As you should probably be aware of, Sleep is extremely important to our health and wellbeing but the general population is not informed on how to maximize its benefits through quality sleep.
Many people go on their daily lives feeling tired and struggling all day to concentrate on tasks they need to complete for work or school, many people cannot get out of bed each morning without resorting to damaging drugs such as caffeine and become dependent upon it in order to be able to function properly during the day. At night time, insomnia thrives! and people resort to damaging sleeping pills disrupting their sleeping system even more. Over the course of this article I will first provide a little background as to the mechanics of sleep, followed by proven methods to gain control of your sleeping system and improve the quality of your sleep.
Many people are aware that the quantity of sleep we get is important, however, most people are unaware that the quality of the sleep we get is just as if not more important! But what is quality sleep?? When we talk about quality sleep we refer to the type of sleep where your sleep cycle is allowed to run it's course uninterrupted. By improving the quality of your sleep you will find yourself more energetic, you will be able to work more productively, you will be able to make much more sound decisions and your interaction with other people will improve.
First, we must take a quick look at exactly what happens when we fall asleep, there are five stages of sleep.
Stage One
In stage one sleep we being to slowly start drowsing off. Whenever you feel like you are zoning out or daydreaming, this is stage one sleep kicking in. Alpha(awake) and Theta brain waves are emitted during this stage
Stage Two
Stage two sleep is in basic terms a gradual attempt by the brain to 'turn-off'. When people are woken up during this stage, many times they claim they were 'still awake'.
Stage Three and Four
During these stages is when we are in 'deep' sleep, our brain wave frequency lowers and we start to emit Delta and Theta waves. Our blood vessels dilate and blood travels to our muscles to grow and repair them. Our heart rate, blood pressure and respiration all reach their lowest points of the day. Our immune system also kicks in and we fight off disease. This is the most important type of sleep.
Stage Five
Commonly called REM(Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep due to the observed rapid movement of our eyes during this stage by Nathaniel Kleitman. In this stage our brain frequency increases rapidly similar to when we are completely awake, it is during this stage that we dream.
In one night of sleep we will go through each of these stages numerous times. We go through around 6 or 7 cycles lasting between 60 - 100 minutes each. In our first cycle the amount of time we spend in deep sleep will be the longest and as we move to later cycles the amount of deep sleep we get decreases and receive more REM sleep. Sleep gets lighter as morning nears. This is because our body tries to maximize the amount of deep sleep we get within the first 3-4 hours of sleeping because it is the most important sleep for us.
In order for us to feel well rested and energetic the following day, it is important that this 'sleep system' is allowed to complete during the night without interruption.
For this to happen, we have to gain control over our sleep clock. Our sleep clock determines when you sleep, how deep your sleep is and how awake you feel during the day.
You may have heard of a 'Circadian Rhythm'. Our Circadian Rhythm refers to the rise and fall of our temperature over the course of a day between 36 degrees and 38 degrees Celsius. This rise and falls tells our body when we should be awake and when we should be asleep. A higher body temperature is associated with higher brain waves and being awake where as a lower body temperature is associated with lower brain waves and feeling tired. Many people experience a period of tiredness in the afternoon and combat this with coffee. This is caused by a fall in our body temperature and is programmed into us that we should be taking a nap at this time. Taking a short nap at this time alone could make a massive difference to the amount of energy you have.
What actually causes us to sleep though?
The hormone Melatonin is responsible for putting us to sleep and restoring our energy while we are asleep. As your melatonin levels increase you will begin feeling lethargic and drowsy. Melatonin is released when we are exposed to darkness, as soon as light stops entering our eyes our melatonin levels increase and our body is telling us to sleep. However, melatonin levels are extremely dependent on the amount of sunlight that enters your eyes during the DAY! This leads me to the most important way to increase the quality of your sleep.
To increase the quality of your sleep:
Get Enough Sunshine during the day!
- Light increases your body temperature and thus sends the message that you should be awake.
- Getting more sunshine during the day will increase the excretion of melatonin when you go to sleep at night improving how easy it is for you to fall asleep as well as how deep your sleep is and thus it will improve the quality of your sleep.
TIP: Don't wear sunglasses all day because this has a massive impact on the amount of light that enters your eyes and thus will mess with your melatonin levels at night.
Exercise!
- The best time to exercise is in the morning as you wake up, it will increase your body temperature and you will feel more awake.
- By regularly exercising you are helping to maintain your sleep clocks idea of when you should be awake and when you should be asleep.
- Exercise will add more stress to your 'awake system'. More demand on your awake system will lead to deeper more revitalising sleep.
Short Naps
- Short naps are a great way to get a quick boost of energy, however, you must not nap for longer than 45 minutes. If you nap for longer than 45 minutes you risk entering stage three or four sleep. When you wake up you will feel groggy and lethargic for a substantial amount of time. Limit short naps to no more then 45 minutes and you will wake up feeling refreshed and more energetic.
Sleep the same times every single night including weekends
- This trains your sleep clock when to be awake and when to be asleep. If you sleep in on weekends you throw your sleep clock out of wack and you will find that you will not feel refreshed in the mornings, you will find it hard to get out of bed. You will also find that when you enter bed at night, you may just lie in bed and will have trouble falling asleep. If you sleep the same times every day, you will have no problems falling asleep as your body is programmed to fall asleep at that time, similarly, you will have no problems waking up as your body is programmed to wake up at that time.
Drink 2L of water every day
- Our body requires water during deep sleep in order to carry blood and oxygen to our muscles in order to repair them. During REM sleep respiration and blood pressure increase and blood flow to the brain and muscles also increases. If your body is dehydrated it will not be able to carry out the necessary tasks properly and thus the quality of your sleep will be negatively impacted.
Avoid Alcohol, Caffeine and Sleeping Pills
- These will all negatively impact your sleep clock and sleep cycles. After a night of drinking alcohol you will find that the 3rd, 4th and 5th stages of sleep are all suppressed.
Avoid High Energy foods before bed
- Common sense dictates that if your trying to sleep you don't load your body with energy.
Take a hot shower 90 minutes before going to bed
- Many people find that this helps them to fall asleep swiftly improving the quality of there sleep. This is because by taking a hot shower 90 minutes before you go to bed, the immediate increase of your body temperature while you are showering is followed by a drop in body temperature over the next 90 minutes, signaling that it is time for sleep.
After incorporating the above strategies into my life I have found the quality of my sleep has improved dramatically. I have more energy to burn throughout the day, my intellectual capacity and speed has increased and I feel healthier overall. Give it a try, make a few small changes and you won't regret it.
For a more detailed guide on maximising your quality sleepclick here!
Will Macca
