The Stress Free Guide - Part 3

Good sleep

Sleep is the most important form of recovery for both our body and our brain. While we sleep, our brain is at rest and repairing itself. It is not just a matter of how long we sleep, but also how deeply we sleep. Researchers have shown that we need to sleep for around seven hours a night in order to avoid the adverse health effects caused by a lack of rest. Most of those who report having sleep problems say that it is due to stress. But levels of physical activity, being overweight, and over-stimulation all contribute to sleep difficulties.

Sleep deprivation can have an adverse effect both on the brain and its function, making it harder to concentrate and to perform our brain’s controlled processes. We think more slowly and sometimes make rash decisions. Memory is also affected; we find it more difficult to retain information, to store memories, and to learn new things.

The amount of sleep we need changes over time. People of working age need to sleep approximately seven to eight hours per night. Women often need slightly more sleep than men – this is believed to be due to the fact that women generally multi-task more, which consumes more energy. We sleep less as we grow older; after the age of 65 we require about six hours sleep a night for the brain to recover.

Five tips to sleep better

• Reduce stress: Because stress is the main contributor to sleep problems, it is important to deal with stress. In order to reduce stress: 1. try starting by reducing the number of things you need to manage, as well as your ambitions. 2. Change your approach to potentially stressful situations and put things in perspective. 3. Increase your capacity to handle a variety of tasks by taking control of situations, getting some exercise, and consider motivations. 4. Change your job if you feel that it is not working for you.

• Give brain time to cool down: A stimulated mind has a difficult time relaxing and getting to sleep. Turning off the TV, computer, or other device at least one hour before bedtime can help. The light from your computer or cellphone can stop you sleeping at bedtime because the light from the screen reduces the production of melatonin, the hormone that makes us sleepy.

• Avoid coffee, tea, and alcohol: Both coffee and tea contain caffeine and protein, which has a half-life in the body of 6-8 hours and can affect sleep. Alcohol in small quantities can facilitate sleep, but will affect deep sleep when the body begins to break down the alcohol. Your sleep becomes shallow and you will be prone to waking up quickly. When the body begins to break down larger amounts of alcohol, your body temperature and heart rate increases, and you will sleep poorly.

• Exercise: Low intensity exercise is important for sleep. Daily exercise, such as walking or even just cleaning the house, can tire you out. High-intensity training, however, makes us more alert, for anything up to two hours after exercising, so should be avoided at night in order to allow us to fall asleep when we want to.

• Daylight: Being outdoors can have many different effects on us, mainly on how we feel. The amount of daylight affects serotonin, which is a neurotransmitter that affects mood, appetite, and sleep. A lack of daylight also affects our production of the sleep hormone melatonin. When your eyes are not exposed to light, a gland behind the eyes begins to produce melatonin, which makes us sleepy. That’s why, during winter, we are often sleepy and want to sleep even more. Being outdoors half an hour at midday makes can make you more alert during the day and will make it easier to fall asleep at night.