The amount of sleep you get and the quality of your sleep have a huge impact on your mental and physical health. What can you do to ensure that you’re getting enough truly restful sleep? At Cottonwood, in Tucson, Arizona, we want to help answer that question.
Sleep matters, and chronic sleep loss is linked to increased risk of:
- Depression
- Hypertension
- Poor immune system functioning
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Paranoia
- Mood swings
- Certain cancers
- Dementia
- Stroke
- Early death
How Much Sleep We Need
Each person is different, and the amount of sleep we need does also vary by age. In general, for optimal health, the suggestion is:
- Babies: 12-16 hours
- Toddlers: 11-14 hours
- Preschoolers: 10-13 hours
- School-aged children: 9-12 hours
- Teenagers: 8-10 hours
- Adults: 7-9 hours
Following Good Sleep Hygiene
Sleep hygiene is the set of habits a person can follow in order to ensure that they get adequate rest. It includes choices that you can make from the moment that you wake up and throughout your day that make a difference in how you will sleep later that night. Some examples include:
- Get some sunshine early in the day. Go outside, open the blinds, and sit near the window or turn on a lightbox for at least 20 minutes each morning, to help your internal clock stay on track with daytime versus nighttime. In the evening, turn off bright lights in favor of dim lamps.
- Being mindful of what you are eating and when. Going to bed hungry or eating a large, heavy, or spicy meal too close to bedtime can make it difficult to sleep. Try to eat a well-balanced diet that is low in saturated fats and sugar and finish eating a few hours before your bedtime.
- Limiting alcohol and caffeine. Both of these substances can interfere with sleep. Too much caffeine or caffeine too late in the day can make it difficult to fall asleep. While drinking alcohol might make you feel tired, it can still have a negative impact on the quality of your sleep and cause you to wake up later in the night and have difficulty falling back asleep.
- Being physically active. Exercise promotes better sleep, especially when you do it outdoors. Make sure not to work out too close to bed, though. You want to wrap up your physical activity at least two hours before bedtime.
- Limiting naps. Try to avoid naps if possible or keep them short and early in the day.
- Turning off screens. The blue light from smartphones, televisions, computers and tablets can confuse your internal clock by making your brain think it is daytime. In addition, if you tend to get emotionally wound up by what you’re seeing on these devices, you may find it harder to fall asleep, so turn off notifications for social media and work emails to avoid the temptation to read things that are better left for morning.
- Having a routine. Train your brain to recognize that it is time for sleep by developing a ritual that you follow every night. If you use the last hour or two of your evening to wind down with a book, meditation, a bath, or other relaxing pursuits, your brain will get used to these things signaling that sleep comes next. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on holidays and weekends.
- Maintaining a sleep sanctuary. The ideal location for sleeping is not too warm or cold, ideally around 60-67 degrees Fahrenheit for most people. Furnished with a mattress and pillows that are comfortable and kept dark by wearing a sleep mask or hanging blackout drapes. Keep the space quiet and reserve the bedroom for only sleep and sex.
- Addressing medical and mental health conditions. Not only can lack of sleep cause health issues, but there are health problems that can disrupt your sleep or decrease the quality of rest you’re getting. It’s important to stay on top of these conditions to ensure they don’t interfere with your sleep: anxiety, depression, sleep apnea, asthma, arthritis, restless leg syndrome, menopause, or Parkinson’s disease.
- Talk to your doctor about medications that could be interfering with your sleep. Certain prescription and over-the-counter medications can cause sleep disturbances. If you’re having trouble sleeping or getting good quality sleep, talk to your doctor about using medications such as decongestants, steroids, pain relievers, heart and blood pressure meds, or stimulants.
At Cottonwood, we take a whole-person approach to treating behavioral health struggles. We understand that our clients’ mental, physical, and spiritual well-being are all interconnected, and we address all of these areas in our holistic treatment program.
