The Science of Sleep – How to Get a Better Night’s Rest

Sleep is a crucial part of life, affecting every aspect of our health. It affects everything from metabolism and immune function to mood, disease resistance, and more.

There are a few things you can do to help get a better night’s rest. They’re called the 3 levers of sleep – intensity, duration and timing.

Sleep Appointments

Sleep is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. It helps us concentrate, learn and feel refreshed. However, a good night’s rest can be challenging when we don’t get enough quality sleep.

One of the most effective ways to diagnose a sleeping problem is by visiting your doctor. This can include a general physical examination and a sleep assessment. If the physician believes that you may have a sleeping disorder, they will refer you to a sleep specialist. These doctors have specialized training and can help you figure out what’s causing your insomnia and how to fix it.

Your sleep exam will involve a number of tests and devices. The most obvious is the polysomnogram, which is a sleep study that monitors your brain waves and other vital signs while you’re asleep. In addition to your brainwaves, the device also tracks your eye movement and other body movements. It can also detect snoring and airflow as you breathe during the night.

Before your appointment, it’s a good idea to keep track of your sleep habits and record the frequency and duration of your sleep problems. The better you can describe your symptoms, the easier it will be for your doctor to help you figure out what’s causing them.

It’s also a good idea to bring a friend with you to your consultation, as they can help you identify common sleep triggers. They can also provide an eyewitness account of your sleep patterns, which can help your doctor understand the severity of your condition.

Light Settings

Light settings are a critical element of creating an environment that promotes sleep. They also help control your body’s internal clock and regulate sleep-wake patterns. Having a bright light throughout the day and low, sleep-friendly lighting at night can improve your sleep quality and overall health.

It’s important to choose the right light settings for each stage of your sleep-wake cycle because each one has a unique impact on your sleep. For example, having a light that’s too bright can make it harder to fall asleep, while having a light that’s too dim may encourage you to get up in the middle of the night.

For example, you might want to use a red light in the evening when you’re trying to fall asleep to help your brain transition to sleep. Alternatively, you might choose a lighter color like green or yellow to help you relax when you’re trying to wind down.

A light that’s too bright can be hard on your eyes and cause you to have a harder time falling asleep, so it’s important to find the perfect balance of light for your needs. Fortunately, you can control the lighting in your home with Joovv’s light settings.

You can change the light’s settings individually, or you can set it up to switch on and off automatically with a schedule or upon motion detection. The light’s settings can even be customized to the time of day you’re trying to sleep, allowing you to create a sleepscape that’s just right for you. To customize your light settings, tap the gear icon in the quick properties box of a light, or from the 3D component tab in the drawing view of your fixtures.

Exercise

Exercise, whether it’s moderate aerobic activities like jogging, swimming or even just walking at a slow pace, can help you get a better night’s sleep. It can set your body clock and create chemical changes in your brain that favor sleep. It can also help to ease presleep anxiety that may keep you awake.

Regular exercise is essential for a healthy lifestyle and should be an integral part of your health and fitness routine. It carries many health benefits and helps to enhance your immune system, cardiovascular and muscle health. It also improves sleep quality by stimulating deep sleep phases, the most restorative stages of the night.

For example, yoga has been shown to be beneficial for sleep by promoting relaxation and reducing stress. It promotes a sense of unity between your mind, body and spirit by bringing attention to your breath and stretching muscles and joints.

It can also increase the levels of adenosine, a neurotransmitter in your central nervous system that helps you fall asleep and regulates your sleep-wake cycle. It can also raise your core temperature and lower your heart rate, which will help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.

Moreover, exercising regularly can reduce your risk of developing sleep disorders such as insomnia or narcolepsy. Studies have also proven that chronic exercise is an effective treatment for older people who suffer from these disorders.

To reap the full benefits of exercise and help your body and mind prepare for a good night’s rest, it is best to exercise early in the day or at least three hours before bedtime. Exercising too late can interfere with your ability to sleep by raising your core temperature, increasing the release of endorphins and cortisol, and delaying your transition from arousal to REM sleep.

Diet

Diet plays a big role in your sleep quality, and what you eat can affect how well you get a good night’s rest. While it isn’t clear how certain foods affect your sleep, some research suggests that a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and other plant-based foods can improve your sleep.

Fruits and veggies contain melatonin, a hormone that promotes sleep. They also contain tryptophan, which your body can use to make serotonin and melatonin.

In addition, a diet that is high in fiber and low in saturated fat and simple carbohydrates, such as bread, pasta and sugary treats, can help you sleep better. In fact, a study published in The Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that people who consumed a high-fiber diet experienced deeper and more restorative sleep than those who ate a diet that was higher in saturated fat and simple carbohydrates.

Other fruits and vegetables, such as berries, avocados, spinach and sweet potatoes, may also be helpful for getting a good night’s rest. They are also rich in vitamin C, which has been linked to a lower risk of insomnia.

These vegetables also have a calming effect on the body, so eat them before bed. Some studies have shown that eating a meal of fresh, raw herbs such as basil or sage can promote sleep.

In addition to these fruits and veggies, you can get a lot of nutrients from other whole foods such as fish, nuts, seeds, poultry, lean meats, and beans. A high-protein, plant-based diet can help you avoid cravings for fatty, sugary foods and keep your blood sugar levels stable throughout the day. If you have trouble sleeping, talk with your doctor about how a change in your diet might benefit your sleep and your overall health.

Sleep Disorders

A healthy diet and positive lifestyle habits are crucial to getting a good night’s rest. But even if you have these factors under control, sleep disorders can still affect your ability to get a full night of rest.

Insomnia, for example, is characterized by difficulty in establishing or maintaining regular sleep patterns and inability to fall asleep when needed. It is often accompanied by excessive daytime sleepiness and can result in a decreased ability to function during the day.

The condition can be triggered by a variety of stressors, including work pressures, school- or job-related problems, family difficulties and serious illness or death in the family. It typically disappears after the stressor has passed.

But if you have insomnia for more than six months, or it gets worse over time, you may want to see a sleep specialist. He or she can use a diagnostic test, such as a polysomnogram, to determine if you have a sleep disorder.

Other conditions that can cause sleep problems include narcolepsy (disorders that prevent you from sleeping for extended periods) and restless legs syndrome (RLS). RLS causes sudden, repetitive jerking movements of your arms or legs that last about 20 to 40 seconds.

Another condition is obstructive sleep apnea, which is characterized by repeated episodes of blocked breathing during sleep. This disorder is most common in older people and can cause severe sleepiness and wakefulness throughout the day.

Treatment of sleep disorders generally involves a combination of non-drug therapies, such as counseling and behavioral changes, and drugs. Some medications, such as sedatives and antihistamines, can be used for a short period of time to help you get a better night’s rest.