4 Must-Dos For Good Quality Sleep

By Dr Luke Ross - So, you’re washing our hands loads, but how's your sleep? Many of us now are working from home. At first, it can seem amazing to be able to go to bed or wake up whenever you like. However, this and a number of other habits can lead to poor sleep hygiene. 

Sleep Benefits

 We heal when we sleep. After a day of being upright -- walking, sitting and standing – the discs in our spine squish a little bit. This is not necessarily a bad thing, it’s just part of your body’s normal function. While our minds are at rest our body is actually quite busy recovering, rehydrating, mentally processing and consolidating what went on during the day. Good sleep is also associated with:

• Better overall health - Cardiovascular, Immune, Endocrine to name a few.

• Better mental health

• Better energy levels

• Better focus

• Better mood

• You name it! (After all, doesn’t a  good night’s sleep makes everything feel better?)

Sleep Cycles

When you sleep, you go through the following stages a few times throughout the night in an undisturbed sleep. 

Non Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep

• Non REM 1

  • Onset of sleep, we often enter this stage without realising it. Sometimes your body does notice and you get the little jump/shock when you’re nodding off. Or as I call it the “time for a coffee alert”.

  • Lightest stage of sleep

  • ~5% of our total sleep time

• Non REM 2

  • Deeper stage of sleep

  • ~45% of our total sleep time

• Non REM 3

  • Slow Wave Sleep

  • Deepest sleep

  • ~25% of our total sleep time

REM sleep (dream time)

• ~25% of our total sleep time

• Muscle paralysis. Ever wondered why when you're dreaming about walking through a rainforest or swimming in the Great Barrier Reef, but your body isn't walking in real time or doing laps across your mattress? It’s because we cleverly shut down motor functions so we don’t go walkabout.

Good Sleep Habits

 Here’s some tips on how to form good habits with sleep – not just for now, but for when life returns to normal too. You could improve your ability to get to and maintain a night’s sleep. The biggest take away is to find what works for you and your lifestyle. If you are experiencing difficulty sleeping please don’t be afraid to ask for help. Issues sleeping are very common and a health care provider can help guide you towards improved rest. 

• Have a bedtime (... and wake time)

  • Get into a good circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythm is a fancy term for your body clock.

  • Just like a smartwatch can, our body regulates our sleep wake cycle. If you deviate from your routine by sleeping in another hour or two, or staying up till 1am because “yes Netflix, I am still watching!”, it upsets your body clock.

  • This will also help us transition back to normal work life if you are spending more time working at home during COVID-19.

• Make the bed a device free zone

  • Our body releases the hormone, melatonin, when we begin to wind down at night. Phones, laptops and devices that stimulate our brains disrupt the release of melatonin and hinder us getting to sleep.

  • Ideally, avoiding devices for an hour before bed will have the best result. But you can always start with 30 minutes.

  • Try reading a chapter or two of a book (an actual book not a kindle) as an alternative. Or do a little meditation -- there is a plethora of guided audio meditations available (podcasts, apps etc.).

  • Try not to fall asleep on the couch, make your bed the sleep space.

• Regular exercise

  • Exercising in the morning is a great way to wake up your system and start the day having accomplished something.

  • Exercising at night when your body is already well woken up can be a nice way to tire yourself out before going to bed.

  • The simple answer is whatever works for you. First, not everyone's schedule is conducive to exercising whenever they want, unless you are one of those very gifted people who can get up at 4am and exercise. Truly, hats off to you if this is you!

  • Personally I enjoy going for a run in the evening. I know that I don’t have an issue winding down and getting to sleep so it works for me.

• Diet

  • Caffeine in the evening can hinder your ability to wind down. Everyone's sensitivity is different. If you’re the kind of person who has a cup in the morning to wake up, chances are you utilize caffeine well and might struggle to wind down if you have some in the evening.

  • As always a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables makes everything better.

With all that said, go to bed!

Learn More

At Sydney Spine and Sports Clinic, we put you first. We believe in offering chiropractic care that enables you to make informed and educated choices about your health. If you are suffering pain and would like to talk to us about how we can help you get mobile and active again – get in touch right here.