digesting your food rather than restoring and repairing. Try to have dinner with your kids (which is a beautiful bonding time as well), or have dinner when your grandparents did, aim to be sitting down eating around 5:30-6:30pm depending on when you need to go to bed.
9. Get your worries out before going to bed
Put your hand up if you’ve ever been personally victimized by bedtime worrying? I know I have!! Its like our bodies have this cruel way of remembering everything we needed to do or get done as soon as our head hits the pillow. I suggest leaving a journal or note pad next to your bed and writing down all your thoughts. This could be in the form of journaling, or maybe just writing a list of everything you need to get done the next day. This removes all these thoughts from your head, and allows you to calm your mind.
10. Calm your mind
If you have participated in our Pilates classes over the years you may have learnt some meditation strategies. Now when I say meditation, I don’t mean you have to close your eyes, cross your legs, hum and completely clear your mind. I just want you to take five to focus on your breathing, maybe focusing on something you are grateful for or stretching your body.
Now I want to ask you this question again…
On a scale of 1 to 10 where would you rate sleep/recovery in your daily priorities?
We hope you’ve found this article educational, and by implementing some of the tips we’ve shared, that you’re able to soon wake up feeling refreshed and recharged.
Sweet Dreams!
Author
This blog was written by Carmen Amor, Exercise Physiologist at Kerin Health.
