Sleep.
It is essential for our mental, physical, and emotional health and well-being.
Many of us do not get enough sleep**. There can be many reasons for that from stress, anxiety, medications, or physical reasons such as menopause or sleep apnoea or recovering from injury or illness (including Post Covid). Some of the worse affected in many studies are shift workers (not surprising) and school-age children.
Getting better sleep is possible, but it isn’t easy. How do your set yourself – or your family – up for sleep success?
The Bedroom. The bed should be comfortable and used only for sleep (or sex). The room should be cool (18°), dark, quiet, and calm. That can be a big ask in many households! It can require some creative solutions, including ear plugs, eye masks, blackout curtains, or white noise.
Set a schedule. Same sleep time, same wake time. Every day. This is hardest for shift workers but the more consistent your routine is, the better the sleep will be.
Sleep routine. Ideally, the hour before bed is a wind-down time. No work, no physical exercise. Ideally, no screens (due to blue light) Relaxing activity such as a bath, reading a book, meditation. This is especially important for young children.
Avoid napping during the day if you’ve had a hard time sleeping the night before. “power naps” might be necessary, especially for shift workers. Try to keep them to 20 minutes and definitely no longer than 30 minutes so that they do not impact the next night’s sleep.
Daily exercise/physical activity. Ideally, this is outdoors and 4-6 hours before bed.
Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine in the 2-3 hours before bed.
Banish the screens from your bedroom (TV, phone, tablet). Not only do they emit blue light (even with a filter) that affects your ability to fall asleep, they can be distracting. If you need an alarm to wake up, any devices that shows the time should be faced down or away so that you cannot see the time. Disable any notifications.
Can’t sleep? Get out of bed. Go into another room. Avoid bright lights and screens. Do a calm/relaxing activity (reading a book, listening to music or a guided meditation). Do not check or look at a clock. Go back to bed when you feel drowsy.
What about shift work?
It may be necessary, but humans weren’t built for shift work (and I say this as someone who has done plenty of nights in my career). Here’s what can help:
If you do regular nights, try to get a daily routine (this is really hard) that stays close (or as close as possible) on days off. Post-shift and going home to bed? Avoid bright lights (if you can), have only a small meal, avoid caffeine at the end of the night shift, restrict fluids the last 2 hours before going to bed (so you are not waking up for toilet), no post-shift exercise. Have a short wind-down routine. Try to go to bed in a cool, calm, comfortable, quiet, dark room (See step 1).
Tried the basics and they don’t work?
Touch base with your GP to start. It’s impossible to sleep, for example, if you are coughing at night from uncontrolled asthma or uncomfortable with night sweats or suffering anxiety. CBT can be a very effective first line treatment. Medications are appropriate for some patients for short-term use (especially if you are undergoing a period of severe stress or change). They do have side effects, so best discussed with your GP. And it’s worth noting that sleep is about quality not just quantity: all medications that aid sleep do have side effects and can affect the quality of sleep (such as reducing REM or light sleep phases.
**How much sleep do we need? The amount varies, but recommended amounts by age:
Infants up to one year: 14-18 hours
Toddlers: 11 -14 hours
Primary school age (up to 13): 9-11 hours
Teens: 8-10 hours
Adults: 7-9 hours
Age 65+: 7-8 hours (sleep needs may reduce for some – not all – people as they age, but minimum of 5 hours is recommended)
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