LEARN THE CLEAN SECRETS TO GETTING A REFRESHING NIGHT’S SLEEP

GETTING a solid night’s sleep can be enough of a challenge for the average person, but sleep experts are now pushing for every adult to aim to get clean sleep.

The term might sound like simply showering before hitting the hay, but it’s much more than that.

Sleep expert Cheryl Fingleson said clean sleeping set people up to have a great day as soon as they woke up.

“Clean sleep is all about making sure you get enough good sleep to wake feeling rested and refreshed,” she said.

“Do this and it’ll have a knock-on effect to everything in your life: your metabolism, memory, cognitive function, mood and physical well being.”

She said the difference between regular sleep and clean sleep was sleeping through the entire night and waking up feeling revitalised.

Ms Fingleson explained this difference could be measured by testing individuals’ rapid eye movement (REM) during sleep.

“Ensuring we get the right amount of REM, or light sleep, and non-REM sleep is vital,” she said.

“This kind of sleep isn’t one that’s interrupted. It’s not a sleep that leaves us groggy and tired despite having been in bed for seven or so hours.”

She said practising clean sleeping often meant the difference between waking up feeling tired after 10 hours of light sleep and consistently feeling refreshed after seven to nine hours of clean sleep.

“Sleep experts have done a lot of research on this and there’s evidence to show that getting too much sleep can actually backfire,” she said.

“Depending on our age, adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep a night.

“More than that can actually lead to fragmented sleep when you wake up a lot.”

Ms Fingleson said her top tips for practising clean sleep were keeping the bedroom clean and tidy, avoiding drinking stimulants before bed, and having what she describes as an “electronic sunset”.

“Ideally one to two hours before bed, don’t look at any screens, big or small,” she said.

“And never double screen – watching television while also using a phone or tablet.

“Instead, pick up a book and read to help switch off your brain before bed.”