Want To Live Longer? Improve Your Sleep Habits
(Illustration: Sacha Stephan)
Good sleep is essential for our mental and physical well-being, but it’s harder to come by as we age. That’s especially true for women. (You can thank the hormonal chaos of menopause for that.) Diane Boivin, director of the Centre for Study and Treatment of Circadian Rhythms at McGill’s Douglas Research Centre in Montreal, says the key is sleep hygiene. This involves both your bedtime routine and your sleep environment. Here’s how to improve them.
Be consistent
Getting up and going to bed around the same time every day helps your body form a routine and run more efficiently.
Unplug
Either turn off your device, put it in “Do Not Disturb” mode (most phones have this option in settings) or leave it in another room entirely.
Wind down
“It’s very hard to be extremely active, either cognitively or physically, and then suddenly fall deeply asleep. You need a transition period,” says Boivin.
While exercising during the day can help us fall asleep at night, Rébecca Robillard, co-chair of the Canadian Sleep Research Consortium, says that exercising within an hour of going to bed could lead to impaired sleep. Instead, carve out time before bed to relax with the lights turned low.
Don’t look at the clock
If you can’t get to sleep or if you wake up in the middle of the night, the absolute worst thing you can do is check the time, Boivin says. Your brain will start calculating how many hours you have left to rest, which won’t relax you.
Get up
The best thing to do when you can’t sleep is get out of bed and go to a different room to relax. This, Boivin says, helps us disassociate our bed from being awake. Robillard recommends doing something “not too engaging”; reading a book (preferably not a page-turner) or another relaxing activity is ideal. Once you start feeling sleepy again, head back to bed.
See a professional
For severe sleep problems, see a doctor. They can determine if you have an intrinsic sleep issue, such as sleep apnea. If you have insomnia, ask a sleep professional about cognitive behavioural therapy.
