How to Experience the Best Quality Sleep

GOOD NIGHT AND SWEET DREAMS, FOR REAL THIS TIME

Despite all the recommendations, advice, and information available on how to get the best quality sleep, there’s still no single answer on how to achieve it. In this article we will keep it practical and straightforward and wish you the best in your pursuit of it.

WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO GO TO SLEEP FOR OPTIMAL HEALTH

The best time to go to sleep for optimal health is the hour of the night that you feel most sleepy. It’s your body’s straightforward manner of telling you that it’s time to rest. Don’t ignore that message.

WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO WAKE UP FOR OPTIMAL HEALTH?

It is best to wake up within the first few hours of sunlight where possible as your mind and body take cues from the surrounding environment like sunrise and sunset. Sunrise, or specifically sunlight, signals your body to wake up naturally and your body has a circadian rhythm that it follows, which roughly coincides with sunrise and sunset.

It is essential to point out that the ideal times to go to bed and wake up will differ among individuals. Several factors will affect your typical sleep time, like your age, genetics, work schedule, and sleep patterns. The main goal for you is consistency in the number of sleep hours you get and to wake up at a set time (using your alarm clock) every day. Consistency in these two things will aid in regulating your sleep cycle and determine the right time for you to go to sleep at night.

There is an easy solution to finding out your OWN best time to go to sleep and wake up. Most of us reading this article are adults who have responsibilities, tasks, and jobs that require things to be accomplished or done at definite times. As a result, you need to wake up at a designated time to do those things. That’s your anchor point, your time to wake up. Your time to go to bed will be calculated using your required hours of sleep (based on your age) from the required time to wake up. A study published in the Scientific Reports Journal (2016), revealed that a consistent wake-up time coupled with a similar sleep duration per night resulted in increased productivity among students.

For example, you’re a 35-year-old adult who needs to get to work by 7 a.m. To achieve your recommended 9 hours of sleep based on your age (see below), you’re required to go to bed by 10 p.m. Doing this routine consistently will program your body when to feel sleepy and prepare for bed gradually. Your body will adapt to an earlier time for you to become sleepy. Naturally You have to give yourself the chance to be sleepy, so, set aside that mobile phone, tablet or whatever bright screen you’re looking at to assist that process.

What about on weekends and holidays? Don’t oversleep on these days. Stick to an hour or two within your typical wake-up time. This will help avoid feeling groggy the following week. Oversleeping can contribute to the development of heart disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, obesity, headaches and even depression.

HOW LONG SHOULD YOU SLEEP? SLEEP DURATION RECOMMENDATIONS FOR AUSTRALIANS AND NEW ZEALANDERS

The sleep duration recommendations for Australians and New Zealanders are based on the US National Sleep Foundation guidelines published in 2015 in their Sleep Health Journal. Too much sleep falls under the not recommended column.

As a person grows older, less sleep duration is required. The number of hours listed here should only serve as a guide. Don’t lose sleep focusing too much on the numbers.

WHICH STAGES OF SLEEP ARE THE MOST ESSENTIAL? HOW CAN YOU GET MORE OF THEM?

For a detailed description of the stages and types of sleep, click here. To make it short, there are four stages of sleep:

1. Stage 1 Non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep
2. Stage 2 NREM sleep
3. Stage 3 NREM sleep
4. Stage 4 Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep

During sleep, you typically progress through the three stages of NREM sleep before entering REM sleep. This progression (or cycle) is repeated three to four times every night. So, which of these stages of sleep are the most essential?




To be clear, all stages of sleep are important and needed for good quality sleep but stage 3 NREM sleep and stage 4 REM sleep are the most essential. Stage 3 NREM sleep is also called deep sleep. Researchers and sleep experts believe this stage is critical because it permits your body to recover and grow, boost your immune system, and contribute to insightful thinking, memory formation, and creativity.




REM sleep (stage 4) is equally as significant as stage 3 because it’s likewise believed to be critical in learning, creativity, memory and retention, as well as other cognitive functions. It’s also the stage where you dream the most.




Not getting enough of stages 3 and 4 may lead to difficulty concentrating, unstable emotions, and poor physical health.

Unfortunately you can’t handpick a sleep stage, you don’t have that kind of control. You have to go through the first two stages to enter stage 3 and stage 4 correctly. Skipping or not going through a stage can lead to sleep disturbances or, worse, sleep disorders. The best way to get more of these two essential stages is to go through a healthier sleep cycle. Below are some tips on how to have a healthier sleep cycle:

1. Improve your sleep hygiene. Sleep hygiene refers to the environment in which you sleep, including your pillow, bedsheet, mattress, or any other intervention used to help you sleep better i.e. that favourite teddy bear (shhh).
2. Be consistent in your sleep schedule. Follow the recommended number of sleep hours based on your age.
3. Lessen or, better yet, avoid alcohol. Alcohol lessens REM sleep early in your slumber, and as the alcohol wears off, REM sleep goes into a rebound, further disrupting the balance in your sleep.
4. Expose yourself to sunlight. Let your body naturally appreciate nature’s clock so that your own internal clock (circadian rhythm) can sync seamlessly with your environment.
5. Turn off lights and decrease noise in your sleeping environment to ensure uninterrupted sleep. A cooler temperature inside the room is better suited for sleeping than a warmer one.
6. Follow a healthy diet and exercise program.
7. Try meditation or mindfulness before going to sleep to help you relax your mind and prepare it for sleep.
8. Who drinks coffee right before going to bed? Nobody. Try milk or tea (caffeine-free and no sugar added) instead.
9. If you have a partner that snores (or you snore), do something about it. There are several snoring remedies available.
10. Consult your primary healthcare provider if you feel or think you may have a sleep problem or disorder.

So to recap, the best time to go to sleep for optimal health is the hour of the night that you feel most sleepy. The best time to wake up is within the first few hours from sunrise. To establish these two timings, determine your wake-up time first and utilise that to formulate your appropriate bedtime with the required number of sleep hours based on your age (refer to our graph above).

Maintain consistency in your wake-up time. Both stage 3 NREM sleep and stage 4 REM sleep are equally significant to achieve the best quality sleep. There you have it, the foundation on how to experience the best quality sleep. Maybe tonight, you’ll remember what it feels like to sleep like a baby. Baa, baa, black sheep, have you any wool? Zzz…