We should spend one third of our lives asleep and many of us regularly complain that we don’t have enough time sleeping but making space for good quality shut eye can be difficult. In a world where we can take work to bed with us in the form of our inbox on a mobile phone and watch films, play games or read books on brightly lit screens until moments before we need to be asleep, it’s not surprising that this essential bodily function can be hard to come by at times. Insomnia can leave sufferers almost incapacitated with exhaustion, with lowered concentration levels, poorer health and significantly impaired quality of life.
Up to 30% of people will experience insomnia or sleeplessness at some point each year, where their sleep is affected enough that they do not feel refreshed when they wake up the next day. Insomnia occurs when the opportunity to be asleep is disrupted by not being able to drop off initially or by waking during the night or too early the next day. This can be caused by stress, depression, health issues or environmental factors. It impacts mood and psychologically can be self-perpetuating, with anxieties about staying awake escalating into an issue which keeps the sufferer from falling asleep through worry.
There are a number of ways to combat sleep issues, including making sure a relaxing bedtime routine is followed, not eating heavy meals late at night, avoiding consuming large quantities of alcohol and having a relaxing bedroom environment. Turning off gadgets and leaving them out of the bedroom is also useful, since bright or blue light stimulus wakes the brain up and having a warm but well ventilated room makes it easier for the body to relax. The benefits to health of enough sleep and a properly dark environment at bedtime are well documented with some research even suggesting it can affect our weight as well as our mental health.
Social Media has recently been alive with talk about the 4-7-8 sleep trick – a yoga breathing exercise that can help to calm the body and mind and produce a physically soothing effect. It works by learning a breathing pattern that triggers deep relaxation; described as part meditation and part ‘natural tranquiliser’, it’s a trick that takes a little practice but can then be used both for helping sleep and combating anxieties, cravings and tension. Combined with the tips above, this latest craze sounds like it might just be the perfect way to retrain a tired mind and help it relax enough to enjoy the perfect night’s sleep.