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Should you make new year’s resolutions? Many may think the new year’s resolutions are meaningless. Especially after a year of frustration and uncertainty, New year’s resolutions seem less encouraging. A few small and attainable goals could help to provide a sense of purpose and improve our well-being. The most popular goals for new year’s resolutions include exercise more, eat healthier, and get rid of bad habits.
[1]Sleep deprivation is one of the common bad habits in modern society. According to a study in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Report, 1 in 3 Americans don’t get enough sleep on a regular basis. To promote optimal health and well-being, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society recommend at least 7 hours of sleep each night for adults aged 18-60 years old. The adverse effects of sleep deprivation (less than seven hours per day) include obesity(Beccuti and Pannain 2011), diabetes(Shan et al. 2015), high blood pressure(Gangwisch et al. 2006), cardiovascular disease(Nagai, Hoshide, and Kario 2010; Kuehn 2019), stroke, and mental distress(Baglioni et al. 2016). It’s undeniable that having sufficient sleep is essential to our optimal health and well-being. Here are some helpful tips to start your 2021 with a good night’s sleep.
Bedroom: light, noise, and temperature
Research shows artificial light at night can disrupt circadian rhythms and cause adverse effects on sleep(Aulsebrook et al. 2018). A dim bedroom environment can help the body to recognize the time to rest. Electronic devices emit blue lights, many studies show that blocking blue light is beneficial for patients to suffer from insomnia(Janků et al. 2020). Restricting electronic devices before sleep or using blue-light blocking approaches are helpful to maintain a good quality sleep.
Noise can also affect sleep(Basner and McGuire 2018). Try to reduce noise in the bedroom environment could fall asleep faster and minimize disruption during sleep. Both environmental and body temperature impact sleep duration and sleep quality(Troynikov, Watson, and Nawaz 2018). Increased bedroom and body temperature decrease sleep quality. Finding a comfortable temperature for yourself will improve sleep quality. For most people, the desirable bedroom temperature is around 70 ˚F (20 ˚C). Taking a good bath or shower before bed will prepare the body to adjust to a favorable temperature for sleep.
De-stress: mentally and physically
Most of us have experienced some form of insomnia when we have something in our minds. Integrative approaches to insomnia such as mind-body therapies (mindfulness mediation, yoga, tai chi) have been shown beneficial to de-stress the body as well the mind(Zhou, Gardiner, and Bertisch 2017). Exercise is beneficial for the overall well-being, can improve the quality of sleep(Kelley and Kelley 2017). Various approaches can help relax the body and mind, finding your favorite ones requires a little bit of exploration.
Routine: timing and time
We are creatures of habits. Especially when it comes to sleep. Disruption of the circadian clock adversely affects sleep, which causes cardiovascular diseases(Chellappa et al. 2019). Cultivating a wake-up and night-time routine will have profound impacts on the overall performance. When to go to bed is different for everyone. Anecdotally, it’s best to go to bed earlier and wake up early each day. This may not work for everyone’s schedule. Keeping the recommended amount of sleep is more important than strictly enforcing yourself against your circadian clock.
Food and drink
Investigation of the impact of food choice and consumption on sleep is an emerging field. Early clinical studies investigated the effects of certain macronutrients such as carbohydrate, protein or fat on daytime alertness and nighttime sleep. Some popular sleep–promoting foods, such as milk, fatty fish, cherries, and kiwifruit have been reported(St-Onge, Mikic, and Pietrolungo 2016). Avoid late caffeine consumption(Clark and Landolt 2017) and alcohol(Thakkar, Sharma, and Sahota 2015) are common practices to improve sleep quality.
All of the above are potential strategies for sleep improvement. Making small adjustments in your sleep hygiene routine could have a promising outcome. The key is to start small and stick to it until it incorporates into your day-to-day life.
Reference:
Aulsebrook, Anne E., Therésa M. Jones, Raoul A. Mulder, and John A. Lesku. 2018. “Impacts of Artificial Light at Night on Sleep: A Review and Prospectus.” Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological and Integrative Physiology. https://doi.org/10.1002/jez.2189.
Baglioni, Chiara, Svetoslava Nanovska, Wolfram Regen, Kai Spiegelhalder, Bernd Feige, Christoph Nissen, Charles F. Reynolds, and Dieter Riemann. 2016. “Sleep and Mental Disorders: A Meta-Analysis of Polysomnographic Research.” Psychological Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000053.
Basner, Mathias, and Sarah McGuire. 2018. “WHO Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region: A Systematic Review on Environmental Noise and Effects on Sleep.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15030519.
Beccuti, Guglielmo, and Silvana Pannain. 2011. “Sleep and Obesity.” Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care. https://doi.org/10.1097/MCO.0b013e3283479109.
Chellappa, Sarah L., Nina Vujovic, Jonathan S. Williams, and Frank A.J.L. Scheer. 2019. “Impact of Circadian Disruption on Cardiovascular Function and Disease.” Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tem.2019.07.008.
Clark, Ian, and Hans Peter Landolt. 2017. “Coffee, Caffeine, and Sleep: A Systematic Review of Epidemiological Studies and Randomized Controlled Trials.” Sleep Medicine Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2016.01.006.
Gangwisch, James E., Steven B. Heymsfield, Bernadette Boden-Albala, Ruud M. Buijs, Felix Kreier, Thomas G. Pickering, Andrew G. Rundle, Gary K. Zammit, and Dolores Malaspina. 2006. “Short Sleep Duration as a Risk Factor for Hypertension: Analyses of the First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.” Hypertension. https://doi.org/10.1161/01.HYP.0000217362.34748.e0.
Janků, Karolina, Michal Šmotek, Eva Fárková, and Jana Kopřivová. 2020. “Block the Light and Sleep Well: Evening Blue Light Filtration as a Part of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia.” Chronobiology International. https://doi.org/10.1080/07420528.2019.1692859.
Kelley, George A., and Kristi Sharpe Kelley. 2017. “Exercise and Sleep: A Systematic Review of Previous Meta-Analyses.” Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1111/jebm.12236.
Kuehn, Bridget M. 2019. “Sleep Duration Linked to Cardiovascular Disease.” Circulation 139 (21): 2483–84. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.119.041278.
Nagai, Michiaki, Satoshi Hoshide, and Kazuomi Kario. 2010. “Sleep Duration as a Risk Factor for Cardiovascular Disease- a Review of the Recent Literature.” Current Cardiology Reviews. https://doi.org/10.2174/157340310790231635.
Shan, Zhilei, Hongfei Ma, Manling Xie, Peipei Yan, Yanjun Guo, Wei Bao, Ying Rong, Chandra L. Jackson, Frank B. Hu, and Liegang Liu. 2015. “Sleep Duration and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies.” Diabetes Care. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc14-2073.
St-Onge, Marie Pierre, Anja Mikic, and Cara E. Pietrolungo. 2016. “Effects of Diet on Sleep Quality.” Advances in Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.3945/an.116.012336.
Thakkar, Mahesh M., Rishi Sharma, and Pradeep Sahota. 2015. “Alcohol Disrupts Sleep Homeostasis.” Alcohol. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alcohol.2014.07.019.
Troynikov, Olga, Christopher G. Watson, and Nazia Nawaz. 2018. “Sleep Environments and Sleep Physiology: A Review.” Journal of Thermal Biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2018.09.012.
Zhou, Eric S., Paula Gardiner, and Suzanne M. Bertisch. 2017. “Integrative Medicine for Insomnia.” Medical Clinics of North America. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mcna.2017.04.005.
[1] Picture source: (Kuehn 2019)
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