Would you like to get better sleep?
We all try to get enough sleep each night, but for 1 in 3 of us, sleeping isn’t easy. There is a test you can take to see if you are an insomniac, but in reality most of us know if we aren’t getting enough sleep.
According to the Sleep Foundation
- 10-15% of experience chronic insomnia, a type of insomnia that persists over multiple months
- Women are 40% more likely to have insomnia than men
- Up to 75% of older adults experience symptoms of insomnia
- Insomnia is defined as difficulty either falling or staying asleep that is accompanied by daytime impairments
- Night time insomnia symptoms can include trouble sleeping and early waking
- A diagnosis of insomnia is usually made by keeping and evaluating a sleep diary
Insomnia is defined as ‘regularly having trouble sleeping’
Click here to see how your sleep measures up
Why is sleep important?
Sleep gives your body and your brain, time to repair itself. It also carries out functions such as clearing out waste and releasing hormones when you sleep.
Several biological processes occur whilst we are asleep:
- The brain uses this down time to store new information and get rid of toxic waste.
- Whilst we sleep our nerve cells communicate and reorganise. This supports healthy brain function.
- The body repairs cells, restores energy, and releases molecules like hormones and proteins.
How much sleep is enough?
Over 7 hours per night is the ideal, but some people need 9 hours of regular sleep. Record how long you are asleep for each night and monitor how you feel during the day to see what good looks like for you.
Impact of a lack of sleep
Lack of sleep can cause drowsiness during the day, reduced reaction times and being forgetful. Did you know it can also cause:
- Weight gain and obesity
- Mood changes
- High blood pressure
- Heart disease
- Kidney disease
- Diabetes
- Stroke
- Depression
- Weakened immune system.
If you are having trouble with your sleep here are some ideas to help you.
5 tips to get better sleep
- Go to bed at the same time each night and set the alarm for the same time each morning. This is the same as you would do if you were training a child to get to sleep and it is no different as an adult. Create a routine that works for you. Also consider how you wind down before bedtime.
- Do you go to bed and start doom scrolling on Facebook? Eliminate electrical devices from your bedroom, these distract you from settling down to sleep.
- Do an audit of your bed – how comfortable are the mattress and the pillows? Is it time for a change? Lumpy beds and flat pillows all make it harder to sleep.
- What is the temperature in your bedroom? Having a slightly cooler room has been proven to help you to get to sleep. Between 15 to 20 degrees centigrade is considered the best temperature.
- What are you grateful for? List 10 good things which have happened to you today as you are trying to get to sleep. This increases your dopamine levels and aids restful sleep.
Interested to know more about how to get better sleep? We have 12 sleep tips to share and a Q&A session in our March 2024 free webinar.
We also have a workshop for teams to improve their sleep and wellbeing. Contact nicky@discoveryourbounce.com to have a chat about our wellbeing and leadership workshops.
If you liked this article, you may also like our previous articles about sleep:
3 sleep tips for recharging your brain
7 fun facts about sleep and their basis in science
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