Age of sleep
As we age, we need the same amount of sleep but find it more difficult to get. Many health problems are linked to poor sleep.
Sleep and Mind
Keeps you sharp
Lack of sleep causes a loss of mental sharpness. That has been proven over and over. This happens both from too little and too much sleep. Our mind needs the right amount of sleep to operate in top form. Long-term poor sleep is linked to Alzheimer’s.
Helps you learn
Sleep also affects our ability to learn new things. Even something as simple as an afternoon nap can improve your ability to learn new things. The longer we are awake, the harder it is for us to learn new things. We need sleep to clear the brain to learn new things.
Remember stuff
One of the primary causes of senior moments is a lack of solid sleep. A bad night’s sleep means you can’t remember what happened yesterday. Without good sleep, memories disappear.
Sleep Enemies
Devices
Electronic devices are enemies of sleep. The light from electronic devices like computers, tablets, and phones hinders sleep. Many of these devices emit a particularly wakeful form of blue light. Try to avoid using these in the hours before bed. If you read in bed at night, try reading a printed book rather than a screen. A printed book doesn’t mess up your sleep cycles as tablets have been proven to do.
Netflix
One common cause of not getting enough good sleep is binge-watching TV. With so many high-quality TV shows to watch, sometimes it’s hard to stop. Before you sit down to watch TV, decide how long you will watch and then stick to it. When the episode is over, turn off the TV. An exciting next episode gives you something to look forward to. Anticipation is often better than reality.
Alcohol
Alcohol makes you tired, but it doesn’t help you sleep. What alcohol does is sedate you, a bit like being put out for surgery. Alcohol-induced ‘sleep’ is not restful, as you often wake but don’t sense it because you are sedated. It also disturbs your sleep cycles.
Food
Food can also interfere with sleep. If we eat too close to bedtime, we can have trouble sleeping. It can trigger acid reflux or indigestion. Ideally, avoid food after supper. Intermittent fasting can help with sleep (see Fast Living in this issue for details).
Caffeine
After noon, avoid caffeine in coffee, tea, coke, and chocolate. As we all know, caffeine keeps us awake. It takes many hours for your body to remove caffeine. Depending on the person, it takes anywhere from 2 to 8 hours to remove only half the caffeine from your system. People who process caffeine slowly can only drink caffeine in the morning without disturbing sleep. Others can drink it 4-5 hours before bed without problems.
Avoid night stress
If we engage in stressful situations in the hours before sleep, it interferes with restful sleep. Avoid checking your email or dealing with a stressful work situation that will get your stomach churning. If it makes you angry or upset or worried, leave it for tomorrow. Your mind will be clearer.
Ponder away worry
At the end of the day, it can help to take time to review the day. Bring worries to the surface rather than having them brew below the surface of conscious thought. If necessary, write them down to get them off your mind. Sit in a chair, a brooding chair, and put your worries to bed for the night. When you get out of the chair, leave your worries there for tomorrow. They will be there.
Exercise
Exercise helps you get a good night’s sleep. A tired body helps a tired mind sleep. But avoid exercising in the few hours before bed. Exercise energizes us and wakes us up. On the other hand, doing very little activity during the day makes sleeping difficult.
Sleep Routine
Timing
Get up at the same time every single day. It sets your daily hormone cycle. This is the best way to train your body for good sleep. Avoid taking any naps after 2PM. Part of what makes us fall asleep is the length of time we have been awake.
Lighting
One of the key markers for our body to produce the sleep hormone melatonin is darkness. When we have bright lights in the evening, it disrupts the build-up of the sleep hormone. Our eyes have light sensors that are not used for vision. The rods and cones in the eyes help us see things, but other parts in our eyes sense light. This sends signals to the brain, so our brain can tell if it’s morning or night. Having natural light on your eyes in the morning helps set the brain to awake. Light in the afternoon helps us stay awake in the evening. Light in the evening keeps us awake at night. Try to avoid bright lights a few hours before bed. And in your bedroom, make sure it’s dark.
Temperature
To sleep, you have to cool your body. Just as it gets dark when the sun sets, it also gets cool. Sleep is programmed to this cooling. It helps to cool the room a bit at night. Aim for 60—65F or 15—18C. This is easy for most Canadians, especially in the winter. It can also help to wash your face and hands with cool water. Ironically, a hot bath before bed helps you sleep because it draws all your blood to the surface, and when you get out, your core temperature drops. A simpler option is to just put your feet in warm water for 5 minutes before bed.
Reserve the bed
It goes without saying that a good mattress can help with a good night’s sleep. If your mattress is saggy, you should save for a new one. Some good mattresses are not too expensive, and you can order it online and have it delivered to your home. Make sure the bed is reserved for sleep and hanky-panky. No TV, no worrying, and no daytime reading in the bed. If you have trouble with nighttime acid reflux, try putting some wood blocks under your headboard legs to tilt the bed up slightly.
Calm with a heavy blanket
A weighted blanket is a heavy blanket with added weights to improve sleep. If you have anxiety keeping you awake, a weighted blanket can help calm your body and help you sleep better. They provide a sense of security, which helps with sleep. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine finds weighted blankets can also help with insomnia.
Sleep Positions
Side sleeping is recommended if you have potential breathing issues while sleeping, but you will need a pillow that keeps your neck straight. For back sleeping, your pillow should be much thinner. To find out how thick your pillow should be, stand against a wall with your shoulders on the wall and your head held naturally. The gap behind your head is the pillow support you need: usually 1 to 2.5 inches.
Sleep onset
Sleep isn’t instant, it takes time. In fact, falling asleep in less than 5 minutes suggest you are overly tired and very short on sleep. Taking 10 to 20 minutes to fall asleep is normal. If it takes more than 30 minutes to fall asleep after you have closed your eyes in bed, it’s time to try better sleep habits.
Sleep Supplements
Melatonin
As we age, our melatonin production declines. Melatonin is our sleep hormone. Taking it at night can improve sleep, especially for those who are a bit older. The best kind to get is time-release melatonin that parcels out the dose over several hours. One mg per night is usually plenty.
Sleep B3
Another vitamin that can help with sleep is a form of vitamin B3 called niacinamide. Niacinamide helps keep your brain calm so you can fall asleep. It is also available in a time-release format, and 1,000 mg is a good dose to help with sleep.
Sleep mineral
Magnesium can help with sleep. This is especially true if you’re over 70 or have type II diabetes. A 200 mg tablet of magnesium glycinate or citrate is a good choice. Magnesium oxide also acts as a stool softener, which can be good or bad depending on your situation.
Sleeping flowers
Certain scents, such as lavender, are well-known as soothing scents. Another is gardenia (jasminoides). You can simply buy a bottle of essential oil and put a drop or two on your pillow. No fancy diffuser is needed.
Special Cases
Night shift
Working the night shift is a reality for some of us. It makes sleeping much more difficult. The best option is to keep only two rhythms. Don’t create a third mid-change schedule. After the last night shift, sleep only 2 to 3 hours to reset your clock for the night’s sleep.
Nighttime pain
Pain is one of the primary causes of lost sleep. It is vital to find pain management that allows you to sleep. Sleep is not a luxury. Try a good natural pain reliever. Also, for nighttime joint pain, a roll-on pain reliever can be a good option. Lack of sleep also increases pain levels, creating a vicious circle.
Waking up at night
If you do wake at night, don’t get out of bed. Focus on breathing. If you are awake for 30 minutes, get up and write down your worries to get them off your mind. If you get out of bed, avoid TV, work, phones, tablets, bright lights, and food.
Naps
Naps improve performance on mental tasks, but don’t nap after 2:00 PM. When you get 9 hours of sleep at night, naps can be bad for your health. Aim for the goldilocks amount of sleep: not too much, not too little. For most people, that is close to 8 hours a night.
Importance of Sleep
Prioritize sleep. If you are not sleeping well, take some steps to improve your sleep. The most important thing is to set a sleep routine. If you need additional help after setting a good sleep routine, try adding some melatonin and maybe some aromatherapy.
