Trouble sleeping?
Of course, sometimes nothing feels a good as a session of snoozing under the duvet. But what on earth is the point of spending a third of our lives comatose? Find out about the science of sleep.
Related programme
Dr Natheera Indrasenan discusses the benefits of a good night's sleep and how to achieve them
Sleep Hygiene
To get the most out of your sleep, I find that Sleep Hygiene can be used to improve the quality of your sleep. Sleep Hygiene asks you to think about a number of factors that you have control over, in order to get the best out of your sleep. Much of it is about habit and lifestyle, and it can take around six weeks to show the full benefit, but you should see improvement in your sleep quality sooner.
1. Get into a routine
You will be more likely to sleep well if you regulate your sleep time and waking time. We all vary in the amount of sleep we need but the average is about seven hours per night. To maintain the sleep-wake cycle, try and go to bed and wake at the same times every day. Also avoid daytime naps - they make you feel recharged at the time but they will fragment your subsequent night's sleep. If you must nap, ensure it doesn't last longer than 10 minutes.
2. Exercise regularly
Regular exercise lasting 40 minutes will help you sleep well. Do make sure this is at least six hours before bed, to give your body the chance to wind down.
3. Avoid eating too soon before going to bed
Try to allow at least three hours between eating and sleeping. Some people who work late will grab a meal just before bed; this can lead to them waking up feeling exhausted. Your body has to work away digesting and your blood sugar levels will be rising at a time when you should be winding down.
4. Reduce your caffeine intake
This seems to be one of the harder tasks for many of my patients. My advice is to have no more than three cups of coffee in the day (tea generally has half the caffeine as coffee) and preferably your last cup by 11am (yes, I really do mean eleven in the morning!) as the arousal effects on your body can last many hours.
5. Reduce your alcohol intake
You may think alcohol will actually help you sleep better and, in fact, it can induce sleep. But if you were to have several drinks in the evening or before bed, once you are asleep and the alcohol levels drop in your blood, it causes a rebound arousal of your nervous system and even after three hours of the level dropping, your nervous system remains aroused - and so affects the quality of your sleep. This is why you may wake up feeling quite tired despite sleeping for 12 hours after a heavy night!
6. Quit smoking
Obviously quitting entirely is very hard, but the health benefits are huge. I have known patients who have a cigarette before bed "to get them off to sleep". Yet high levels of nicotine stimulate particular receptors in your brain and can affect the quality of your sleep, similarly to caffeine. So, while you're trying to quit, having your last cigarette of the day as early as possible will help you improve the quality of your sleep.
7. Help your bedroom help you
By minimising light and noise in your bedroom you can also help to get the most from your sleep. Try to cut out light from your bedroom, so don't fall asleep with the light on, and consider how much exterior light gets in. You might find that extra thick curtains can help prevent street light straying in. This helps because the hormone Melatonin is released by the brain to help induce sleep, but light inhibits its release. Keep the light out and the Melatonin will help you drift off.
You should also think about noise – it sounds obvious but the less sensory stimulation in the room the better. So try to cut out sound and visual stimulation – televisions in the bedroom aren't helpful for sleep!
< previous next > Page 2 of 3
Content last updated: 25/08/2005
About our doctor
As a GP, Dr Natheera Indrasenan realised she was seeing more and more patients with panic attacks, phobias, anxiety, low self-esteem and depression which could have been prevented if they were taught preventative skills. As a result she became passionate about teaching people preventative strategies using Neurolinguistic programming and Coaching skills to manage stress and to be more motivated and confident in their lives.
Dr Indrasenan now trains doctors in using these techniques with their patients, for themselves (doctors often have their own stresses to cope with!) and also members of the general public.
