Making Your Sleep Work For You
What sleep is, why it matters, and 5 tips to help you start reaping the benefits of better sleep
With World Sleep Day fast approaching this Friday, 15th March, we’re taking a deep dive into sleep, exploring what sleep really is, how poor sleep can affect your mental and physical health, and the things you can do to improve your quality of sleep. We all know sleep is important, yet many of us charge through our lives without getting enough of it. However, poor or insufficient sleep is a significant health and well-being issue that can have a huge impact on our daily lives and short-term and long-term wellbeing.
If you’d like to learn more about your sleep and how you can get a better night’s rest every night, keep reading.
What is sleep?
First things first, what actually is sleep?
It’s a natural state during which the body is inactive and resting. Some physical processes decelerate – e.g., your breathing slows, and your postural muscles relax. Meanwhile, other functions (such as the nervous system) are actually heightened during certain stages of sleep.
In a nutshell, sleep is the body’s opportunity to recover from periods of wakefulness and activity. It also assists in our recovery from colds or minor illnesses. After a long and hard day, physically, mentally, or both, we all crave a good night’s sleep because we need it in order to restore our energy levels and reset before the next day.
If you regularly experience insufficient sleep, it can result in additional stresses on your physiology, mental well-being, and emotional resilience – all of which can have short and long-term negative impacts.
DID YOU KNOW?
DID YOU KNOW?
36% of adults reported that, on a weekly basis, they struggled to get to sleep.
48% of adults admitted to not getting the recommended 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night.
The Mechanics of Sleep
There are two main sleep stages: REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and non-REM sleep. Our brains move through four phases during these stages; the first three are variations of non-REM sleep, and the fourth is REM sleep.
Non-REM Sleep – The First Stages
Throughout the night, as you sleep, you drift in and out of three non-REM sleep stages. We call these N1, N2, and N3.
N1 sleep happens as your body shifts from being awake to asleep. It’s a state of light sleep that’s usually short-lived (it can be as short as 5 minutes).
N2 sleep is a slightly deeper stage of sleep that lasts 10 to 25 minutes. Physiological functions start to slow down, body temperature drops and muscles relax. Brain activity becomes irregular as it relaxes away from immediate outside stimuli. About half of your sleeping time is spent in N2 sleep.
N3 sleep is a deep state of restorative sleep. Our bodies do most of the recovery and repair work during this time. During this phase, there’s a higher blood supply to our relaxed muscles, our bodies repair and grow tissue, and our breathing is slow and regular.
REM Sleep – The Deepest Sleep
The fourth and last stage of sleep is REM sleep. It is characterised by involuntary rapid eye movements (REM), with few other physical movements. This is the deepest stage of sleep and is often when we dream – though some people can also dream through non-REM sleep.
We go through an average of four periods of REM sleep per night. We then cycle through the three stages of non-REM sleep once more, reaching REM roughly every 90 minutes. The first REM sleep period typically only lasts around a few minutes, and the time increases each time we reach it.
What Happens to Our Brains and Bodies During REM Sleep?
- We go through temporary limb paralysis as a protective measure that prevents us from acting out our dreams.
- Our brain consumes more oxygen
- Brain activity and heart rate are close to waking levels
- Our breathing is irregular and quick
- We go through changes in body temperature
- We experience an increase in blood pressure
DID YOU KNOW?
If you’ve ever experienced sleep paralysis, you’ll know it can be a frightening experience, but it only lasts a couple of minutes and is a very rare occurrence. It occurs when you’re awake mentally, but the body hasn’t yet come out of the sleep mode that keeps you still.
The benefits of good-quality sleep
Sleep is an essential process that influences many critical physiological functions. It allows our bodies and minds to recharge, keeping us healthy and alert. We simply can’t function without it. Some of the benefits include:
- Enhanced immunity and better general health
- Metabolism and weight management benefits
- Improved all-round cognitive ability
- Better engagement with others
- Decreased mental ill-health (e.g., mental illnesses like anxiety/depression)
- Better hormonal balance
- Healthy heart
- Anti-ageing
- Improved memory/better decision-making
- Greater resilience to stress
- Less prone to accidents
Sleep will strengthen your immune system.
Getting sufficient sleep is critical in keeping your immune system in tip-top condition, keeping you physically well.
Sleeping well will help you lose excess weight.
Research has shown that good-quality sleep helps you lose excess weight. This is because two essential hormones are affected by a lack of sleep: ghrelin and leptin. An increase in ghrelin boosts your appetite while a decrease in leptin reduces your appetite. Lack of sleep impacts these hormones, resulting in feelings of hunger and a craving for high-calorie foods.
Sleep improves all-round cognitive ability.
Sleep loss can affect your alertness, adaptability, and performance. It’s vital for maintaining good cognitive ability, memory, decision-making abilities, complex thinking capacity, and our ability to engage with and learn from others.
Stress, Sleep and Resilience
Getting a good night’s sleep will enhance your mood, improve your resilience to stress, and alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety. Taking steps to reduce stress (such as regular exercise, yoga, meditation, and breathing techniques) helps control your levels of the stress hormone cortisol. This will have a positive influence on your body clock and sleep patterns.
The adverse effects of not getting enough sleep
The negative health outcomes associated with inadequate sleep include:
- Weight gain: When we sleep badly, we often feel a greater desire to snack and eat sweet, fatty foods that can lead to weight gain. On top of that, the physiological stress caused by a lack of sleep prompts our bodies to store more fat, making us put on weight.
- Greater risk of developing medical conditions: This includes high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease.
- Mental illness: There is a strong connection between sleep deprivation and mental illness, plus a likely association with dementia, including Alzheimer’s.
How often do you drive when you’re feeling very tired?
Driver fatigue is a serious contributing factor to many road traffic accidents.
In the UK, driver fatigue is a serious problem. Research shows it may contribute to up to 20% of road accidents. These crashes are about 50% more likely to result in death or severe injury.
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 56,000 sleep-related road crashes happen in the USA every year, resulting in 40,000 injuries and 1,550 fatalities.
Why is it a bad idea to drive when we’re feeling shattered? Sleepiness decreases reaction time, information processing, decision-making, vigilance, alertness, and concentration, all of which are needed to drive safely. It’s not worth the risk.
Sleep Requirements Throughout Our Lifetimes
It’s common knowledge that we need roughly eight hours of sleep every night. However, this may differ according to the individual and your requirements throughout life. How much sleep you need is personal to you – it can, for example, also be impacted by your general health and your activity levels.
The key is to use the eight-hour benchmark to find your own natural optimum – without fooling yourself into thinking that you can get by on too little!
Good Sleep Hygiene: Five Simple Ways to Start Improving Your Sleep
- Use the eight-hour guide or your known optimum to work out when you need to get up. Work backwards to establish when you need to get to sleep and aim to be in bed 30-45 minutes before that time. This may require some lifestyle changes, but it’s worth persevering to make sure you’re feeling your best every day.
- Stick to a schedule. Having a wind-down routine at the same time every night will help get you in the sleep mindset. If it helps, you could set an alarm to remind you when to start getting ready for bed and limit your technology use.
- Create a sleep-friendly bedroom. Keep your bedroom free from clutter and work-related items. Do your best to eliminate unwanted outside noise, but if that’s not possible, try sleeping to gentle white noise.
- Avoid eating large meals late in the evening, and be mindful of the effects of alcohol. A late meal will lead to more disturbed sleep as the body has to process the food. The same goes for alcohol, which is known to reduce your sleep quality.
- Avoid blue light. This means minimising or cutting out watching TV and going on your laptop, tablet, or phone for at least an hour before turning your light off! Blue light suppresses the brain’s production of sleep-inducing melatonin. This means that screen time can have a big impact on how quickly you get to sleep.
This World Sleep Day, take a moment to prioritise your well-being by focusing on improving your sleep hygiene and establishing a structured routine that supports you in feeling like your best self every single day. The cumulative effect of these simple yet effective measures can significantly enhance your overall quality of life, making you feel physically and mentally happier and healthier. Your body does more than you might think while you’re asleep, so it’s time to support the mental and physical processes that help you feel well. So, create a wind-down routine that works for you, make sure you’re getting into bed early enough, eat and drink with consideration for your sleep, and have a better night’s rest.
