Sleep is as important for survival as food and water, says Dr Maria Pertl, chartered health psychologist and certified lifestyle medicine practitioner.
“If we haven’t had a good night’s sleep, we can’t pay attention to things properly and we have trouble focusing. We tend to be more irritable as our mood fluctuates,” she explains.
While Dr Pertl outlines the important physical and mental health benefits of sleep – everything from cell repair to protecting the body from infections, consolidating learning and long term memories – she emphasises how we shouldn’t worry if we miss a bit of sleep from time to time. “Worrying about not getting enough sleep is counterproductive as the body isn’t able to relax. Aiming to rest and not necessarily to get to sleep can be helpful.”
Dr Richard Costello, consultant in respiratory and sleep medicine at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin and professor of respiratory medicine at the Department of Medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland (RCSI) suggests “sleep restriction” as a counterintuitive tip to getting a good night’s sleep. “It’s about not getting into bed and having a fight with yourself about [struggling to get to sleep]. Go to bed when you are really tired and you won’t be fretting, tossing and turning in bed.”
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And while he acknowledges that depression, anxiety, dementia and some medicines (eg corticosteroids) and stimulants (alcohol and caffeine) can disrupt sleep, he advises people to get out of bed if they can’t sleep. “Do something dull and repetitive or read a book and then go back to bed.”
Dr Pertl says listening to a classical fiction audiobook has been really effective at helping her get to sleep. “It stops me thinking of things that keep me awake but the quiet, calm voice is not too engaging so I fall asleep quickly,” she says.
Dr Pertl and Dr Costello are two of the three experts contributing to Tuesday’s episode of the online RCSI My Health series, Sleep through the Lifecycle – the final episode of the online public health advice series.
Sleep physiologist Motty Varghese, the third expert on the panel, describes middle-of-the-night wakefulness as being like “having a meeting with yourself at 2.30am”, going over thoughts about work, family and other things.
Instead, he suggests sitting down at 6.30pm to “put your day to bed” so that you don’t bring those thoughts with you to bed. “Do some journaling – gratitude about your day, your to-do list and rationalise your anxieties about the day at this meeting with yourself at 6.30pm instead,” he says. He also recommends relaxation practices before bed and having a consistent time to go to bed and get up at.
All three experts agree that stopping any activity on a smartphone an hour before bedtime is conducive to a good night’s sleep.
