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What sleep scientists recommend for a good night’s sleep (Sleep hygiene tips)

Sleep is something we cannot live without; so much so that we spend about one-third of our lives doing it or attempting to do so. After a long day of toiling hard with day’s work, responsibilities and duties, we all crave for a bit of sleep at the end. Sleep helps us reboot, and recharge. It prepares us to get through whatever challenges tomorrow might bring.

Why do we need sleep?

Although some aspects of why we truly fall asleep remain still unanswered, scientists have developed a number of theories to explain its potential purpose. However, we do not need science to tell us that we should get enough sleep, we all know it from our own experience, right? We all feel tired and exhausted when we do not sleep adequately. It’s the human body’s way of telling that something is wrong, and we need some rest.

As a mechanism of restoration

When we are awake, and fully functioning during the day, it leads to production and accumulation of several chemical by-products in the body. Some of these can even be toxic. Once we are asleep, our bodies are capable of effectively removing such chemicals out of the system.

For example, adenosine is one such chemical produced during the day time which is responsible for making us feel tired. During sleep, it is removed efficiently by the waste management system in our brain, also known as the Glymphatic System. As a result, we feel fresh and rejuvenated in the morning.

Sometimes, sleep is the healer that restores structural and functional damages that occur inside the brain itself. Our brain has this ability to adapt or change according to its experiences. This is also known as brain plasticity. What we experience can induce structural or functional changes inside the brain. Studies show that it is during sleep that all these important changes are restored back allowing the brain to function normally again.

Sleep plays a crucial role in restoring other vital functions of the body as well. Those include repairing damaged tissues, production of necessary proteins, and producing hormones like the growth hormone.

For memory and learning

For our memories to be stable and long-lasting they have to be permanently stored inside the brain. This process is also known as memory consolidation.

There should be strong connections between neurons inside the brain for consolidation of memories. Guess what? According to studies, strengthening of neuronal connections mainly occur during sleep.

On the other hand, lack of sleep leads to lack of attention. You only remember what registers in your mind, right? Therefore, it is no brainer. Having a quality amount of sleep means having good memory and recall.

Same principle is applicable for learning as well. If more neuronal connections are created inside your brain, there will be a greater chance of you learning and grasping new concepts effectively. In fact, studies have discovered that sleep deprived individuals find it difficult to learn and perform a variety of tasks and fail in making important decisions.

Protection against diseases

Studies show that getting adequate amounts of sleep will protect you against getting diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, metabolic syndrome including obesity and also mental health problems like depression and anxiety.

The science behind sleeping

Sleep is not just one single process, but is rather a complex one made up of different stages. Mainly there are two types of sleep. They are the Rapid Eye Movement sleep (REM) and Non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM). Actually, the latter one, NREM sleep, has three distinctive stages.

During the non-rapid eye movement sleep, the transition from wakefulness to deep sleep happens. The body relaxes; the heart rate and breathing slows down, muscles relax and even the brain waves start to slow down. As the stages in NREM sleep gradually progress, you slowly transit from light sleep to deep slumber.

Unlike in NREM sleep, during rapid eye movement sleep, your brain is fairly active. The brain wave activity, heart rate, and blood pressure become so close to that of wakefulness. During this phase, your eyes start to move rapidly from side to side with your lids closed, and you start dreaming. However, you are prevented from moving your arms and legs as they are temporally paralyzed.

The human body has a naturally in-built mechanism to regulate sleep and wakefulness. In fact, we all have our own biological clock. It tells us to sleep when it’s dark and to wake up in the morning when there’s light. It belongs to a mechanism called, the circadian rhythm in the body, which is also responsible for regulating other aspects like the body temperature, hormone release, and metabolism.

The body keeps track of how much sleep you need, in what intensity and constantly reminds you to fall asleep when it is needed. This is achieved via a mechanism called, sleep-wake homeostasis.

All the above processes are regulated by structures inside the human brain like the hypothalamus, thalamus and the brain stem. They make use of chemical compounds like neurotransmitters and hormones like melatonin, (which is secreted by the pineal gland and is responsible for inducing sleep) to regulate sleep patterns.

How much sleep should we actually get?

There’s no hard and fast number as such for the number of hours a person should sleep each day. The amount of sleep a person needs often changes from an individual to individual, depending on personal circumstances. For example, a person could be sleeping for a limited number of hours and still be active and capable of fully functioning the next day while another might feel exhausted even after having 10-12 hours of good sound sleep.

However, The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and Sleep Research Society (SRS) provides recommended hours of sleep for nine different age groups as guidelines. They provide a range of duration rather than a fixed value. According to them, a newborn should be getting at least 14-17 hours of sleep a day, while an adult should be getting something closer to 7-9 hours of sleep.

Sleeping for the recommended duration of hours is not merely enough to say that you’re getting adequate sleep. The quality of sleep is equally important as its duration. If you do not feel refreshed and feel rather exhausted or tired after waking up, the sleep you had might not have been that productive after all.

Sleep Hygiene

There’s no question; the quality of sleep you get matters. But how can you make sure that the amount of sleep you receive every day is up to standard in both quality and quantity? Well, that’s why, sticking to good sleep hygiene practices or in other words, implementing habits that will ensure quality sleep is important.

Tips to sleep better

Not every sleep problem is health or disease-related. Most can be overcome by changing your habits. Adhering to a better sleep routine will ensure you better sleep. Let’s look into some tips that will be useful for you to sleep soundly.

Be Regular/ Stick to a schedule

It’s important to train your body to stick to a schedule. Try to go to bed and wake up the same time every day including holidays. This allows your body to maintain a regular rhythm as far as sleep is concerned. Once it becomes a habit, you don’t have to force your body to fall asleep as your body clock is set for the routine.

Make your bedroom sleep favorable

The environment around us has a lot of impact on our ability to sleep soundly.  A quiet, dark and cool environment induces sleep easily. Light signals your brain to stay awake. Implement ways to block light from your bedroom while sleeping. Make use of curtains, eye-shields if needed and remember to switch off the lights.

It is recommended to maintain the room temperature around 60 and 75°F to make it comfortable to fall asleep. The human body lowers its own body temperature for the purpose of inducing sleep. It is believed that having a cold environment will accelerate this process easily. However, a further drop in temperature more than the required amount will be a hindrance to your sleep.

Try to achieve a quiet environment around while you sleep. You can use earplugs if you want. Another way of cutting off unnecessary sounds is by making use of the sound of a fan or use a piece of soothing music you prefer.

Make use of comfortable pillows and mattresses to keep you at ease.

Keep distractions away

Make sure to keep anything that will disturb you during your sleep like pets, televisions, computers etc. away in order to have an uninterrupted slumber.

Adapt a routine to calm down before falling asleep

Listen to some calming music, or read a book you love. Take a bath before sleeping, which will calm you while lowering your body temperature inducing sleep. Basically, engage in anything that soothes your body, mind, and soul as it will be a great help for you to fall asleep quickly.

Avoid using electronic devices

Make sure to avoid using electronic devices before falling asleep. The bright light from their screens has “blue light”, a specific type of light rays capable of keeping you alert and awake. This disrupts the circadian rhythm of your body and reduces the secretion of melatonin, interfering with the sleep induction process.

Avoid Caffeine

It is recommended to avoid consumption of caffeine-containing beverages like coffee, tea, chocolate, and cola drinks at least 4 to six hours before falling asleep. Caffeine acts as a stimulant that keeps you awake.

Avoid Smoking

Just like caffeine, nicotine in cigarettes is also a stimulant which can deprive you of sleep.

Avoid Alcohol

Alcohol is known to reduce the quality of sleep. Initially it induces sleep just after usage. However, after some time, it starts to act as a stimulator just like caffeine and keeps your brain awake. This interrupts your sleep and results in an overall reduction in the quality of sleep.

It is recommended to avoid alcohol consumption within three hours of bedtime and to limit consumption to about 1-2 drinks per day.

Sleep only when you feel like it

Sometimes, no matter how hard you try and what you do, sleep will just don’t come to you. If that’s the case, just take a step back. Don’t try to force sleep. Engage in a relaxing activity like reading and listening to soothing music. Wait until you feel tired and try falling asleep again.

Avoid napping

Make sure not to nap during day time unnecessarily. If you do, it will only make things hard. It will be difficult for you to fall asleep at night as napping decreases your drive for sleep. However, if you just can’t’ do without one, try to make it as short as possible (less than one hour), and at least before 3 pm in the afternoon.

Avoid taking large meals before going to bed

Consuming a larger meal before your bedtime can result in gastric acid reflux and indigestion, making it hard for you to stay asleep.

Exercise Regularly

Physical activity helps you fall asleep easily if done with correct timing.  When you exercise, your body temperature rises slightly and this reminds your body that you are awake. But after some time when you are done with exercising, your body temperature starts to drop again. This triggers a certain degree of drowsiness or sleepiness in you making you want to fall asleep.

However, scientists recommend that you should refrain from any form of vigorous exercise at least up to three hours before your bedtime for this to work efficiently.

Maintain a sleep diary

If you maintain a record of your daily routine, it will be easier for you to identify which habits might be interfering with your sleep. Scientists recommend that you maintain a sleep diary at least for two weeks to get a clear idea. Your sleep diary must include the time you wake up, the time you go to sleep, how many naps did you take and for how long, whether you consumed any caffeine-containing drinks or not or basically anything that could be affecting your sleep.

Now that we are living in the era of technology, you can easily make use of applications in smartphones, tabs, and smart watches to track your sleeping habits.

Some aspects of sleep still remain as mysteries. Yes, we do not have all the answers, at least not just yet. The knowledge regarding how sleep deprivation causes diseases and how some diseases cause lack of sleep still remains a bit blurred. But we do know this much; getting a good night’s sleep will indefinitely keep you healthy. So, make sure to stick to those good sleeping habits and refrain from anything that will keep sleep away from you.

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