How did you sleep? Were you wide awake, staring at the moon, or sleeping like a baby? Sleep—whether you get enough of it or not—can be the deciding factor in having a good day or not, don’t you think? But beyond that, it plays a crucial role in your overall health. It’s meant to be a source of deep rest and rejuvenation, but when you miss out, can quickly turn into a source of stress.

Before you doze off, we know you’re aware of the basic rules of good sleep: not consuming caffeine late in the day, turning off screens earlier in the evening, and having a consistent routine. We went a step further, however, asking medical professionals and sleep experts to tell us all about the lesser-known factors in achieving a good night’s sleep. 

FIND YOUR RHYTHM 

“One common mistake I see is neglecting circadian rhythm alignment—many people focus on sleep hygiene at night but overlook the importance of getting morning light exposure to set their internal clock,” says Pamela Connor, functional medical nutritionist and owner of Connor Wellness Clinic (connorwellnessclinic.com). An individual’s circadian rhythm manages their internal body clock with external factors such as light and dark, and one of its biggest purposes is sleep. If you can, try to go outside when you wake up and let your body receive the natural light from the sun (even if it’s cloudy, it works!). Your body then knows to wake up and several physiological changes will take effect. This can also be helpful when it comes to jet lag, as you reset your body clock for a new location. 

A IS FOR APNEA

If you wake in the night gasping for air or feel drowsy during the day, then you could have sleep apnea.

“Sleep apnea can be obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which means your airway collapses and cuts off oxygen to your body and organs; or central sleep apnea (CSA), which means your brain fails to send signals to breathing-related muscles. It can also be mixed/complex sleep apnea, meaning it’s both obstructive and central sleep apnea,” explains Helen Glaizer, sleep care coordinator at Norcal Snore and Sleep Solutions (norcalsleepsolutions.com).

Though this may sound worrying, it’s treatable, and you don’t even need to leave the comfort of your own bed to have a sleep study performed. Treatment could be something as simple as pillow arrangement, a CPAP machine, or a bespoke, non-invasive oral sleep device. Your sleep is tested before and after treatment to assess efficacy. This is certainly a route worth exploring, as sleep apnea can have serious consequences.

THE TRUTH ABOUT SLEEP TRACKERS

Sleep trackers can be a great source of information on how we’re sleeping; though, amongst our experts, there were some differing opinions. Ingrid Grove, DO, of Thrive Primary Care (thriveprimarycare.net) loves her Oura Ring for its gentle encouragement throughout the day if she’s had a bad night’s sleep; it reminds her to rest and take it easy. 

Connor advises caution, however: “…while they’re great for awareness, they can also cause ‘orthosomnia,’ where people stress about their sleep data, ironically making their sleep worse.” On this topic, Grove agrees. “People can become obsessed with sleep and anxious about bedtime—the bed is no longer a place of rest.”  

If you’re lying in bed awake, “don’t catastrophize and avoid dramatic ‘Will I ever sleep again?’ type questions,” Grove says. “Talk kindly to yourself and remember that you’ve probably worked through other days with little sleep and survived!” 

SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS

Kristin Nurre, NP, OBGYN, at Marshall (marshallmedical.org) reminds us that: “The bedroom is for sleeping and intimacy.  There shouldn’t be any electronics, such as computers, tablets, phones, and TVs. The goal is to eliminate unhealthy distractions in the bedroom.” So, leave the TV downstairs and charge everything outside of the bedroom, too.

Unhealthy foods and drinks should be ruled out too close to bedtime as well, including alcohol. In fact, Nurre says, “Eating anything within a couple hours before bed can lead to indigestion and spiked sugar levels, [ultimately delaying] sleep.”   

And if you’re a woman reading this, it’s worth remembering perimenopause, Grove says. “Hormonal fluctuations can lead to poor sleep,” and perimenopause can start in your mid-30s, so it might be wise to have your hormone levels checked. 

There are things you can control with regards to your sleep and things you can’t. But as Sirisha Krishnamurthy, DDS, at Renaissance Family and Cosmetic Dentistry (folsomfamilydentisry.com) and NorCal Snore and Sleep Solutions, says: “You spend a third of your life sleeping, which determines the quality of how you’ll spend the other two-thirds of it, so make your rest count!” 

by Caroline Kings

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