Prioritize Your Sleep

It is long known that one of the most essential needs of any living being is a good quality sleep. However, did you know that sleep deprivation can have negative impact on your mental wellbeing? Sleep and mental health are closely connected. Sleep deprivation affects your psychological state and mental health. And those with mental health problems are more likely to have insomnia or other sleep disorders. are 50% more likely to have mental health concerns.

Let us first begin to understand the implications of sleep disorders. As per various research and studies done around the world, here are 6 main side effects of sleep deficiency, identified -

1. Long term mood disorders - chronic sleep debt can lead to disorders like anxiety and depression.

2. Increased Sickness - Prolonged lack of sleep can disrupt your immune system making it easier to fall sick. And once you are sick, lack of sleep can make it harder to recover.

3. Risk of Diabetes - studies suggest that people who sleep less than 5 hours a night have an increased risk of having or developing diabetes.

4. Infertility - Sleep deprivation can reduce the secretion of reproductive hormones, resulting in trouble conceiving.

5. Weight gain - studies show that people who sleep less than 7 hours a night, are 30% more likely to gain weight.

6. Heart Diseases - Long term sleep deprivation is associated with an increased heart rate, blood pressure and higher levels of chemicals that are linked to inflammation.

Having understood the adverse effects of sleep deprivation, let us now identify what can we do to improve the quality and quantity of sleep.

With the rising stress levels, we hear many struggling with getting a good quality sleep.

Not very long ago, I was there too. Here are some steps I took to self-heal my insomnia and other sleep issues.

1. Hygiene - cleanliness has a big role to play. Ensure your sheets, your room and you yourself are clean right before bedtime. A clean, decluttered space will enhance the quality of your environment, the air you breathe and remove distractions that make your mind anxious, thereby enabling you to sleep better.

2. Calm body - We go through so many various levels of energies through the day, that it becomes highly essential to tune down your body's energy level as you prepare to get to bed. You can either use a good, scented soap, scrub or body wash to have a hot water bath or light a scented candle in your room. You can also use a room fresher or just a perfume of your choice. The important thing is to find the scent or fragrance that calms you down.

To fall asleep faster, researchers suggest taking a hot bath. A study found that taking a hot bath about 90 minutes before bed time could help people fall asleep more quickly. The hot water actually helps change your body’s core temperature so that you go to bed with a lower temperature. A drop in temperature helps signal to the body that it’s time for bed.

3. Calm mind - deep breathing is the best method to calm an active brain. Simply close your eyes and do slow rhythmic deep breathing for 5 to 10 minutes. Try to hold your inhaled breath for few seconds before exhaling it. This exercise increases the oxygen in the brain and calms the active neurons.

Writing also induces calm in the otherwise hyperactive mind. It allows you to vent your thoughts on paper and empty your mind. Looking at the next day’s schedule and mentally preparing for it, helps in reducing the hyperactivity of the brain.

4. Gratitude - one of the prime reasons of an anxious mind is the fear of tomorrow. Gratitude towards every small thing you have been blessed with, allows your mind on focus on the 'good' and the 'positive' aspects of life. This positivity increases the belief in a better tomorrow, like another blessed day, thereby reducing the fears of the unknown through acceptance and minimizing the anxiety of the future through trust in self. This will enable you to embrace every single day with the same energy. Writing a gratitude journal at the end of the day, right before bedtime is an excellent activity to improve the quality and quantity of sleep.

5. Zeitgeber - From the German for “time giver,” zeitgeber refers to any external cue that can reset the time-keeping system of organisms. While we will share a more advanced blog later on the science around this, let's review few environmental changes that you can make to activate or reactivate your Zeitgeber and improve your sleep quality.

1. Time - though very difficult these days but sleeping at the same time every day also helps. It trains our mind and body to start getting into sleep mode when its sleep time. As weird as it may sound, the path to better sleep starts by learning how to wake up at the same time every day. To get started on this, select a wake-up time that you can observe and follow every day, including weekends. It's not about waking early; it's about waking up at the same time. Consider your own body and your own needs. Pick a wake-up time that you can maintain and don't let it be too early or inconsistent with your typical, natural pattern in the recent past. Anchoring your wake time in place is a cue to your body about when you should be awake and when you should be asleep.

2. Don't take naps: Sleeping during the day decreases "sleep debt," so that you need less sleep at night. This can interfere with a regular sleep routine.

3. Don’t watch TV or read in bed: Stop any form of entertainment and turn off all electronics (including cell phones) at least 30 minutes before bedtime. Let your bed serve only one purpose - enable a good night's sleep. Using your bed/ sleeping space as a multipurpose space for performing any other activity can confuse your brain and delay the sleep cycle.

4. Avoid caffeine and alcohol several hours before sleep: Caffeine can overstimulate you. Alcohol may help you fall asleep but is likely to cause sleep interruptions and morning grogginess.

5. Keep the bedroom dark: Turn off all lights and tightly close curtains or window shades. Replace window coverings that allow light to shine through with room-darkening shades. Note that sleep masks can prevent sunlight from entering the eye and impede the environmental signals meant to stir you when it's time to wake up.

6. Turn down the thermostat: You're likely to sleep more soundly in a room that's cool. Even in winter, don't pile on too many blankets.

7. Keep it quiet: Sudden noises can cause momentary starts that interrupt otherwise restful sleep. Consider playing a soothing sleep music for some time before bedtime. It can help create an ambience for good sleep.

If these reasons are not enough to encourage you to make your sleep a priority, here are 4 amazing things sleep does to your brain and body -

1. It will keep you healthier and improve your immune system, so you fall sick less often. You save those leaves and time offs for an enjoyable holiday and not for hospital visits.

2. Sleep helps clean up the gunk in your brain increasing your alertness, improving your focus and thereby impacting your productivity immensely.

3. Good sleep helps your brain store memories and information, so they are easier to retrieve later. This improves your speed of learning and retention of information.

4. When you have slept well, you remain more in control of your brain and your mood, being more capable of responding to situations as opposed to reacting.

So prioritize your sleep. Utilize this superpower your body has, to heal, to build and to retain a holistic health.

Authored by - Ariana

*The source of information in this blog is a culmination of various research, studies, informative blogs and personal experiences of the author.