How to get a regular and consistent sleep pattern

How to get a regular and consistent sleep pattern ?

“The most obvious – but most important – thing you can do is give yourself enough time in bed,” says Dr Browning. “The general recommendations are seven to nine hours sleep and if you’re not in bed for seven to nine hours, there’s no way you can have it.” Good sleep hygiene is the most powerful sleep aid we can give ourselves. “A regular sleep/wake schedule is key in ensuring the two processes which help us sleep – the ‘circadian process’, the night and day cycle, and the ‘homeostatic process’, the sleep pressure that builds in our body, are aligned,” says Dr Hare.

Devise a schedule that you know will allow for enough rest to keep you refreshed and functioning optimally. “The amount of sleep we need and when we do it varies between individuals, depending on many factors, including genes and age,” says Foster. “The full range is between six to 10 hours, and some of us are ‘larks’ who like to sleep and get up early – that’s about 10 per cent of the population – and some are ‘owls’ who go to bed and sleep later – that’s 25 per cent of us.” (The rest of us are in the middle.) When you have found the bedtime/waking schedule that works best for you, keep to it at least five nights per week.

Tips for sleeping well :

• Take a warm bath (except in a heat wave) “Try having a warm bath about an hour before you want to sleep,” advises Dr Browning. “As we get towards sleep time, our core body temperature drops by about a degree. Artificially inflating our body temperature in the bath means that as we get out and naturally start to cool down, our body gets the signal that sleep is coming.” Not being able to cool down can impact sleep. “Keep your bedroom relatively cool when you get under the covers.”

• Have a quiet, dark bedroom at bedtime “You want a quiet environment to reduce awakenings – so double glazing is best,” Dr Browning explains. “If there is a lot of noise that keeps you awake, then consider trying a white noise machine to mask the sounds.”

Devise a wind-down time It might be through reading, listening to a podcast – it might be watching one episode of Bridgerton. “The idea that you mustn’t see a screen [before sleep] has been overhyped,” says Dr Browning. “The key is that if you are using tech, it has to be something that makes you feel relaxed and calm, and that isn’t going to be too difficult to switch off from.”

• Exercise during the day “Research has shown exercise can help you get to sleep easier and reduce wakings,” says Browning, “but there are also studies to suggest that moderate aerobic exercise enhances the quality of deep sleep specifically.” We don’t know why or how exercise alters sleep – although there are many theories, such as its impact on body temperature and mood. One small study of 60–85 year olds found that 45 minutes of instructor-led aerobics three times a week increased deep sleep.

• Just being outside in the morning is also likely to improve sleep. “Most of us should get as much morning light as possible as this can speed up our circadian clocks so that we feel sleepy earlier,” says Prof Foster. “An earlier bedtime – if you’re tired enough to fall asleep – can help you get a longer sleep.”

• The more you worry, the less you’ll be able to sleep “ You can expect to get less sleep as you age, and significantly less deep sleep,” says Prof Foster. “No one knows why but my explanation is that you don’t need it as much. “When you’re young, you’ve got a whole bunch of novel experiences to process and lay to memory. As you age, you’re living in a much more familiar environment. You’ve ‘been there, done that’. If you have decent sleep hygiene, you can function the next day and your moods are stable, if you wake in the night don’t worry about it. Embrace the sleep you get.”

Screens are the enemy of deep sleep We’ve been told that blue light from screens stops us from falling asleep at bedtime. “A growing body of research shows that it has been over-hyped,” says Dr Browning. “A recent review found that watching bright screens causes a maximum delay in falling asleep of 9.9 minutes”.

When it comes to using tech before bedtime, content is everything. Using it to write a work project or to scroll social media can leave you feeling anxious, delaying you going to sleep.

Source News : Published on 24-08-2024 How much deep sleep you really need (msn.com)