Ticking bomb

Sorry to be dramatic, but I want to get serious about sleep.

There is yet another story in the press today about how sleep deprivation can affect health. It has been known that lack of sleep can cause heart disease, diabetes, obesity and poor brain function but the mechanics of how this happened had not been clear. The study found that less sleep alterers the genes thus causing the damage (don't worry, I'm not going into a science lesson here.)

However what I found shocking was the amount of sleep deprivation it took to cause these changes. Not because it was a big number, quite the opposite, but because it was such a small number and the changes happened very quickly.

The study examined the results of less than 6 hours sleep for a week. Let's look at that again - less than 6 hours for a week.

How many hours sleep do you get a night? There are many, many people out there who are getting less than 6 hours sleep, night after night. Even if you are in bed for 6 hours, you'll be getting less when you factor in the time it takes to get to sleep.
Had a hard week? Either staying up late to finish a project or partying hard and not catching up on your sleep, then you could be starting the chain of events.

Fortunately it is possible to easily and quickly improve the quality and length of your sleep. Here are some ideas.

1 - set your alarm clock to remind you to go to bed! Use the alarm function on your phone to set a time to stop working and start going to bed.

2 - switch of computers and work phones early in the evenings. Not only do the display screens stimulate your retinas and keep you awake longer, you also need to take a rest from work. Studies have shown that quality not quantity counts when working hard and that your work is more productive if are refreshed and well rested rather than sleep deprived.

3 - make your bedroom a calm and relaxing place to be, rather than a junk room. Ban computers and any other work associations. You will sleep better and more effectively if your bedroom is associated with sleep and sex only.

4 - stop drinking caffeine after 2pm, so that it has time to leave your body before bedtime and therefore will not affect your sleep.

5 - if you are an insomniac or have another sleep problem then ask about behavior therapy programmes as these have proven to be the most effective, long term way to improve your sleep. The medical world is waking up to the importance of sleep and there is a lot more support and help available than ever before.

Wishing you a great nights sleep!

Lucid Dreams

One of things I love about sleep is dreaming. I've been interested in my dreams since I was a teenager and in fact started learning how to recall them and interpret them at that time. It is a skill that can be easily picked up - just like learning a new language, in fact dream interpretation books are often called 'dictionaries'! I talked about it in this previous post.

As I became better at recalling and recording my dreams, the dreams themselves became more vivid and more real. They no longer are a hazy, shadowy image but clear and bright in my mind. I began to fix things that were anomalies in the dream. Maybe I would be in a boat and the river dried up, so I would create a dam upstream that was holding more water, so that the boat would float again. I often liked to go flying. At first it would be short leaps from tree to tree and as I became more confident I could fly longer distances.Flying over the sea at sunset is a favourite dream, flying up to the clouds and feeling them on my face, or skimming over the top of the waves.

I then read about lucid dreaming, how you could control your dreams and use them for your benefit and advantage - to overcome fears and anxieties, to learn new skills, to become more creative. I thought that sounded great and tried to learn to achieve a state of lucidity. I read up on how to do it and set about applying it to my dreams.

To start controlling your dreams and to achieve lucidity you have to be aware that you are dreaming. The recommended way to achieve this is to have a dream symbol - something unusual that if you see it in your dream then your brain trigger tells you that you are dreaming. A classic example of this is in the film 'Inception' where Leonardo DiCaprio's character has a small spinning top. If it stays spinning then he knows he is in a dream (as in real life it would stop spinning and fall).
I tried this method and a couple of others but none of them appeared in my dreams. I was confused. Then when I was listening to the radio one day, a guest was talking about lucid dreaming and perfectly described my learning to fly story, I realised that I was already lucid dreaming. That I was able to control my dreams. That I was already doing these things, so trying to add dream symbols into the equation was just making something I could already do more complicated.

I have to admit that I haven't done that much with my lucid dreaming. I am very impressed when people talk about creating whole new fantasy worlds and filling them with characters and people. It all sounds a little tiring to me, I guess I'm just lazy. I have used them to play out scenarios, trying to see what the outcomes of certain courses of action would be and that has been useful. I have used them to meet people and have a conversation with them, which has been amusing, mind you I haven't told my friends that I've arranged to meet them in my dreams, it sounds a little creepy. Guess they'll find out now though!  I'm not a great painter or artist but have heard that dreams can be a great source of inspiration for new pieces of work or story plot lines.

I have heard of lucid dreams being used to overcome fear and anixiety, apparently it is really successful at helping people who suffer from nightmares - as having control over your dream takes away the horror.
You can also use your dreams to solve difficult problems and find solutions for things that are bugging you. Simply asking your dream to show you a way to deal with something can provide unusual and creative answers.

If you would like to know more about lucid dreaming and how to start controlling and using your sleep 'down time' then why not join me on a new short, 4 week course that I'm running. The details are here.

Don't think that I spend every minute of my dream life solving problems, overcoming fears and learning new skills. Most of the time I like the unexpectedness of dreams and the bizarreness of things that can only happen in dreams. Yep, the lazy part of me showing up, even in my sleep!

Exercise and sleep.

It's an established fact that exercise can help improve your sleep. It makes sense. You feel tired after exercise, you have worked your muscles and your heart but do you sometimes have a great workout, feel exhausted yet find yourself staring at the ceiling and unable to sleep? The truth is that your body needs time to rest and recover after exercise.

So the really question is not - what is the best exercise for sleep? But - when is the best time to exercise to help sleep?

The answer depends on the type of exercise you have chosen.

Vigorous workouts within 3 hours of going to bed can actually hamper your efforts to sleep - you will have a raised heart rate and higher body temperature, both of which hinder sleep.
While exercising in the morning can help reduce stress and if this is combined with spending time in daylight it can help set your bodyclock naturally.

Cardio type workouts that raise your heart rate such as running, aerobics and weight training should be done earlier in the day to give your body time to relax and wind down before going to bed. It is possible to time this to perfection and working out in the mid-afternoon to early evening can really help you sleep better as your body will naturally be cooling down at the time you are getting ready to sleep.

This may be difficult for most people due to work and family commitments, so follow the general guidelines of exercising 3 to 4 times a week and at least three hours before bedtime. If you hit the gym after work, make sure it is straight after work and you allow time to wind down, or chose a gentler class or programme.

It is possible to do a workout later in the evening, but these need to be calming exercises such as gentle yoga, pilates and stretches which all help your body relax and unwind before sleep. Care needs to be taken with choosing these exercises as some types of yoga can actually be dynamic and quite aerobic, so discuss this with your gym instructor or trainer in to how appropriate your chosen activity is for aiding sleep.

I have seen an improvement in my sleep since joining a gym over a year ago. I prefer to go during the daytime and the only evening time class I do is a yoga based one, which though I feel slightly invigorated immediately after the class, I also feel relaxed and sleep well a couple of hours later.

As with any type of exercise, please consult your doctor before taking up any exercise if you haven't exercised in a while or are over weight.

Sweet dreams.

Does the way you sleep show your personality?

Though there have been recent studies into sleep positions and personality traits  (one commissioned by a hotel chain), I believe things are a little more complex than the results claim. For me - I can go through several sleep positions in one night, especially when I was an insomniac, does this make me a mix of all the personality types? Who knows!

So - for a little bit of fun here are the results!

Fetal position
Sleeping curled up on your side.
Said to show a need to destress by reverting back to a stress free time when in the uterus. The more tightly curled up you are, the more stressed you are. Can be difficult to get to know, but very sociable with family and friends.

Yearner
Again lying on your side but more open and you have your arms stretched out in front of you, as if 'yearning' for something.
Said to show a confident nature, with a hint of suspicion. May take a long time to come to a decision but then will not change their minds.

Log
Lying on your side with your ams and legs in a straight line.
An open and sociable person but can be too trusting with others.

Starfish
Lying on your back, arms and legs spread.
Listeners bit so they can give advice, often believe themselves to be king or queen in their environment.

Solider
Lying on your back, straight legs and arms alongside your body.
Reserved and introverted, don't like giving things away. They have high standards of themselves and are perfectionists and can be hard on themselves.

Freefaller
Lying on your front, head to one side, normally with legs spread and arms wrapped round a pillow.
A good listener who is open to new ideas. Tends to be someone who stays in the background. Can feel like life is happening around them and they are hanging on for the ride.

Does your sleep position match your personality? Please let me know!
Remember this is just for fun.

Sweet dreams

Do you have a sleep bank?

A while ago I wrote about sleep debt its affect on day to day life. This time I want to introduce the idea of a sleep bank, where you can 'deposit' sleep hours before a busy week.

Studies have shown that there are benefits for accumulating sleep - Volunteers were split into two groups and one group slept normally for a week and the other accumulated sleep, both groups then had a week of sleep deprivation and only slept 3 hours a night. Those who had accumulated extra sleep performed better at mental and physical tasks, even towards the end of the week.

This is useful information for those in extreme circumstances such as soldiers before a big military operation but how can we use it in day to day life?

If you know that you are going to have a busy week - exams, traveling abroad for work, a relative with a scheduled operation etc, then you can plan to sleep an extra half hour to an hour each night the week before. You can also bank extra time through naps (but remember to keep them to early afternoon).
Try and keep to a regular routine and accumulate your extra sleep by going to bed early rather than lying in late, as you do not want to disturb your night time sleep. It is better to go to bed half an hour early each night, than have a lie-in for two hours one morning.

If you have children with a busy schedule of exams coming up, then ensure they go to bed early in the days leading up to the exams as anxiety and last minute studying may hinder sleep the night before.

If you are a competitive athlete and have been training for a big run or event then banking your sleep may help give you that edge on race day.

Going away for the weekend but will be sleeping a strange (and possibly uncomfortable) bed or be burning the candle at both ends for a weekend city break? Then planning your sleep ahead will help you make the most of your time away.

However please bear in mind that just like a bank account - if you already have a sleep debt, then trying to bank sleep will not work in your favour as you will still be repaying your debt!

Sweet dreams!

Teenagers and sleep

The other night I did an overnight babysit and the apartment had the heating programmed to be on all night. I found it way to hot to sleep and seemed to spend the entire night adjusting the radiator and opening/closing the window.

I did only get about 2 hours sleep - and it was in two different blocks. I got the children up and took them to school and returned home and straight to bed.
I have not slept that badly for years and when thinking about it I remembered that this was my norm when I was a teenager. In those days I would sleep for about 2 hours one night and then the next night about 5 hours, and kept repeating this two night pattern until I went to the doctor about my sleep.

Seeing how tired I felt the other morning, and how I was incapable of doing anything other than going to bed made me reflect on how this must have affected my studies at school and college. Nowadays if I do an IQ test I'm up around 140, yet my school teachers thought I wasn't coping with the work. Some of this was due my dyslexia (which is fortunately much better understood these days) but I now think that my insomnia severely affected my studies.
When revising for my A levels I would spread all my books around my room, and because my Mum would leave me alone 'to study', I would end up with droopy eyelids and falling asleep. I ended up with average results.

So, what to yo do if you are a teenager, or a parent of a teenager with sleep problems?

Firstly teenagers sleep is naturally different from an adults and they become Night Owls and naturally go to bed later, finding it hard to sleep before 11pm. They need at least 9 hours sleep and some need more. School and college hours mean that they are not getting enough sleep.

In order to help try and establish a good evening routine that means homework is finished earlier in the evening, allowing time to unwind before bed.
Encourage having a shower or bath before bed, to send sleep triggers to the brain.
Have a no screen time guideline for the last hour before bed, this includes ipads, laptops, smart phones etc.
Reduce the amount of caffeine in the diet  remember a lot of soda drinks contain caffeine.
Encourage regular sleeping hours to train the body to sleep but do allow for a small lie-ins at the weekend/holidays for catch up.
Strategic napping can help - as long as it is not for too long nor too close to bedtime.
Make the bedrooms as sleep inducing as possible.
Encourage plenty of exercise - again earlier in the day and at least 3 hours before bedtime.

Discuss sleep with your teenager like an adult. Telling them they need to sleep more and enforcing strict rules may well end in resentment and a lack of co-operation. Give them the facts about sleep and how important it is and what the benefits are. Also point out that getting enough sleep helps with weight control and skin conditions such as acne. Let them come to realise the impotence of sleep themselves. Ask if they want to keep a sleep diary to track the amount that they are getting.

Remember - if you treat sleep and sleep issues with respect, encourage discussion and ask them what they would like to do to improve their sleep, they are far more likely to take it on.

Keep an eye on their sleep patterns and if you suspect that their lack of sleep goes beyond normal teenage patterns then get an appointment with their doctor and discuss the possibility of other sleep problems such as insomnia or sleep apnea.

If you have any concerns and want to discuss them further then please contact me for a free consultation.

Too hot or too cold to sleep?

A sudden dip in the temperatures across Europe and a snowfall last night and it seems like the right time to write this post.

I woke up in the middle of the night the other night and couldn't get back to sleep for a while. I then realised that I was slightly cold. I didn't feel cold in that I was shivering, or my hands and feet were like ice blocks, but just slightly cold. I pulled a blanket on top of my duvet and was asleep within 10 minutes, just that little bit of extra warmth making the difference.

There is a very narrow range for an optimum temperature in the sleep environment for humans, which is between 18 and 22°c (65 - 72°F). The body temperature dips at night to allow sleep and so being in a cooler environment helps the body achieve this. However if it is too cold, then your body is working to warm you up and therefore makes it difficult to sleep.
I was brought up in a home were central heating was sparsely used, so prefer a cooler sleep environment. I find it difficult sleeping in houses were there is 24 hour heating (which happens a lot in Europe with communal heating for a block of flats).
Of course if you were brought up or live in a warmer environment/climate you become used to higher temperatures, but when temperatures fluctuate over the year, you need to try and keep the bedroom temperature as steady as possible.

Here are some good sleep hygiene practices for the different seasons -

In Winter
- keep the thermostat cooler in the bedrooms (radiator thermostats help with this) or turn the temperature down half an hour before going to bed.
- try experimenting with layering - using different tog duvets and blankets as well as warmer bedclothes, pyjamas and bedsocks!
- when your partner has different needs, try using separate duvets or perhaps sharing a duvet and one partner having a light blanket over them as well.

In Summer
- keep the room as cool as possible during the day, closing the curtains to keep out the sun, blackout blinds etc.
- use a fan to keep the air circulating and put a container of frozen water in front of a fan
- avoid memory foam pillows as these can heat up the body.
- turn off or remove all unnecessary equipment, as these can heat up a room, even incandescent lightbulbs can heat up a room!
- if you use it, check the air-con is not too low, as too much of a drop can make it too cold to sleep.

Here in France the temperature can fluctuate between overnight lows of -12°C to overnight highs of 35°C, so over the year I employ many different techniques to try and maintain the best sleeping environment, in winter I have a fleecy undersheet, high tog duvet, blanket and sometimes a hot water bottle. This all gradually reduces to a sheet and fan in the high Summer.

If you're not sleeping too well then take a look at the temperature in your sleep environment and see if there anything you can change to get a better night's sleep.

Sweet dreams!