Checklist for Better Sleep: 10 Things You Can Do Tonight

The quality of your sleep affects your day in profound ways—it can inspire or sap creativity, flexibility, energy and mood. It can also make us feel as if we can take on the world or are unable to perform the simplest tasks. If you’re having a “down” day, there’s a good chance you didn’t sleep well the night before. Some things can’t be controlled, which is even more reason to control the things you can. These 10 tips are considered basic sleep hygiene, an odd term defined as “habits and practices that are conducive to sleeping well on a regular basis.” Are you practicing these sleep basics?

1. Be consistent. Try to go to bed and wake up at about the same time every day, including weekends and vacations. Aim for seven-plus hours. If you’re still lying there after 20 minutes, get up. Worrying about not sleeping can trigger a vicious cycle.
2. Control your environment. Quiet and darkness are critical for sound sleep. Use blackout curtains, eye shades, ear plugs, fans, white noise or whatever works to control external stimuli. Keep the room at a comfortable 65 degrees. Sound chilly? Read about the science of sleep temperature.
3. Power down. Turn off electronic devices a half-hour before bedtime. Artificial blue light affects your circadian rhythms and suppresses the release of melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone. Likewise, avoid exposure to any bright light before bedtime.
4. Watch what you consume. Food, caffeine and alcohol late at night all can wreak havoc on sleep. Avoid heavy meals at night or eating within two hours of bedtime. When your stomach is rumbling, though, a light, healthy snack may help you fall asleep.
5. Develop a bedtime routine. A warm bath, gentle yoga, soft music, a calming book or a cup of herbal tea are all practices that tell your body it’s time to shut down for the night.
6. Exercise. Moderate daily physical activity has been shown to increase deep sleep, which promotes the rejuvenation of brains and bodies. Timing is everything: Exercising late at night elevates body temperature and raises endorphin levels, which may be counterproductive.
7. Sleep on a good mattress. Old (more than 8–10 years) or poor-quality mattresses that are not adequately supportive or large enough (especially if you share a bed) will interfere with ideal sleep. If it is time to replace your mattress, consider this purchase an investment in good sleep. If the price of the mattress seems too good to be true, it probably is. Avoid chemicals of concern and improve indoor air quality by choosing a mattress made with CertiPUR-US® certified foam, which meets strict standards for content and emissions.
8. Limit Naps. Daytime naps close to bedtime or longer than 30 minutes can interfere with nighttime sleep.
9. Don’t bring anxieties to bed. If worries plague you at bedtime, set a time to write down concerns and work out possible solutions. Make to-do lists throughout the day and put them away at night. Meditation or mind games that distract you from troublesome thoughts can really help. Try reciting the alphabet backwards, thinking of historical figures, dog breeds (or anything else) that begin with the letters A, B, C. etc. successively, or counting backwards from 300 by sevens.
10. Know when to see a doctor. Chronic insomnia, frequent nighttime awakening, snoring and falling asleep during the day can be signs of a serious sleep disorder. Seek the help of a medical professional that specializes in sleep

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Want to reduce your COVID-19 risk? You need to sleep more.

OBSERVATIONS ABOUT SLEEP and its health benefits date back at least 2,000 years.

Aristotle’s publication On Sleep and Sleeplessness in 350 B.C. suggested that digestion in the stomach produces hot vapors that lead to sleep, and that people with fevers experience something similar, driving them to snooze to help the healing process.

While the vapors idea did not pan out, decades of scientific evidence show that sleep is a solid way to bolster the immune system against colds, influenza, and respiratory infections. That work suggests that sleep may be a powerful tool to fight the pandemic—and not just by reducing the likelihood or severity of infections. Sleep may ultimately boost the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines when they become available, and a flurry of studies are underway measuring how much of a health buffer we gain against the coronavirus by hitting the sack.

“We have a lot of evidence that if you have an adequate amount of sleep, you definitely can help to prevent or fight any kind of infection,” says Monika Haack, a psychoneuroimmunologist at Harvard Medical School in Boston. “How many deaths can you prevent if you sleep properly, or how much less is the severity of your symptoms? I think that needs more research.”

Until a vaccine is available, the key to avoiding COVID-19 is reducing one’s risk of infection as much as possible. As new data roll in on sleep and this disease, scientists hope to better elucidate the complex workings of the immune system, while also providing clearer guidelines on how to use sleep as a weapon to stave off the pandemic.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/10/sleep-more-reduce-coronavirus-risk/

Stress, Pain and Money — Oh My!

Better Sleep Council research uncovers the factors that keep people awake and help them nod off

Sleep is a wonderful, revitalizing and sometimes elusive thing. What makes it easy for some people to snooze and difficult for others?

The Better Sleep Council, the consumer-education arm of the International Sleep Products Association, has identified several factors that impact sleep in its research survey, The State of America’s Sleep. The first report from the data revealed the best and worst sleepers in America. (Recap: Young women, in particular students and mothers, have the hardest time getting adequate rest. Male retirees, on the other hand, tend to report getting the most sleep. Find the story online at SleepSavvyMagazine.com, click on Snooze News and select Better Sleep Council.

The second report digs into the factors that affect sleep. So, what’s keeping Americans awake? Four elements — stress, physical pain, personal finances and social isolation/loneliness — are the largest contributors.

General stress seems to be the leading cause of sleeplessness. According to the survey, people who rated their sleep as poor were nearly four times more likely to have been stressed in the two weeks prior to the survey. Women, in particular, seem to be more affected by stress than men. Among women who rated their sleep as poor, 33% had felt stress very often in the two weeks prior to the survey versus 20% of men.

Physical pain is a high second. People who rated their sleep as poor were two times more likely to have experienced pain when sitting and standing and were 2.5 times more likely to have experienced pain when lying down than those who said their sleep was excellent.

In the realm of personal finances, those who said they weren’t sleeping well were 1.4 times more likely to live paycheck to paycheck than the champion sleepers. They also were 1.3 times more likely to be concerned about their own financial future. Again, women’s sleep was more likely to be affected by financial worries — 41% of women said they live paycheck to paycheck versus 27% of men.

An area that isn’t discussed as often when it comes to poor sleep is loneliness. According to the study, social isolation is a factor that leads to sleepless nights. Those who frequently wake up feeling tired in the morning are two times more likely to have difficulty in social situations and are 1.5 times more likely to report wanting to go out but not having anyone to go out with them.

While some circumstances hinder sleep, other factors, such as good finances and meaningful relationships, make it far easier to rest, the survey found.

Those who save for retirement or unforeseen medical expenses are two times more likely to rate their sleep as excellent. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, those who reported having enough money in the bank to buy whatever they want were 1.5 times more likely to be good sleepers.

And while having good relationships with family members is helpful, those who reported having deep friendships outside of family were 1.2 times more likely to have better rest.

“The State of America’s Sleep research is giving us an in-depth look on how Americans are really sleeping, which is unlike any survey or research project we’ve implemented in the past,” said Mary Helen Rogers, vice president of marketing and communications for the BSC. “By digging into this research and finding the particular pain points that impact America’s sleep for the worse, we can reinforce how a proper sleep environment can really improve people’s quality of sleep and, ultimately, give them the tools they need to change their sleep habits.”

Sleep Tips

Healthy sleep habits can make a big difference in your quality of life. Having healthy sleep habits is often referred to as having good sleep hygiene. Try to keep the following sleep practices on a consistent basis: Sleep Foundation

1. Stick to a sleep schedule of the same bedtime and wake up time, even on the weekends. This helps to regulate your body’s clock and could help you fall asleep and stay asleep for the night.
2. Practice a relaxing bedtime ritual. A relaxing, routine activity right before bedtime conducted away from bright lights helps separate your sleep time from activities that can cause excitement, stress or anxiety which can make it more difficult to fall asleep, get sound and deep sleep or remain asleep.
3. If you have trouble sleeping, avoid naps, especially in the afternoon. Power napping may help you get through the day, but if you find that you can’t fall asleep at bedtime, eliminating even short catnaps may help.
4. Exercise daily. Vigorous exercise is best, but even light exercise is better than no activity. Exercise at any time of day, but not at the expense of your sleep.
5. Evaluate your room. Design your sleep environment to establish the conditions you need for sleep. Your bedroom should be cool – between 60 and 67 degrees. Your bedroom should also be free from any noise that can disturb your sleep. Finally, your bedroom should be free from any light. Check your room for noises or other distractions. This includes a bed partner’s sleep disruptions such as snoring. Consider using blackout curtains, eye shades, ear plugs, “white noise” machines, humidifiers, fans and other devices.
6. Sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillows. Make sure your mattress is comfortable and supportive. The one you have been using for years may have exceeded its life expectancy – about 9 or 10 years for most good quality mattresses. Have comfortable pillows and make the room attractive and inviting for sleep but also free of allergens that might affect you and objects that might cause you to slip or fall if you have to get up during the night.
7. Use bright light to help manage your circadian rhythms. Avoid bright light in the evening and expose yourself to sunlight in the morning. This will keep your circadian rhythms in check.
8. Avoid alcohol, cigarettes, and heavy meals in the evening. Alcohol, cigarettes and caffeine can disrupt sleep. Eating big or spicy meals can cause discomfort from indigestion that can make it hard to sleep. If you can, avoid eating large meals for two to three hours before bedtime. Try a light snack 45 minutes before bed if you’re still hungry.
9. Wind down. Your body needs time to shift into sleep mode, so spend the last hour before bed doing a calming activity such as reading. For some people, using an electronic device such as a laptop can make it hard to fall asleep, because the particular type of light emanating from the screens of these devices is activating to the brain. If you have trouble sleeping,avoid electronics before bed or in the middle of the night.
10. If you can’t sleep, go into another room and do something relaxing until you feel tired. It is best to take work materials, computers and televisions out of the sleeping environment. Use your bed only for sleep and sex to strengthen the association between bed and sleep. If you associate a particular activity or item with anxiety about sleeping, omit it from your bedtime routine.
11. If you’re still having trouble sleeping, don’t hesitate to speak with your doctor or to find a sleep professional. You may also benefit from recording your sleep in a Sleep Diary to help you better evaluate common patterns or issues you may see with your sleep or sleeping habits.

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Is your teenager tired all the time? The reason may have to do with his or her school start time.

It’s an argument that many have been making for years, that U.S. high schools should start later.  There’s new evidence that it would be helpful, this time coming from Canada. Sleep Better

Source: Is your teenager tired all the time? The reason may have to do with his or her school start time.

Is your teenager tired all the time? The reason may have to do with his or her school start time.

It’s an argument that many have been making for years, that U.S. high schools should start later.  There’s new evidence that it would be helpful, this time coming from Canada.

Sleep Better

Consequences of Poor Sleep

Most people can feel the consequences of insufficient sleep. They’re irritable and exhausted. They are easily distracted and often don’t make sound decisions. However, there are more consequences of poor sleep that aren’t always as easy to see. – See more at: http://www.bettersleep.org/better-sleep/healthy-sleep/consequences-of-poor-sleep/#sthash.yBY3wLuP.dpuf

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