The Importance of a Good Night’s Sleep
3rd January 2020
By Oscar Johnson
There’s an irony to writing a blog on the importance of sleep as I sit at the desk after a late night feeling pretty knackered. We’ve all been there. One too many late nights in a row and you start to realise you can’t focus, you get more irritable than usual and your eyes seem to close for just a little too long. It’s safe to say my tired self is far less tolerant and far less productive. But maybe the issues caused by lack of sleep run a little deeper than that.
There are many reasons why someone might be finding it hard to sleep and they range in depth and complexity. Tiredness can be influenced by a range of psychological issues such as anxiety, depression or bereavement. Another common psychological influence on tiredness is stress. Stress can be caused by all sorts of things in our lives; even positive events such as moving house can cause a great deal of stress. This can keep you up at night causing a real lack of sleep. There could also be physical reasons for tiredness such as anemia or sleep apnea. Being overweight also means your body is working harder and this could cause tiredness. Another set of possible causes are lifestyle factors. Drinking a lot of caffeine may mean your body is too stimulated for sleep and drinking a lot of alcohol will affect the quality of your sleep. Daytime napping may feel like a good way for a quick recharge but in reality it will mess up your sleep schedule, making it more difficult for you to sleep that night. These are all things to watch out for when thinking about why you might be feeling so tired.
Sleep has some amazing benefits, including boosting immunity, meaning the more you sleep the less likely you are to get ill. Sleep also boosts mental wellbeing, and long term sleep debt has been linked with mood disorders such as depression and anxiety. Lack of sleep also seems to be linked with heart disease and diabetes, wheras good sleep is linked with increased sex drive, increased fertility and even weight loss.
So how can you improve your sleep habits and start to pay back your sleep debt? Well, first of all, adults are recommended 7-9 hours of sleep per night and the obvious answer is to sleep more. Some good tips for getting more sleep is a more regular sleep pattern. Try to aim to sleep and wake at reasonably similar times so your body clock can get to know when it is supposed to be awake and when it is supposed to be asleep (this is one of the reasons that shift work is so tough on your sleep pattern). A wind down period is also strongly advised. Give yourself an hour before bed with no screens and something to calm you down like reading a book or taking a warm bath. Always avoid caffeine or energy drinks at least 4 hours before you plan on sleeping as these stimulants keep you awake. If you find you are constantly bothered by thoughts of things you need to do and worries then a good piece of advice is to keep a notepad and pen by your bed. Spend ten minutes before bed jotting down your concerns or ‘to-do’ items. This will hopefully provide some relief and relaxation.
If you have racked up a serious amount of sleep debt then the best thing to do is go to bed 2 hours earlier than usual every night. If it is the weekend then don’t set any alarms and allow your body to wake itself up naturally. Over the few weeks of extra sleep slowly you will pay back the debt and start feeling much better.
So, tonight I challenge you to have an hour before bed with no screens and no coffee and allow your body to prepare for sleep. Maybe try it for a week and see what a difference a good night’s sleep can really have.