The importance of sleep
Our sleep is vital to our health and wellbeing. For many people, sleep is the number one priority as we cannot expect to function for long without it. Sleep is also important for our immune system becaise being tired leaves you vulnerable to catching infections.
There are two types of sleep :
Deep sleep follows first. It is known that when we are in deep sleep the body repairs on a cellular level. This is when the body heals itself of minor aches and pains. The newly discovered ‘glymphatic system’ opens up and fluid washes through the brain and clears out toxins. Not getting enough sleep puts you at increased risk of dementia.
The second type of sleep is REM (rapid eye movement). Here we have mental restoration. Through REM the brain is sorting, filing, storing and processing – you may experience lots of jumbled up thoughts! REM sleep is also associated with intense dreams. Dreaming is therapeutic as this where a lot of emotional processing goes on. If we don’t get enough REM sleep we feel heavy and out of sorts as opposed to feeling alert and ready to go!
We sleep in a 90 minute cycle which peaks up and down. Most of us have 5 of these cycles so this works out at 450 minutes equating to seven and a half hours sleep.
To sum up we want deep sleep for cellular repair and REM for mental repair.
AIDS TO SLEEP
Get into a cool bed – a luke warm shower before hand may help
Switch off all electronic devices in the bedroom
Chill and relax prior to going to bed
A few gentle stretches may help
It is thought that vitamin D and magnesium can aid sleep. Michael Moseley suggests eating a Mediterranean style diet
Avoid eating within 3 hours of going to bed
Maintain a regular sleep window of going to bed and waking up at similar times
Can’t sleep? Don’t just lie there. Instead, get up and find a warm space to chill or read a boring book until you feel sleepy again. The return to bed.
Should you fall asleep quickly and easily but wake up in the early hours try to focus on your breathing but do not allow your thoughts to take over as this will stimulate your brain to wake up. Try breathing in for 4 counts, hold for 2, breathe out for 4
For further reading :
Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker
Fast Asleep by Dr Michael Moseley
