5 easy ways to better sleep

Sleeping is such a natural part of your daily life that it’s often taken for granted. For as long as you sleep, that’s okay, right?

Wrong. Dr. Keith Aguilera, an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor, and the current Center Head for the Comprehensive Sleep Disorder Center of St. Luke’s Medical Center Taguig and Quezon City, says we don’t appreciate a good night’s sleep as much as we should do.

“You exercise, eat, and sleep. We take sleep for granted most of the time, but it actually does a lot of things in our body. You waste a third of your life if you don’t sleep well. It shortens your life, and your quality of life suffers.” 

Wanting to get a better night’s sleep ASAP? Try below for size.

Image: Jannielyn Ann Bigtas/GMA News

1. Go for quality, not just quantity

Dr. Aguilera says that while around seven hours a day is ideal for adults, the number of hours differs per age and need. It’s really a matter of getting quality sleep. “This should be uninterrupted sleep. You should wake up at the same time everyday, it should be consistent even on weekends, to help set your ‘biological clock’,” he adds.

SleepScienzzz, a sleep analytics and solutions company, says, “Our time in bed is practically determined by our social commitments and work schedule. The best time to be in bed varies from one person to the next.

"If you’re a 'morning person' which means your alertness peaks in the morning, you’ll probably sleep early at night. If you’re an 'evening person' which means your alertness peaks at night, you’ll probably sleep late at night or past midnight. Most of us will fall in between these two extremes.”

To help find the right window of time to sleep right for you, head to bed on the same time everyday, but move your alarm to go off 5 minutes earlier. Keep on adding five minutes everyday. On the day when you wake up feeling not as refreshed as the previous day, take note of the timeframe you slept during the previous day—that might be your optimum sleeping hours.

2. Get some sun

Your body clock is wired to know that when the sun is out, you should be out and about, too. When light hits your eyes, humans automatically feel more awake. “Get light exposure during the day, but minimize it during the night, or else it will push your sleep time,” Dr. Aguilera says.

Spend a few moments under the sun sans sunglasses, and keep the blinds or curtains drawn back to let the light in. 

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3. Watch what you eat a few hours before bedtime

Alcohol might make you feel sleepy at first, but as soon as it hits your system, it wakes you up, interrupting your sleep. As such, Dr. Aguilera suggests avoiding alcohol and smoking 4-6 hours before bedtime.

Anything with caffeine must be stopped after lunch, too. “Speaking of food, don’t eat heavy or sugary food for dinner, because your body will take time to digest it, and might keep you up because of it. Don’t drink too many liquids either, or else you might wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, and you’ll have trouble going back to sleep.”

4. Sneak in some regular exercise

The many benefits of exercise extend to helping get a good night’s sleep. While it’s better to get it in the morning or afternoon, doing a simple yoga routine or a few simple stretches two hours before bedtime will still be okay.

5. Keep the bed off limits for everything but for sleeping and sex

Dr. Aguilera says to relax an hour before bedtime, and that activities in bed should be limited to sleeping and sex—everything else, including using gadgets with backlight, should be avoided. “No work either when bed. No clock watching, it might make you feel anxious.” Dr. Aguilera says.

Dr. Aguilera notes that if your lack of quality sleep is interfering with your daily activities, that’s when you should perhaps consult with a specialist. “Some sleep problems go away. But when it starts having a toll on your daytime function, or you’re snoring a lot, or it affects your work schedule, family, quality of life, that’s probably the best time to see us.” 

SleepScienzzz adds that if one of the three elements of a good night’s sleep is disrupted, it might turn into a sleep disorder.

“According to the World Sleep Association, a good night’s sleep should have three elements—duration, continuity, and depth. It’s possible that you may have spent eight or more hours in bed, but you may still feel not refreshed upon waking up. This is because your sleep could be fragmented, lacking in depth, or both.”

There are around 80 known sleep disorders, with some, like Narcolepsy, the ability to go into REM (Rapid Eye Movement) cycle or a deep sleep faster than others, is genetic. It can also be anatomical, or a congenital defect. “Sometimes it’s a small chin, too big nostrils, an obstruction in the nose, or immature airways.” Dr. Aguilera explains.

The Comprehensive Sleep Disorder Center of St. Luke’s Medical Center, founded by Sleep Medicine pioneer Dr. Felicidad Soto, has several “sleep doctors” on board to address sleep disorders.

“If you suspect you have a sleep disorder, you come in, you see one of the sleep doctors, then we observe your sleep for at least two weeks through a sleep diary. When you come back, we evaluate what to do, and sometimes we request for a sleep study. A sleep study is our sleep lab. It’s a room where we ask patients to sleep overnight, and then we gather information from their sleep. Breathing, brain movement, chin movement, how loud you snore, an ECG, oxygen saturation, everything. It’s both video and audio.”

SleepScienzzz also has a network of doctors; mostly sleep specialists, to help those with sleep disorders. “If your sleeping problems are bothersome, ensure that you first observe proper sleep hygiene. If they persist and become too bothersome, you can see your primary care physician who will just recommend simple strategies to combat your sleep troubles. For something more serious, they can refer you to the right specialist.”

The first step to getting good, quality shuteye is as simple as giving sleep the same importance as eating well and exercising regularly. Remember, a third of your life is spent sleeping, so make the most out of that part of your life by sleeping well. — LA, GMA News