We all know sleep is the key to better wellbeing, with regular sustained rest supporting both good physical and mental health. But actually getting enough rest isn’t always easy. These 11 stories are full of expert advice to help you get a good night’s sleep.
11 ways to get better sleep: The best stories from our experts
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Struggling to get to enough sleep? These 11 stories are full of expert advice to help you get back to a better routine. Photo / 123rf
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That makes it tougher to concentrate, problem-solve, think creatively and act decisively, which can spell disaster at work - imagine trying to operate heavy machinery or drive a truck.
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Fatigue is a factor in hundreds of road crashes each year.
It also affects the hormones that regulate our appetite, making us more likely to reach for those heavy, carb-loaded foods that pack on the kilograms.
Chronic poor sleep comes with big risks: Heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, depression and anxiety among them.
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The four types of sleepers – and how each one can affect your health
Ask a person how they sleep and they’ll divide themselves into one of two camps: they sleep well, or they don’t.
While those in the first group get into bed, wake up, carry on, and don’t even think about the dark bit in between, those in the second group suffer with the fallout of broken nights. Waking up exhausted, they struggle to think clearly, mainline on coffee and carbs, and spend all day craving the next bedtime, where the cycle might repeat.
But according to a groundbreaking new American study released in March, it’s more complex than falling into one of these two sleep camps.
The reason why midults can’t sleep as soundly – or as long – as teenagers
As the years creep up on us, hours of blissful sleep may seem more attractive – and elusive – than ever, writes Jenny Tucker
The older I get, the more I love my bed. It’s not unusual to find me propped against the pillows at 8.30pm, ready to decompress and nestle down for the night’s duration. My late mother’s words ring in my head: “You’ll be desperate to get into your bed one day!” She was right. I am.
So I was nothing less than intrigued when I recently read that actress Dakota Johnson likes to sleep for up to 14 hours a night. She says sleeping is her number one priority and gives her greater clarity in life. She also partakes in transcendental meditation and enjoys a bath at any time of the day – this woman knows a thing or two about keeping things chilled.
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‘Sleep maths’: The best pillow, duvet and bedroom colour for you
You’re not still suffering from bad sleep are you? Insomnia is so 2023. In 2024, there’s an app for that. Or an orthopaedic mattress. Or a light-therapy lamp...
“The sleep economy has increased dramatically in recent years,” says Dr Guy Meadows, founder and clinical director of Sleep School, an organisation that supports people struggling with sleep. In fact, it is predicted to grow steadily at 6 per cent a year and be worth a dreamy £120 billion (about NZ$247b) in 2030. Some of these products have been helpful, says Meadows. Others have simply created more confusion. We are now lying awake at night, worrying about sleep solutions, and making New Year’s resolutions to get more shut-eye.
In truth, there is rarely one solution, says Meadows. No single memory foam mattress, mindfulness app or white noise machine is likely to wave a magic wand. But do not despair: “More often than not, it is the application of lots of small, daily, gentle sleep habits over time,” says Meadows. The little things add up. Regular routines, less stress and more self-compassion are, of course, key. Sleep School’s own app aims to help with this, but “your bedroom environment also plays a key role in the quality of your sleep”, Meadows says.
How to control your dreams - and solve problems while you sleep
Train your sleeping brain and you can transform your life, says the neurosurgeon Dr Rahul Jandial.
Have you ever had a nervous dream ahead of an exam or a job interview? Or a nightmare about arriving at work without your clothes on? It may be unpleasant at the time — but this nocturnal torture session could actually put you at an advantage.
When you dream, says the neurosurgeon Dr Rahul Jandial, your brain works in a way it simply never does in waking hours. “It’s [dreams’] very wildness that gives them the potential to be transformative,” he writes in his new book, This Is Why You Dream.
Dreaming has several important functions. It helps us mull over what we’ve learnt in our waking life, reshuffling our memories and thoughts to allow us to interpret them in a new light — which may explain why French research found that students who dream about an exam in advance score 20 per cent higher when they sit down to take it. And it can act as a night-time therapy session. The classic anxiety dream about turning up somewhere naked has a purpose: according to research by the University of California, Berkeley, we may feel less fear of embarrassing experiences the night after having such a dream.
Why your pillow is ruining your sleep – and how to fix it
Choosing the perfect pillow for your body and sleep position could significantly improve your health.
A general rule in life: if something seems too good to be true, it usually is. And in hindsight, the £10 ($20) I forked out for an anti-snoring pillow last summer would have been better spent on scratch cards. Still, it seemed like an opportunity too good to miss. A tiny price to pay to give my wife respite and to save me from sleep divorce.
Alas the Silent Night it promised never materialised and I am now frequently banished to the naughty room. The pillow meanwhile is in a landfill somewhere, along with countless others I imagine, purchased by people who were sold a dream. A mass grave full of broken sleep.
James Leinhardt sympathises. He is a sleep posture expert who advises chronically ill patients, athletes and the critically injured on sleep posture and runs Levitex, a mattress and pillow company.
“The industry is unregulated and some companies prey on the vulnerable. If you are in pain and can’t sleep, or your relationship is in trouble because of snoring and you’re then told of a pillow that will solve all your problems, you are an easy target,” he says.
Do you need a sleep consultant to help your baby get into a routine?
Hannah Anderson is so “disgustingly A-type” she got in touch with a sleep consultant before she even had a baby.
The business development manager and husband Jack had decided she would return to work when the new baby was about five months old, so sleep was vital for the whole family.
“I love being a mum but I also love my job and the way it makes me feel,” Hannah says. “I take my hat off to stay-at-home mums because that is hard work, but for me to be the best mum, I needed to be back in the office.”
When Fiadh arrived towards the end of 2022, she was a fairly good sleeper, only waking “three or four times a night”.
But everything changed at 12 weeks.
How to get eight uninterrupted hours – by a sleep professor
Our modern fixation with getting eight solid hours’ sleep – you may be glad to hear – is nonsense. Healthy sleep can range from six-and-a-half to 10 hours a night. Teenagers need around nine, but as we age we sleep less.
Why? I suspect because memory consolidation, and the processing of new information, are two of the main purposes of sleep, and in our more mature years, we simply come across less that’s new to us.
So, how do you know if you’re getting enough sleep? If you are more irritable and less empathetic; if your decision-making is erratic and flawed and you oversleep on free days then it may be that the answer to getting the sleep that you need lies in your daylight hours.
Eight expert tips to sleeping better during menopause
Sleep stress is one of the top menopausal symptoms, so getting it under control can make this life stage considerably less miserable
Sleep is the salve that kick-starts our every day. Without the right quota, we stumble through, ragged and depleted. But menopause can be a demon that shreds our sleeping hours, with surveys revealing that more than half of midlife women struggle with insomnia.
Decreased levels of oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone induce night sweats, hot flushes, restless leg syndrome and anxiety, robbing us of essential respite and rejuvenating sleep. Science shows the health implications can be significant too, leaving us more vulnerable to heart disease, cancer, obesity, diabetes and stress.
Exactly how many hours you should sleep, sit and stand to boost your heart health
For the good of our physical and mental health, most of us should be exercising and sleeping more and spending less time slumped in our chairs. But the data shows we’re not.
Our sedentary lifestyles mean we clock up too many hours sedentary (around nine hours a day, once you factor in commuting, working at desks and sitting on the sofa) and too little time moving, to the detriment of our bodies.
But exercise researchers in Australia believe they have uncovered how to spur us to get out of our seats – by pinpointing exactly how long we should spend sitting, standing, exercising and sleeping every day to protect our hearts.
ADHD and sleep problems: The complete guide
Many people with ADHD have ‘delayed sleep phase disorder’, meaning falling – and staying – asleep can be difficult. Here’s how to treat it.
With minds that whir away at night as soon as their heads hit the pillow, people with ADHD often struggle to get to sleep, and when they do their sleep is restless and disturbed.
Clinicians estimate that between 50-75 per cent of people with ADHD will suffer from debilitating sleep disorders.
“Sufferers often call it “perverse sleep” — when they want to be asleep, they are awake; when they want to be awake, they are asleep,” says Dr William Dodson, a US-based psychiatrist and leading specialist in ADHD in adults.
Yet treating ADHD can help with sleep problems, and getting a better night’s sleep can also reduce ADHD symptoms.
