Sleep. If you are getting enough good quality sleep you may not dwell on the topic but for the one third of Australian's not getting enough sleep, you understand the frustrations of something seemingly so simple.
Poor sleep can look like having a hard time getting to sleep, staying asleep, waking up too early or suffering daytime sleepiness. It is recommended adults get seven to nine hours of sleep per night.
Our sleep quality has a large impact on the quality of our life. Inadequate sleep has been shown to impact a wide range of our body’s functions. These impacts range from increased incidence of cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer, to declining cognitive function, mood disturbances, vehicle and workplace accidents.
Another often overlooked impact of insufficient sleep is pain, particularly musculoskeletal pain. While these two have a complex chicken and egg relationship, research has shown pain can be exacerbated (increased duration and/or severity) by poor sleep, but pain can also disrupt sleep.
The good news is exercise is recognised as an effective treatment for many musculoskeletal conditions AND can improve sleep quality. Addressing both aspects with one treatment, which is also widely recognised for its many health benefits on other body systems, is definitely a win. Exercise is a great place to start and is widely prescribed by medical and allied health professionals alike.
In addition to exercise, everyone can benefit from optimising their sleep hygiene to ensure good quality sleep. Sleep hygiene refers to creating healthy sleep related habits/behaviours and optimising your environment for sleep.
Sleep hygiene consists of:
Keeping your routine consistent with a fixed wake up time (yes, even on the weekends!), and a consistent bedtime are important.
Prioritising the opportunity for adequate sleep - time in bed.
During the day you should aim to get (sun safe) exposure to sunlight, ideally in the morning.
Incorporate physical activity into your day.
Avoid exposure to blue light, including screens and excessive overhead lighting In the evening. This allows your body to commence melatonin production.
Reduce/avoid smoking, alcohol and caffeine too late in the day as they can all impact sleep quality negatively.
Avoid eating too close to bedtime.
If you are thinking a commune in the bush is the only way to achieve this, singing around the campfire at night, rest assured (pun intended) there are ways to achieve this while still living in modern society.
Blue light blocking glasses can be worn for a couple of hours before bed.
Red or amber lights designed to eliminate blue/green and blue light respectively can be used instead of standard LEDs in lamps or book lights. These can take some getting used to but can be a game changer for those struggling to sleep.
If you have an iPhone, and especially if you use it to check the time at night, you might want to try adding a shortcut to turn the screen red at night (note you won’t be able to see any blue features, so some apps are very hard to use!). Android phones don’t have this shortcut, but you can download apps to achieve a similar effect. This article will take you through the steps
https://www.blockbluelight.com.au/blogs/news/how-to-turn-your-iphone-screen-red
A wind down routine prepares us for sleep. A warm shower an hour or two before bed to lower the bodies temperature is a natural signal to the brain of impending sleep.
Mindfulness or journaling can quiet the mind and remove intrusive thoughts that might keep the brain ticking over.
Consider the comfort of your bedding in relation to your individual requirements to ensure a pain free sleep. Your physiotherapist can also provide some advice on sleep positions or props which can assist based on your history.
The temperature of the room should be comfortable for you, with a nudge towards the cooler side.
Use eye masks or heavy curtains to create a dark environment, and ear plugs or even the noise of a fan to dampen less desirable noises.
If you have optimised your environment and habits for sleep and still find daytime sleepiness or insomnia persists, see your GP for evaluation of medical causes impacting sleep. Sleep studies (clinic or home based) can assist to find any medical causes for poor sleep.
References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9830709/#:~:text=Moreover%2C%20poor%20sleep%20is%20associated,especially%20musculoskeletal%20(MSK)%20conditions.&text=On%20the%20other%20hand%2C%20MSK,worldwide%20prevalence%20of%201.71%20billion.
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