We are probably all aware that a lack of sleep can lead us to feel grumpy and unable to work at our best. However, even a small amount of sleep loss can have a significant effect on other areas of our life, including memory, health, personal safety, looks, ability to lose weight and sex drive.
Sleep deprivation has been a factor in some of the major disasters over the years including the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island in 1979 and Chornobyl in 1986. Slightly less catastrophic but equally hazardous is the fact that drowsiness can slow our reaction time by as much as if we were driving drunk – and that’s illegal!
Research shows that sleep loss and poor-quality sleep can lead to accidents and injuries in the workplace and an increase in sickness absence. A lack of sleep affects our ability to think straight and to learn effectively because the sleep process helps us to consolidate memories and remember what we learn and experience during the day.
Other effects of sleep deprivation include:
- Increasing our risk of heart disease, heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure and diabetes
- Ageing as skin becoming sallow and puffy, with an increase in fine lines and dark circles under the eyes.
- Putting on weight because you feel hungrier and more likely to overeat.
The list is endless and actually quite sobering. However aside from the obvious changes that the majority of us are aware of such as decreasing alcohol intake and caffeine, getting more exercise, not eating too late in the day and taking time to relax, there is an excellent website called Headspace which is worth checking out.
Headspace describe their approach as ‘gym membership for the mind’ and focuses on meditation and mindfulness. It is free to sign up to try mindfulness for 10 minutes a day for 14 days. And, if you decide to subscribe after that, it’s less than a couple of cups of Costa or Starbucks coffee a month, also with an App to download for free.
The hormone melatonin controls our sleep-wake cycle (aka circadian rhythm) and the blue light emitted by electronic screens has been proven to restrain the production of this hormone. This makes it difficult to fall asleep and wake up the next day. It’s therefore better if you don’t take your phone to bed where you are tempted to keep looking at it. And, if you use it as an alarm, keep it at least three feet away from your bed to limit exposure to radiofrequency energy. Use ‘Airplane Mode to prevent the sending and receiving of calls and text messages.
Make sure your bedroom environment is conducive to sleep. Use blackout curtains if light is an issue and avoid watching TV. Make sure it’s cool and the mattress is comfortable. UK Sleep Council recommends changing your mattress every seven to ten years).
Other tips for creating good sleep hygiene include:
- Keep your bedtime routine consistent –go to bed and get up at the same times and even if you have a late-night, keep your waking time the same. This will avoid that ‘jet lag’ feeling on a Monday morning which comes from the disruption of your circadian rhythms over the weekend.
- Use a traditional alarm clock – if you are a heavy sleeper and need more than a little persuasion to get out of bed, try the Sonic Boom SBB500ss, it’s loud enough to wake the dead!
- Or try a Smart Alarm – designed to wake you at just the right time using sleep tracking technology. Sensors monitor body signals such as movement, breathing, heart rate and brainwaves. Try tracking apps such as Sleep Cycle or the gold standard Polysomnography app.
- Heat up your room – an hour before waking sleep becomes lighter, your body temperature increases and ‘wake’ hormones like cortisol kick in. When it’s cold outside a warm room helps you get out of your cosy bed.
- Smell the coffee – just the smell of caffeine stimulates the brain and nervous system so get a coffee machine set to start brewing 10minutes before you have to get up.
- Reward yourself and engage your brain – our brains respond well to incentives so giving yourself some kind of enjoyable mental activity in the morning means you are unlikely to drift off to sleep again. Read a good book, play a computer game, and check your email, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts.
Ref:
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/tiredness-and-fatigue/Pages/lack-of-sleep-health-risks.aspx
