Why Sleep Matters & How to Sleep Better
Sleep is not self-indulgence or self-care. Sleep is a basic human need that’s critical to our health, well-being and self-preservation!
I'm choosing to start with this bold statement for a reason: from a young age, we're taught that 'sleep is for the weak', that we can 'sleep when we're dead' and other detrimental beliefs about sleep. This is reinforced in our 20s, and the belief that we can "do it all” North American culture has become one where sleep is thought of as a luxury we can't afford if we want to get everything done.
Here's the thing, sleep deprivation is used as a form of torture.
While there isn't direct data on exactly how long a person can go without sleep, there are plenty of studies that show that as little as 19 hours without sleep is equal to having a 0.10 blood alcohol level. The legal limit is 0.08.
19 hours without sleep is the same as getting up at 7 am and going to bed at 2 am. For many people, this may be a daily occurrence.
After 19-24 hours without sleep, you'll likely feel tired and/or irritable; you may have trouble remembering things and your ability to focus, think and make sound decisions is negatively affected. You may have difficulty with hand-eye coordination; you might have an altered perception of reality along with vision and hearing impairment. Because your hand-eye coordination and ability to make sound decisions are off, you may experience an increased risk of accidents and/or near misses. This may also increase muscle tension and possible tremors.
After 36 hours without sleep, body systems are affected, and other mood or behaviour changes could appear. Your appetite and metabolism are affected because without sleep; your body demands calories to help it keep going. Your ability to regulate your body temperature is affected, and so is your ability to regulate your mood and stress levels.
At this point, your nervous system believes that it's not safe to sleep. Your nervous system doesn't understand why you're staying awake, which increases the stress response in your body, which also affects your metabolism and further affects your mood.
At this point, things like extreme fatigue, lack of motivation, extreme stubbornness (or inflexible reasoning), lack of focus, and decreased attention span are all present. This may also include hormonal imbalances, making risky decisions and speech impairments that show up as poor word choices and not using the right tone of voice.
After 48 hours, your immune system is negatively affected, and after 72 hours, your ability to think, reason, perform tasks, and regulate your emotions (depression, anxiety and/or paranoia) is compromised, and you may experience hallucinations or illusions. Illusions are where you're looking at a sign and thinking it's a person.
You may be thinking that you don't ever go that long without sleep. Anyone who's travelled from North America to a country halfway around the world may have been travelling for 30+ hours. While there may be periods of sleep on your flights, I can tell you from recent experience that it's not a deep or restful sleep!
Aside from travel or other reasons to be up for 19-36 hours, chronic lack of sleep or sleep issues are becoming more and more common in North America. The following sleeping patterns are the same as having a 0.10 blood alcohol level:
19-24 hours awake (i.e. getting up at 7 am and going to bed at 2 am) for only one night
4-5 hours of sleep a night for one week
6 hours of sleep a night for two weeks
So what can you do about it?
The short answer - is a lot! The longer answer starts with setting up your bedroom for an optimal night's sleep.
Are You Really Sleeping?
You may be thinking that you sleep just fine and that you're getting enough sleep. Take a moment and read through these questions:
Does it take more than 30 minutes to fall asleep?
Do you wake up more than once per night (this includes waking to urinate)?
Do you hit your snooze button once, twice, three times or more? Are you exhausted when you first wake up?
Do you feel sleepy or find yourself reaching for more than one caffeinated beverage (coffee, tea, cola, etc.) each day?
Do you experience inconsistent sleep quality (one night is great, and then the next isn’t)?
Are you waking 30 minutes or more (maybe hours) before your alarm and can’t get back to sleep once a week or more?
If you've answered 'yes' to any of these questions, there's room for improvement with sleep.
The How of Sleep
You've likely heard the term 'Sleep Habits' or 'Sleep Hygiene,’ they're effectively the same thing, and they're a way of setting up your room and a couple of routines to not only help you fall asleep faster but to stay asleep and get better quality sleep overall.
While many of these tips may seem obvious and very simple on their own, together, they're extremely helpful when working on improving the overall quality of your sleep.
Setting up Your Bedroom
Your sleep environment is a critical part of being able to fall asleep easily and stay asleep. A bedroom that is inviting and is a space of tranquillity will help. What makes your room a tranquil space of rest will be unique to you - choosing some or all of the suggestions below will help to create a restful space that's calm and free of disruptions.
Have a Comfortable Mattress and Pillow:
Your sleeping surface is critical to comfortable and pain-free sleep, so choose the best mattress and best pillow for your needs wisely. Consider that you spend ⅓ of your day sleeping and invest accordingly.
Questions to ask yourself:
How old is my mattress? If it's more than 10 years old, it's time for a new one.
How old is my pillow? If it's more than 1 year old, it's time for a new one.
Use Excellent Bedding:
The sheets and blankets are the first things you touch when you get into bed, so it’s beneficial to make sure they match your needs and preferences.
Questions to ask yourself:
Do I have different sheets for each season? If the answer is no, consider the different seasons you live in and the various temperatures (cooler/cold in winter vs. warmer/hot in summer). Changing the material your sheets are made from can help you regulate your body temperature more effectively.
Do I wake up with sleep lines on my face or frizzy hair? If the answer is yes, consider purchasing silk or satin pillowcases to eliminate sleep lines and help reduce the friction your hair is experiencing during sleep.
Use Excellent Sleepwear or Pyjamas:
Are your pyjamas comfortable? Having clothing that you enjoy wearing, is comfortable, and is non-binding is critical to a pleasant night's sleep.
When was the last time you purchased pyjamas? If your pyjamas have holes, are stained or are in a state that you wouldn't happily purchase them again right now, it's time for new pyjamas.
Do you have different pyjamas for each season? Like bedding, our needs change season to season. Consider different fabrics and styles of clothing for each season.
Set a Cool Yet Comfortable Temperature:
Fine-tune your bedroom temperature to suit your preferences, but err on the cooler side (around 65 degrees Fahrenheit or 18 degrees Celsius).
Questions to ask yourself:
What temperature do I sleep best at? Test a variety of temperatures to see where your optimal sleep range is. You can purchase an inexpensive thermometer at a home store (i.e. Canadian Tire, Walmart, Home Hardware, Home Depot, Loews, etc.) to find out what temperature your bedroom is as compared to the rest of the house.
Consider that you may like different temperatures in different seasons. Please test multiple times throughout the year to see what your seasonal preferences are.
Block Out Light:
Use heavy curtains or an eye mask to prevent light from interrupting your sleep. This includes all electronics - phones, laptops, tablets, TVs, etc.
Ultimately, it's ideal not to have any electronics aside from an alarm clock in your room. Putting these devices in another room tells your brain and nervous system that your bedroom is a place of rest and not a place of work.
Questions to ask yourself:
How much light is in my bedroom? Take a moment and lie down on your bed in the middle of the day and note where you see the light. Can you block out the light sources, so your room is dark? Do this again at bedtime and see if you see any light sources (a street lamp, the moon, etc.). Note where the light is coming from and see what you can do to block it.
Do I have a habit of reading or playing on my phone, tablet or other devices while in bed? While this habit may seem harmless, it isn't. Even with blue light glasses and settings turned to night mode, the light from the screen itself is telling your brain that it's still daylight. Placing these devices in another room will help to break the habit of using them prior to sleep.
Drown Out Noise:
Earplugs can stop noise from keeping you awake, and if you don’t find them comfortable, you can try a white noise machine or even a fan to drown out bothersome sounds.
Questions to ask yourself:
Am I waking up by odd noises throughout the night? If the answer is yes, it's likely that earplugs, a white noise machine or a fan can help you stay asleep through these odd sounds.
Do I sleep better on nights when it's raining out or when I'm in a different space with other sounds? Many people sleep more deeply to the sound of rain or waves. If this is the case, consider a white noise machine that plays rain sounds or ocean waves.
Try Calming Scents:
Light smells, such as lavender, vetiver, clary sage, rosemary, basil, marjoram, thyme, chamomile, sandalwood, bergamot, cedarwood, fir and wild orange, may induce a calmer state of mind and help cultivate a positive space for sleep.
Questions to ask yourself:
Do I respond well to scents? Some people respond very well to scents and can easily shift their mood or energy by inhaling peppermint or lemon. Some people are very sensitive to scents. Knowing if you're sensitive or not is important. A linen spray might be too much, but a diffuser might be just right.
Do I like white noise? If you're surrounded by noise all day, the white noise of a diffuser running might be more disruptive than soothing.
When considering whether to use essential oils or linen sprays, please be sure only use 100% therapeutic grade essential oils. Any oils that aren't rated for internal use are frequently synthetic and/or loaded up with chemicals.
While you're not taking these internally, consider that anything you breathe in (from a diffuser) or is on your skin (a linen spray on your sheets/pillow) is being absorbed internally through your lungs and your skin.
Try Adding Plants:
Plants are a great addition to any bedroom! Plants and people support each other - people breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide; plants breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen.
Having a plant or two in your bedroom creates an oxygen-rich environment that will help with sleep.
There are a number of plants that like low light if your bedroom isn't well lit. However, even these plants do better with sunlight during the day.
Plant options:
Snake plant (low light; this is a succulent, so it doesn't like a ton of water)
Aloe Vera (this is a desert plant: full sun; low water needs)
Chamomile (mid to high sun; mid to high water needs)
Lavender (full sun; mid to high water needs)
English Ivy (low light; mid to high water needs)
Golden Pothos (low light; mid to high water needs)
Spider plant (low light; mid to high water needs)
Questions to ask yourself:
Do I like plants? If the answer is no, please skip this suggestion!
Am I likely to forget to water my plants? If the answer is yes, pop a reminder into your calendar with a pop-up so you remember to water your plants regularly.
Do I have pets, babies or young children in the house? If the answer is yes, please double-check which plants may be poisonous to pets or babies and either put them on a high shelf or skip this. For young children, this is an opportunity to teach them about taking care of plants.
Final Thoughts
Of the seven suggestions above, if you only choose one, I would suggest starting with blocking out light. This alone can have a profound effect on your sleep.
Pop over to our social media on either Instagram or Facebook, and let me know which sleep tips you've tried and how they're working for you!
Sweet dreams and happy sleeping!
Andrea
PS - If overthinking is keeping you up at night, you might be interested in reading Overthinking: What Exactly is Overthinking with Andrea or How to Stop Overthinking with Andrea. If you struggle with 'Shoulds', you might like the article about Reframing 'Shoulds' with Dr. Marnie, ND.
Medical Disclaimer: Please let me know and talk with your family doctor if you're consistently sleeping more than 9 hours per night and you're still exhausted. In this case, consistently is more than two weeks of 9 hours per night if you were chronically shorting your sleep prior to that.
References:
Article: How Long Can You Go Without Sleep (Healthline.com)
Article: Sleep Deficit: The Performance Killer (Harvard Business Review)
Book: Burnout by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski
