Sleep is one of the main pillars of health
Sleep quality is important for several reasons. Just like breathing, eating, and drinking, sleep is an essential human need. It affects our ability to feel rested and energised for the next day and decreases daytime sleepiness. Quality sleep supports mental and physical health and contributes to overall quality of life.
Fortunately, improving your sleep quality may be as simple as improving your sleep hygiene. Sleep hygiene is all about practicing good habits that help you to get quality sleep consistently.
Introduction to quality sleep
- Essential human need, like breathing, eating and drinking.
- Feel rested and energised.
- Supports physical health.
- Contributes to overall quality of life.
- Sleep hygiene can be improved with tips and techniques.
- A skill that can be learnt.
- Practice good habits.
Importance of quality sleep
- Improves attention and concentration.
- Helps maintain a healthy weight.
- Keeps your heart healthy.
- Keeps immune system strong.
- Looks after emotional and mental wellbeing.
- Reduces stress levels.
- Helps to maintain good relationships.
- Increases energy levels.
Quality sleep guide
Sleep is a trainable habit, you can get better at it
Although sleep is a naturally occurring phenomenon, with some good sleep hygiene techniques we can learn how to achieve better quality sleep.
Monitor your caffeine intake
Caffeine is a stimulant therefore can make it more difficult to fall asleep. Try switching to decaffeinated drinks after midday because the effects can stay in your system for several hours.
Alcohol consumption
Alcohol is not an effective solution to sleep problems because it can lead to fragmented, poor-quality sleep.
Spend time outside
Our inbuilt body clock is referred to as the circadian rhythm. This is a vital part of keeping our day or night body clock in order. It’s important for us to literally see the light of day as a part of preparing for darkness in the evening, preparing for sleep.
Regular, gentle movement during the day
When we move our bodies gently throughout the day, we use energy, gradually becoming more tired towards bedtime. We generally need 16 hours awake to build up sufficient levels of the hormone adenosine, to gently guide us towards sleep. However, it is important with long COVID to be mindful of individual energy levels and to monitor fatigue.
Leave two hours between exercise and sleep
When we exercise our body produces endorphins, the feel-good hormone, which can promote quality sleep. Try to leave two hours between exercise and bedtime to allow the body to settle back down and return to its normal rhythm and temperature.
Try not to eat too late
Aim to leave two to four hours between eating and sleeping so that your body can digest the food before to going to bed.
Note down your thoughts
You may find it useful to keep a notebook and pen at your bedside. If you wake during the night and find your mind busy with thoughts, jotting them down on paper may help you to release, and return to sleep.
Wind down routine
A regular wind down time is an important part of working towards a good quality sleeping pattern. Aim to start this around two hours before bedtime, this will start to activate the rest and digest system of the body to prepare the body and mind to feel calm and relaxed. Here are some ideas of what to include in your wind down routine:
- a warm bath, an hour before bedtime
- gentle stretches
- relaxation or meditation
- deep calm breaths
- read
- small warm milky drink
- create a dark environment
- gratitude journal, write down something you are grateful for at the end of each day, this creates positive pre sleep thoughts
- create a “to do” list for the next day, by writing down thoughts and plans, you can free them from your mind
- aim to have the same routine every night, to help regulate your internal body clock
Bedroom environment
- Create a welcoming, tidy, calm and clutter free space to sleep .
- Comfort, check your mattress, pillow, duvet, and bed linen are comfortable and meet your needs.
- Avoid light disruption, is your room dark enough? Black out blinds or curtains or an eye mask will help to create a dark environment, important for helping with sleep .
- Peace and quiet, if there are sounds in your environment, you could filter them out with the sound of a fan, or a white noise machine or app on your device. Ear plugs are another option that may help.
- Bedroom temperature, the ideal temperature can vary based on the individual, but most research supports sleeping in a cooler room that’s around 16 to 18 degrees Celsius. A fan may help.
- Air quality, plants, such as Peace Lily, Snake plant and English Ivy, improve air quality by diffusing toxins and releasing oxygen. Some people find it helpful to sleep with the window open for additional ventilation.
- Fragrance, aromatherapy works by stimulating the smell detectors in the nose, which send messages through the nervous system to the part of the brain that controls emotions. Essential oils such as Lavender, Chamomile and Clary Sage can have a calming and relaxing effect which in turn, may promote better quality sleep.
Prioritise sleep
Some areas of our lives may be unavoidable, working late, caring for others or poor health, can all impact on our ability to sleep well. However, there are ways in which we can prioritise sleep over controllable factors, for example watching TV, time on digital devises, exercising late. Starting with one small change may start to improve your sleep cycle, your emotional health, mental performance, and better mood.
Set a regular bed time
Going to bed and getting up at the same time every day will re-enforce your circadian rhythm, or internal body clock. Consistency is key.
Day time naps
There is evidence to suggest that a daytime nap is good for you and may be beneficial overall to your energy levels by enabling you to recharge your energy battery.
Experiencing feelings of relaxation during the day
To allow your body to activate its rest and digest system, which will lower the blood pressure, heart rate and respiratory rate, improve digestion, focus, and help improve mood as well as promote quality sleep. Try a progressive muscle relaxation, guided visualisation, or a body scan meditation.
Sleep cycles
When we sleep, we move gradually through different cycles of sleep, from light to rapid eye movement (REM), and deep, cycles throughout the night. One full cycle lasts around one and a half to two hours. There are normally four to five full cycles per night. The main bulk of deep sleep occurs in the first third of the night, and the majority of dream sleep happens at the end of the night.
Know that its normal to wake at night
How you respond to night-time wakefulness is the important thing. Do you find that you get caught up in thoughts? tossing and turning? clock watching? counting down how many hours you have left until the alarm? It can be useful to learn to respond in the most helpful way.
An attitude of acceptance
Adopting a flexible attitude towards sleep can be most useful. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) guides us towards letting go of the struggle to fall asleep and allow ourselves to be flexible and open toward allowing whatever happens, to simply be.
Content in the knowledge that you are safe, warm, and comfortable in your own bed, in your own space, in your own home. Mindfulness practice teaches us to struggle less by accepting the fact that we are indeed awake, and that’s okay. Sleep is a naturally occurring phenomenon, we can’t force it, or make it happen at specific time. Acceptance based meditation and mindfulness helps us to recognise that forcing sleep doesn’t work.
Rest in bed
During periods of wakefulness during the night, it’s important to remember, there are therapeutic benefits to resting in bed even if you are not asleep. Think of quiet wakefulness as a steppingstone towards sleep.
Name and describe your worries
Labelling your thoughts with a playful attitude can change your perspective from the thinking mind to the observing mind. Notice, for example “I’m noticing my mind having those sleep thoughts.” Doing this changes sense of perspective. Create space to have choice of how you’re behaving and responding to your thoughts. Giving yourself mental space to create better choices and thoughts.
What to do? Give your mind a job
The human mind is designed to wonder. We are not robots! We cannot simply switch off. What we can do is to give our mind a job. To simply observe the breath, moment by moment, as you would observe waves lapping gently on the shore. Grounding your attention. Know that its normal to become distracted and for your mind to wander away to other thoughts, notice, thank your mind, gently and kindly draw your attention back to your breath. It doesn’t matter how many times this happens. Each time, kindly, nonjudgmentally, notice where your thoughts have gone and gently lead your attention back to your breath cycle. Accept the mind will wander. It’s not about the absence of thoughts, but your reaction to them when they occur.
Become your own best friend
Kind self-talk is a great way to improve overall wellbeing. Talk to yourself the way you would talk to a loved one or a best friend, with kindness and compassion. After all, you listen to your own inner voice more than you listen to anyone else.
Remember
- We can’t control sleep; it is a naturally occurring phenomenon.
- We can create an environment where sleep can emerge.
- Commit to one new sleep habit and do it today.
- Sleep is a trainable habit, you can get better at it.
Document control
- Document reference: DP8920/08.23.
- Date reviewed: August 2023.
Page last reviewed: June 28, 2024
Next review due: June 28, 2025
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