Do you have good sleep hygiene?
Despite the many products, activities and apps that exist to boost our wellbeing, the most powerful practice might just be what happens when we close our eyes.
Inever should have pitched a story on good sleep hygiene (AKA a person’s sleep environment and the habits that exist around sleep). Mostly because I know just enough about this topic to be sure I have neither. On an average evening: I hop into my bed, which has a “home office” within spitting distance piled high with papers and charging computers (not good). I then snuggle under the covers with my phone (bad) and watch TV shows on it for hours (very bad) and then charge it next to my bed (terrible), but not before I take one last look at the news headlines (not great either).
It’s safe to say my bedroom is not a sanctuary for sleep. And I’m not alone. According to data collected by The Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health, one-quarter of all adults use the internet most or every night of the week just before bed.
And I have a sneaking suspicion some (or all) of the above could be the reason why I wake up feeling exhausted most mornings.
In recent years, the conversation around sleep has shifted from talking to insomniacs to addressing anyone who will listen. And that’s because inadequate sleep, of either duration or quality, affects so many of us. In one nationwide study, the number hovers at 45 per cent of Australian adults. And the health costs are significant, says Dr Gemma Paech, the senior sleep scientist in the Adult Sleep Laboratory at John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle and a conjoint senior lecturer in the School of Medicine and Public Health at The University of Newcastle. Chronically poor sleep weakens the immune system, reduces memory and attention span, and increases the likelihood of conditions such as depression, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Sleep tip: Dimming the lights as you wind down for bed will tell your body to start producing melatonin, the sleep hormone.
And for people over 50 who sleep fewer than six hours a night, there might even be a heightened risk of dementia.
The good news in all this: better sleep may be one of the simplest wellbeing hacks we have at our disposal. Even better, getting more of it or improving the quality of it rarely requires spending money or doing much more than making some quite simple adjustments. Read on and, hopefully, sleep tighter.
Blurred boundaries
Time-poor women caught between work, supporting ageing parents and raising children will be familiar with something researchers call “revenge bedtime procrastination”. I am intimately familiar with this concept: my bed is the place I go to escape the chores and many people in my busy home. It’s a sacred place to catch up on reading, watch reruns of Nordic Noir shows, and FaceTime with friends overseas. “For women who are pressed for time, they may only feel like their time becomes their own when they slip under the covers,” says Dr Paech. “It’s a time to catch up on the things they haven’t been able to do during the day.” All of which works against us when it comes to getting good shut-eye. By now, most of us know a screen’s blue light tells our brain it’s time to be awake. The other issue, says Dr Paech, is that all the research points to better sleep happening in bedrooms that are just for sleeping (and, of course, those all-important intimate moments too). Here’s a great tip from Matthew Walker, Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of Why We Sleep: If you’re going to use your phone after bedtime, then only do so while standing. When you feel like sitting or lying down, put it away.
Daily habits
Ironically, many of the habits that guarantee great sleep start long before you put on your PJs. “What you do during the day can affect the quality of your sleep more than you might think,” says Dr Paech. Some of these things are intuitive: stop drinking caffeine from 2pm. According to the Sleep Health Foundation, caffeine may reach peak levels within 30 to 70 minutes, but its effects can then last three to seven hours. Another more surprising factor in good sleep: any kind of daily exercise, regardless of type or intensity, will help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. There used to be a widely held belief among sleep researchers that this needed to happen well before bedtime, but an analysis of the scientific literature has revealed there is no reason to avoid exercising in the evening. Finally, booze consumption (surprise, surprise) affects sleep. “While you might fall asleep faster after a few drinks, we know you don’t sleep as deeply and it’s far less restful,” says Dr Paech, noting that the current advice is to avoid alcohol for at least four hours before bed. Scarily, binge drinking can affect our level of melatonin (the hormone that makes us feel sleepy at night) for up to a week.
Take it easy
Take a minute to consider how you would define yourself, as far as sleeping goes. Thinking you’re a bad sleeper might be part of the reason you’re not sleeping as deeply as you could be. Blame your brain: when we find it difficult to fall or stay asleep,
Sleep myth: We need less sleep when we’re older. According to the Sleep Health Foundation, as adults age, sleep can get less efficient. This could be from body aches and pains, among other things. Because of this, we might have to spend a bit more time in bed. But apart from this, sleep needs are stable throughout adult life.
our brain starts to associate our bed with stress. “Your brain learns that your bed is a place where you struggle to fall asleep,” says Dr Paech. “The more time you spend in there tossing and turning, the more you reinforce that idea.” One rule of thumb that Dr Walker details in his book is: follow the 25-minute rule. That is, if you can’t fall asleep after 25 minutes or you wake up at night and can’t get back to sleep, then don’t stay in bed. Get up, “but do something quiet and boring that will calm your mind and make you drowsy,” says Dr Paech. This will help your brain reconsider the idea that you’re just no good at sleeping. What you tell yourself matters too. Rather than tell yourself you don’t sleep well, start to view it as something that changes rather than being a done deal.
Stop thinking, already
We all know that feeling: you get into bed and the ticker-tape starts running. Perhaps you run through your plans for tomorrow: something you need to add to a work report … or that wet washing you left in the machine. According to Dr Paech, one of the most effective strategies is as simple as keeping a pen and paper on your bedside table. “Dumping it all on a piece of paper can help because it lets you off the hook, mentally, when you get those thoughts out of your head.” To really feel the benefits of these simple techniques, though, takes repetition. “The first time you write the list, it might not work. Keep repeating it and you’ll find the technique will start to work,” says Dr Paech.
Honour thy biology
The most surprising thing people do to derail their sleep ... is sleep in. I have always thought of a big weekend lie-in as a time to catch up on sleep. Kind of like putting more sleep in the tank for a big week ahead. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way,” says Dr Paech. “Our bodies follow a daily circadian rhythm, and waking up at different times throws it out of whack.” It’s best to keep your wake-up time consistent, she says. That means for the very best sleep, don’t sleep in, even on weekends. And the same goes for bedtime. “If you start going to bed and waking at the exact same time, you’ll find pretty quickly you don’t even need an alarm clock,” says Dr Paech. Turns out, our bodies just love routine.