For a while now I've been focusing on getting better sleep at night.
I realised how important sleep was as I noticed my own sleep patterns were getting worse:
- I was regularly waking up to pee. And finding it hard to get back to sleep.
- Then I noticed that I had more sleep interference around the full moon! Go figure!
- Then I read that our brains conducted some essential clean-up operations during sleep. And that poor quality sleep could increase the risk of developing a variety of adverse health conditions. So I've been keeping a look out for any recent research that I might use to help me get better quality sleep. Read on ...
Dr Austin Perlmutter has recently started a A BrainScience Newsletter. You can read more about it HERE.
The most recent issue has three tips for better sleep.
You've probably heard them all before. I had. But they are worth repeating because, in line with his newsletter being science-based, Dr Perlmutter gives the science behind each of his tips - or tricks as he calls them.
The first tip/trick is to go to bed at the same time each night.
Or if that seems too hard - and it did to me - then try for the same time five or six nights a week. The science behind this is that irregular sleep hours have been linked - in the case of older adults (like many of us!) to a variety of conditions including increased sleepiness during the day and depression. So presumably, keeping regular bedtime hours will lessen the risk of these unwelcome outcomes.
You can read the study, originally published in 2018 and most recently updated in December 2021, HERE, where you can also download a pdf.
The second tip/trick is to shut down our screens well before bed.
There are several scientific reasons to doing this.
- Often what we are viewing is distressing rather than calming.
- Some researchers have shown that the blue light emitted from screens at night can interfere with the production of melatonin, which is essential for good sleep. You can read a study HERE.
- Following the theme of getting a good sleep, other studies have shown that blue light can interfere with deep sleep. You can read one of these studies HERE.
And the third tip/trick is to limit alcohol before you go to bed because alcohol depresses the central nervous system and you may end up more wakeful and sleepier the next day!
Dr Perlmutter's complete article with a downloadable pdf is HERE.