How to Sleep Well

As discussed in my previous article, The Triangle of Health, sleep is one of the crucial aspects of our ability to stay healthy. It’s important to realise that when we don’t get enough sleep, we create a sleep debt. A sleep debt can really interfere with a person’s daily routine, both mentally and physically. Until you repay the sleep debt, your health will continue to suffer.

The Consequences

Perhaps, having a sleep debt doesn’t sound like a serious health problem. Yes, it’s an annoyance when you have trouble concentrating or feel sleepy during the day. Actually, poor performance is not the only consequence of a sleep debt. Did you know that a lack of sleep is the culprit behind a significant percentage of road traffic accidents? In the UK alone, a study of road accidents between 1987-1992 found that sleep related incidents made up 23% of accidents on motorways (source: RoSPA).

If you’re waking up feeling un-refreshed, then you’re not getting enough good quality sleep. Sometimes poor sleep or insomnia can be a sign of an underlying medical problem. For this reason, it is always a good idea to discuss any sleep disturbance with your doctor. For most of us, however, it’s simply a matter of improving our sleep hygiene. Below are some tips to get you on your way to a good night’s sleep.

Tips

• Only use your bed for its intended purposes. Your bed is not really the place to read or watch TV. Neither is it where you should be working on your laptop or eating. It is important that your environment reminds you that its time to sleep.
• Make sure your bedroom is conducive for sleep. Bright coloured walls and flashing lights don’t help. If you easily disturbed by the light, consider black out blinds.
• Avoid stimulants such as caffeine, nicotine, and/or other stimulants should be avoided after 4pm.
• Try enjoying a milky drink before bedtime. Milk contains chemicals like tryptophan and melatonin which both aid sleep. It is thought that Melatonin causes us to become drowsy and lowers body temperature. Drowsiness and the lowering of body temperature are both important factors in preparing our bodies for sleep.
• Have a warm bath. The lowering of your body’s temperature as you cool off from your bath can make you sleepy, just like the effects of melatonin.
• If you don’t fall asleep with in 20 minutes of your head hitting the pillow, then get up and do something that will make you feel bored and/or tired.
• Get some regular exercise, just not before you sleep. The best times to exercise are during the mornings or afternoon. Exercising close to bedtime is more likely to keep you awake.
• Go to bed when you feel tired, and try to go to sleep at that same time every night. This will help set your internal body clock. 
• You can integrate the above suggestions to create your own “sleep ritual.” Your body will learn to decipher the clues that it is time for bed.

Dr Shazan Chughtai MB BS