15 tips for better sleep

Why is sleep important?

We’re still learning about why we sleep. What we do know is that, on average, we’ll spend approximately one third of our lives sleeping – that’s over 25 years! It’s time well spent and is crucial for maintenance of good health.  During sleep, our bodies and minds regenerate from the stresses and strains of daily life and, contrary to popular belief, it’s a highly active time in terms of brain activity and physiological functioning.

Good sleep supports:

• A healthy immune system. Studies have shown that during sleep, our bodies release proteins called cytokines that support our immune system. You can find out more about cytokines and sleep here.

• Good mental wellbeing. Chronic sleep deprivation is linked to conditions, such as depression and anxiety.

• Good memory. Sleep is crucial for our learning, concentration and memory. Lack of sleep can affect our ability to respond to and store information.

• Protection against type 2 diabetes and dementia. Studies have suggested that regularly sleeping less than five hours a night is linked to an increased risk of multiple chronic diseases, including diabetes and dementia.

• Protection against heart disease. Research indicates that sleep deprivation can increase heart rate, blood pressure and higher levels of certain chemicals linked with inflammation, which may put extra strain on your heart.  

• A healthy interest in sex. Research showed that sleeping longer was related to greater next-day sexual desire for women and those with longer average sleep duration reported better genital arousal than women with shorter average sleep length. Men with untreated obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome were found to suffer from low libido.
  
  
• The removal of toxins from the brain. Although our brains are always busy filtering toxins, research has found that our glymphatic system – described as our brain’s waste clearance system – is busiest clearing toxins while we slumber.

• Growth and repair. Our pituitary gland releases most of our Human Growth Hormone in waves while we kip. The hormone contributes to growth, promotes body composition, cell repair, and metabolism, whilst supporting muscle growth, strength, and exercise performance, and helps us recover from injury and disease!

How to improve sleep: 15 tips for better sleep

It’s thought as many as one in three of us suffer from poor sleep. Your sleep may be affected by worry, stress, anxiety, illness, but the good news is there are simple things you can try, based on research, to help you sleep well. Below are our 15 top tips for better sleep.

It’s worth noting, when circumstances beyond our control are disrupting our sleep, such as having small children, it becomes even more important to do what we can to minimise other stressors beyond our lack of sleep, such as eating well, hydrating properly and moving our bodies regularly.

1. Enjoy morning light outdoors

Natural sunlight helps to regulate the production of the sleep hormone melatonin, which is synthesised and released during periods of darkness. When you’re exposed to sunlight in the morning, your nocturnal melatonin production occurs sooner, and you’re likely to fall asleep more easily at night. 

Melatonin production is controlled by your internal body clock (circadian rhythm). Your circadian rhythm runs on a 24-hour cycle and works best when you’re exposed to a regular pattern of light and darkness. Malfunctions in circadian rhythms occur when changes in light and dark exposure negatively affect the body’s ability to release melatonin, and therefore your ability to get a good night’s sleep. Some types of insomnia have even been attributed to low melatonin. If you’re not finding improvement in your sleep, you should consult your doctor.

So, try to get outside for at least 15-30 minutes every morning without sunglasses to take advantage of natural light. Sunglasses may limit your eyes’ access to full sunlight and therefore alter melatonin rhythms.

‍2. Sleep in total darkness

Also, as melatonin is suppressed by light, trial sleeping in complete darkness, ideally where you can’t see your hand held up in front of your face. Some people find using an eye mask or blackout blinds conducive to better sleep.

‍3. Ditch the tech before bed

The hormone melatonin controls the sleep/wake cycle, but it’s produced during darkness. So, any exposure to bright light and particularly the “blue” light emitted by your phone can suppress melatonin. It’s best to keep electronic screens out of the bedroom. If you can’t go cold turkey, try putting the phone into ‘Night Shift’ mode to establish a warmer light. For PCs, there are night time options in the display settings. Even better, establish a wind down routine that works for you: that could be having a bath, reading a book, meditating, or even dimming the lights an hour before bedtime as what you do in the 90 minutes before bed can affect the quality of your sleep.

It’s also important that the environment you sleep in should be relaxing. If a messy bedroom can make you feel stressed, then consider tidying up to put your mind at ease. Our core body temperature drops during sleep, so keeping your bedroom cool can make your environment more conducive to good quality sleep.

‍4. Exercise

Exercise is good for your health, and it could also help you get a good night’s sleep. Research suggests that while the rise in body temperature from physical activity may make you feel more awake, the gradual fall in body temperature afterwards can make you feel more tired, encouraging sleep. That being said, whatever time of day you decide to exercise, it’s wise to avoid exercising 90 minutes before going to bed. Doing this enables your body temperature to return to one that’s more favourable to falling asleep. Exercise also increases endorphins, which reduce the symptoms of stress and anxiety enabling you to fall asleep more quickly. It can also improve sleep quality and duration, increasing the time spent in the restorative stage of deep sleep.

5. Practice meditation

As well as seeing to your body’s needs, settling your mind can lead to improved sleep. Meditation has been practiced in countries like India for thousands of years. In experienced meditators, it has been reported to increase both the levels of sleep hormone itself (melatonin) and its precursor, the feel-good hormone, serotonin. Mindfulness meditation, known as Vipassana meditation, has also been seen to enhance states of Slow-Wave Sleep (SWS) and Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep across all age groups.

6. Avoid drinking alcohol in the evenings

Many people think alcohol helps them sleep, but in fact it’s much more likely to disrupt good sleep than to improve it. Yes, you might fall asleep more quickly, but, as the alcohol is metabolised while you sleep, its sedative effects wear off, and there may be a rebound wakening. What’s more, people who drink more alcohol tend to have a lower quality of sleep because alcohol can disrupt their levels of a chemical in their brain called adenosine. Adenosine influences your sleepiness; it’s increased with alcohol but then quickly subsides after a few hours, which is another reason why you might nod off quickly and then wake up in the night. Alcohol is also a diuretic, so you’re likely to be up in the night going to the toilet, causing even more sleep disruption. Therefore, try not to drink too close to bedtime to give your body time to handle the alcohol efficiently.

7. Check in on your magnesium intake

It may be worth considering your magnesium intake too, which studies have indicated may be associated with sleep quality. Stress, poor diet and alcohol, amongst other things, can deplete our stores of magnesium, which plays a role in a wide range of biological functions, including maintaining healthy sleep and mood. Food sources include dark green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds and wholegrains, so getting your magnesium fill through your diet can be beneficial. In some cases, magnesium supplementation may be helpful. Magnesium can be absorbed through the skin, so Epsom salt baths, skin creams, oils or other topical solutions containing magnesium are further options and can be relaxing just before bed.

8. Stick to a sleep routine

Erratic sleeping patterns can cause you to fall out of sync with the natural light dark cycles that influence your body’s circadian rhythms, affecting the quality of your sleep. Circadian rhythms are essentially rhythmic fluctuations in behaviour, physiology and metabolism that happen in cycles, usually over a 24-hour period. No doubt there will be times that life interferes with your sleep routine, but try sticking to similar bedtimes and wake-up times even at weekends.

As a guide, we need around eight hours sleep a night, younger people may need more, older people less. Decide how much you feel YOU need, let’s say 7.5 hours, and subtract that from your planned wake-up time and go to bed then. Stick to this plan for at least ten days, including weekends, and don’t sleep in. If you’re finding it difficult to go to bed earlier, try making small adjustments like going to bed 15 minutes earlier every few days until you reach your ideal bedtime. Shift work can mean it’s really hard to have a regular pattern, but do what you can to create consistency for whatever your sleep routine is.

9. Balance your blood sugar

Perhaps you could be balancing your blood sugar levels a little better during the day? Poor sleep affects your body’s ability to regulate your hormones, so affects things like blood sugar and weight management. It may also be true that blood sugar levels and weight impact sleep. Eating balanced meals and avoiding snacking on carbohydrates and sugary foods to limit large blood sugar spikes throughout the day may help you get a good night’s sleep. High blood sugar can be followed by a compensatory low blood sugar dip, and this may trigger an increase in stress hormones like cortisol, which could be one factor for waking up at night.

10. Avoid caffeine in the afternoon

If you’re having trouble sleeping, it’s a good idea to restrict caffeine to the mornings as you may be sensitive to it. As a rule of thumb, cut caffeine after 2.00pm and substitute with decaffeinated coffee, herbal teas or water and see how you respond. Some people might need to stop having caffeine earlier. Experiment to see what works for you. The way in which you handle caffeine is determined by your genetic make-up. A DNA test can tell you more about how you react to it.

11. Eat a sufficient amount of protein

Making sure your meals include a healthy amount of protein ensures you get enough of the amino acid tryptophan, which is converted into serotonin and then into melatonin – the all important sleep hormone mentioned above.

12. Embrace healthy fats

Getting enough fat into your diet by including extra virgin olive oil could be useful to try (nearly 60% of our brains are fat by dry weight after all!). Some traditions even take it as a “shot”. Extra virgin olive oil contains more of the sleep hormone melatonin and in higher amounts than refined olive or sunflower oil. Healthy fats, such as natural saturated fats like full-fat milk and coconut milk, are also needed to help our bodies absorb the polyphenol antioxidant, curcumin and other beneficial ingredients of turmeric milk (see below). Perhaps try having a dose of extra virgin olive oil before going to sleep or using it more in food preparation and see if you spot a difference?

13. Try turmeric milk

Although some advise avoiding eating just before going to sleep (see below), some animal studies reveal that enjoying turmeric milk an hour before bed can be soothing and relaxing, and protect against sleep deprivation. Other animal studies highlight turmeric as being useful to treat insomnia, due to reducing the amount of time it takes mice to fall asleep and improving the quality of their non-rapid eye movement sleep. Indeed, turmeric has been used for human medical use for nearly 4000 years. You can find out more about how to make turmeric or “golden” milk and its history and health benefits here.

14. Consider when you eat your last meal

There’s emerging research being done that indicates eating late in the day may interfere with sleep. For instance, one study amongst students showed a link with nighttime awakening and eating within three hours of bedtime. We look forward to monitoring this exciting ongoing area of investigation as it develops and keeping you posted.

15. Hone your hydration

It’s not just your food intake you could reflect on but also your liquid intake too. Could you be hydrating your body a little better during the daytime with refreshing water and herbal teas? If dehydration is playing a part in your sleep disruption, then doing so might just help.

Something to consider when taking control of your sleep

It’s important to bear in mind that waking up during the night, especially if it’s only once or twice, isn’t necessarily a bad thing if you find you’re falling asleep again quickly. The problem lies in that restless tossing and turning we’re all likely to have experienced at some point – where you wake and stay awake. So, it can help to try some of the tips above, but also be very mindful of what you do if you do wake up. Do you turn on the light, switch on your phone, start worrying about the fact you have woken up? All of these things can make it harder for you to get back to sleep.

If you’re not sleeping well, you might want to use these tips as a checklist and see if any tweaks make a difference. Just because you might be experiencing sleep disruption it doesn’t mean you always will. The key is to identify what’s causing the disruption and focus energies on tackling that.

Reviewed by:

Anna Keeble MA BA Wellbeing Expert

Dr Claire Marie Thomas MRCGP DFSRH DTMH DipNLP MBChB BMedSci Medical Expert

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