The good sleep guide

THE GOOD SLEEP GUIDE

Promoting better sleep inspires, energises and elevates.

Sleep in Numbers 1 IN 3

Lack of sleep costs the UK economy

£40.3 billion every year

due to loss of productivity in the workplace.

£40.3bn

200,000 working days are lost

every year in the UK due to insufficient sleep

Regular poor sleep puts you at risk of serious medical conditions

are affected by insomnia in the UK –with stress, computers and taking work home often blamed , including obesity, heart disease and diabetes –and it shortens your life expectancy

Adults who sleep less than 7 hours a day are 30% more likely to be obese than those who sleep for 9 hours or more.

Adults who sleep fewer than 6 hours a night have a 13% higher mortality risk than adults who sleep at least 7 hrs.

[Sources: NHS, Business in the Community]

Causes of Sleep Deprivation

There are many reasons why people do not sleep enough or suffer from a broken night’s sleep, which causes them to suffer tiredness the following day:

Working day/week:

The 24/7 economy requires many of us to work longer hours than a generation ago. Despite formal working hours remaining similar, we now find it harder to disconnect from work because of our mobile devices

Stress:

Work-related stress can have an adverse impact on sleep, particularly at times of change or uncertainty Some stress can be positive, but stress that is persistent over longer periods is detrimental.

Work relationships:

Work is central to many people’s lives, and relationships with colleagues have a significant bearing on wellbeing

A difficult relationship with a line manager or bullying by colleagues can cause stress and disrupts sleep.

Mental health:

There is a close relationship between sleep and mental health. Living with a mental health problem can affect how well you sleep and poor sleep can have a negative impact on mental health

Financial:

Money problems can cause anxiety, which leads to sleep deprivation

Using TV’s, tablets, smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices before bed delays yourbody’s internal clock, suppresses the release of the sleepinducing hormone, and makes it more difficult to fall asleep.

This is largely due to the short-wavelength, artificial blue light that’s emitted by these devices. The more electronic devices that a person uses in the evening, the harder it is to fall asleep or stay asleep.

After spending an entire day surrounded by technology, your mind needs time to unwind. Bedrooms are supposed to be a place of rest but are increasingly filled with these digital distractions. Digital Awareness UK recommend a nightly "digital detox", putting mobile devices away for 90 minutes before lights out.

One good substitution is reading. Reading an old-fashioned, printed book, magazine or newspaper under lamplight is a great choice. Using an e-ink e-reader (like the Kindle Paperwhite) is also a good idea, because it doesn't produce the same type of blue light that a smartphone or tablet would

Understanding How We Sleep

We all have a ‘sleep-wake cycle’, known as a Circadian rhythm It’s a biological programme tied to time, like an internal clock, which tells us when to go to bed and when to wake up.

Sleep occurs in a recurring cycle of 90 to 110 minutes and is divided into two categories: non-rapid eye movement (nonREM), which has four stages and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

NON-REM SLEEP

Light Sleep

True Sleep

–Within ten minutes of light sleep, we enter stage two, which lasts around 20 minutes (accounting for the largest part of sleep). The breathing pattern and heart rate start to slow down

Deep Sleep

During stage three, the brain begins to produce delta waves, a type of wave that is large (high amplitude) and slow (low frequency) Breathing and heart rate are at their lowest levels.

Deep Sleep

–During the first stage, we ’ re half awake and half asleep Our muscle activity slows down and slight twitching may occur. We can be awakened easily at this stage 1 2 3 4

- Stage four is characterised by rhythmic breathing and limited muscle activity If we are awakened during deep sleep, we do not adjust immediately and often feel groggy and disoriented for several minutes after waking up

REM SLEEP

The first REM period usually begins 70 to 90 minutes after we fall asleep Although we are not conscious, the brain is very active –often more so than when we are awake and this is when most dreams occur. Our eyes dart around, our breathing rate and blood pressure rise and our bodies are effectively paralysed After REM sleep, the whole cycle begins again.

The Three Elements of Good Sleep

1. DURATION

The length of sleep should be sufficient for the sleeper to be rested and alert the following day.

NHS guidelines say that, for most, eight hours of good-quality sleep a night is required to function properly –but some people need more and some people need less The key is to work out how many hours you need and then try to achieve it each night

2. CONTINUITY

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Sleep periods should be seamless without fragmentation.

Waking up often throughout the night not only makes you tired, but affects your physical and mental health

•Your brain isn’t as sharp –cognitive ability and attention span suffer

•You can’t remember things –it’s much harder to learn new skills or commit what you have recently learned to memory

•Harmful proteins don’t get cleared away –amyloid proteins, linked to Alzheimer’s disease, builds up in the brain

•You become a grump –you get a lot crankier the next day and chances of developing depression increase

3. DEPTH

Sleep should be deep enough to be restorative.

Improving Sleep Quality

If you find yourself feeling tired day after day, despite feeling like you ’ ve slept fairly well, there are some simple tricks to help:

Switch off your phone

Stay away from your phone or laptop for at least an hour before bed You could even set a ‘wind down’ reminder to alert you of when it’s time to begin your night time routine.

Swap out your afternoon coffee

Opt for a relaxing caffeine-free tea such as peppermint or chamomile.

Stick to a bedtime

Bedtimes aren’t just for kids Stick with the same sleep and waking time every day –even at the weekend –to get into a good habit.

Listen to a sleep story or meditation

Apps such as Calm provide guided meditations to help you drift off naturally

Exercise every day

Even a brisk walk will help your body prepare for a good night’s rest and recovery. But be careful to not exercise just before bed.

Find a bed that works for you

Make sure to do lots of research to find your ideal mattress and pillows.

Figure out how much sleep you need

Then only spend that amount of time in bed One way that you can do this is through keeping a sleep diary and rating your mood and performance on the following day.

The Business Case for Good Sleep

The number of hours the average person sleeps has been in decline for the past few decades

, but its impact on economic performance has received little attention. Yet we know that sleep quality has an important influence on our cognitive functions.

But we all know that, if we have a bad night’s sleep, the next day we ’ re just not at our best.We are often more irritable, find it hard to concentrate or don’t perform as well as usual

Not getting enough sleep is likely to affect our performance at work.

One study, carried out by Rand Europe, concluded that the economic cost of tired employees being less productive or absent from work altogether amounted to almost 2% of GDP. In the UK, this equates to at least a £30 billion a year loss, attributed to lower productivity levels and higher mortality rates

Separately, a study published by the London School of Economics Centre for Economic Performance in 2017 found that a

one-hour reduction in sleep duration adversely affects the number of hours worked and household income.

The causes of sleep deprivation or poor quality sleep are often outside the workplace but the effects are felt at work and may impair an employee’s ability to carry out their duties day to day, and ultimately have an impact on their overall performance.

31 Days to Better Sleep

Go for a short walk before bed and look up at the sky

Listen to a sleep story or meditation tonight

Set yourself a bedtime for tonight and stick to it

Dim the lights and light some candles before bed

Go outside to do your exercise today

Make relaxing plans with a good friend

7 19 3 16

Do something to make your sleeping space more relaxing

Reach out to someone who inspires you and tell them

Do something that will help you feel more organised

Delight your senses with lovely smells and sounds

Stay hydrated and notice how it improves your sleep

Meditate on your bed before going to sleep

Unwind with a relaxation body scan meditation

Pay attention to the rise and fall of your breath

14 11 29

Go to bed listening to a Sleep Music track

Spray some lavender on your pillow before bed

Do something playful that nourishes you

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Notice how the foods you eat impact on your energy levels

Imagine you are somewhere calm and relaxing

Read your favourite poem before you go to bed

Design your own relaxing bedtime ritual or routine

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Try a meditation that you ’ ve never done

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Unwind with a muscle relaxation scan meditation

Take note of how you spend your time before bed

Turn down your screen brightness at night

Skip your afternoon caffeine hit

Detox from tech at least an hour before bed

Cuddle up with a book instead of watching TV before bed

[Sources: Calm] 9

For more information on World Sleep Day visit worldsleepday.orgwhere you can find a range of information and resources to help you understand and improve your sleep.

Promoting better sleep inspires, energisesand elevates.