Stress to sleep: Expert advice on how to sleep better tonight | Health

Good-night is what we say and hear every night. Sleep is a vital necessity and several factors contribute to a good night’s restorative sleep.

Our cells get depleted during an awake and conscious day. The restorative concept states that sound sleep enables the restoration and repair of physiological wear-and-tear and replete vital cellular mechanisms essential for biological activities. Restorative sleep is crucial for a person’s wellbeing and fitness.

Bangalore-based neurologist Dr. Srinivas Rao tables the following:

• Physical Recovery: Deep sleep repairs muscles, tissues, and cells, fosters development and retrieval after physical activity.
• Cognitive Function: It boosts retention or memory consolidation, grasping, and solution-oriented deftness, which assist you stay alert, sharp and attentive for the rest of the day.
• Emotional Parameter: To minimise stress, govern the mood, buoy up a sound emotional intellect, and think straight, a sound sleep is mandatory.
• Immune Function: To reinforce the immune system to help protect the body from infections and ailments, deep sleep is crucial.

What’s sleep deprivation

Sleep deprivation is termed as a state when an individual does not get enough sleep. Though it may differ from person to person, anywhere between 7 to 8 hours of sleep is recommended and the quality matters as much since poor sleep inhibits essential happy hormones like dopamine. Meditation is advised by experts to relieve stress and depression.

Warning signs of sleep disorders

Do you nod off during the day? Or have severe impulse to take naps during working hours. Watch out for these symptoms to detect sleep disorders. You may find it tough to fall or stay asleep at night. Unusual breathing patterns and fatigue indicate insufficient sleep. Sudden and aggressive impulses to shift while falling asleep besides experiencing inadvertent fluctuations in your sleep or wake routines are the red flags.

Psychiatrist Kiran Sethi from Pune outlines the detrimental effects of sleep deficiency:

• Increases cortisol (stress hormones) levels.
• Can lead to several chronic health issues like high blood pressure, stroke, depression, heart, and kidney diseases.
• Inherent enthusiasm to accomplish tasks declines.
• Cognitive actions appear strenuous and become more demanding and arduous to perform them.
• Mood swings, nervousness, depression and crankiness are some of the aftermaths of insomnia.

Tips to sleep better

The wonders of a deep, sound sleep ought not to be overlooked. Create a sleep-conducive environment like cool, dark or dim room with comfortable bedding. Dr. Rao advises, “Stay away from electronic devices a good 1 ½ hour before hitting the sack. Avoid stimulants like coffee, alcohol, smoking, day time siesta. Relax with a book, soothing music or a warm bath. Maintain regular bedtime and wakeup schedules every day, even on a holiday.”