World Sleep Day this year is on March 15, 2024. World Sleep Day is celebrated to raise awareness of the value of sufficient sleep for enhancing health and quality of life.
The prevalence of sleep issues in the global and local population point to the need for awareness-raising. Globally, prevalence estimates of insomnia are around 10-30%. In Singapore, 27.6% of respondents to a 2016 survey reported poor sleep quality.
If you fall into the percentage of people who struggle with sleep, here are some tips to get a better night’s rest:
1. Maintain a consistent sleep schedule.
Many people try to catch up on sleep on weekend mornings to make up for insufficient sleep during the week. While this may afford us extra hours on weekdays to work or play, and allow us to remain refreshed on weekends, this can make it challenging to wake up on time come Monday morning. This is because our body clock adjusts itself partially to its new schedule over the weekend. Thus, changing our sleep schedule in this way is akin to inflicting jet lag on ourselves every week.
To place less adaptational demands on your body, maintain a regular sleep and wake time. Some adjustments may be needed to your weekday sleep schedule to get sufficient sleep on work days. Apart from waking up more easily on Mondays, you may find it easier to fall asleep if you keep a consistent sleep time daily.
2. Do not go to bed until you are sleepy.
It is common to not know the difference between being tired and being sleepy. We feel tired when we lack energy, but we feel sleepy when our eyelids are drooping or we are going to nod off.
Sleepiness is a function of a) having expended enough energy throughout the day to feel tired, b) our body clock saying it is time to sleep and c) feeling calm enough to allow sleep to occur. If we are going to bed before our body clock’s sleep time, or our body clock is unsettled due to an inconsistent sleep schedule, we are unlikely to fall asleep although we are tired. Similarly, if we are anxious, agitated or excited, we will be unable to fall asleep even if we are tired and our body clock is aligned.
To ensure calm, it is helpful to start to wind down 1-2 hours before bedtime. Writing down the next day’s to-do list before your wind-down time can help you set aside unfinished tasks which you may otherwise worry about while you are falling asleep. You may also engage in stretching or deep breathing exercises to help you decompress before bed, or simply do whatever relaxes you.
3. If you do not fall asleep within 15-20 minutes, get out of bed and do something relaxing until you feel sleepy again.
Sometimes, we may not be able to fall asleep despite our best preparation efforts. If this is the case, do not worry! Worry and anxiety are inimical to sleep, which is why it rarely works to “try harder” to fall asleep.
Simply get out of bed if you estimate 15-20 minutes have passed (an estimate suffices – do not watch the clock, as this raises anxiety). Get out of bed and do something relaxing, like reading a book that is not too gripping or stimulating. When your eyelids start to droop, it is time to go back to bed.
Clients often ask me if using their phone or tablet is permissible in this time. Studies show that blue light from screens has a negative impact on melatonin production, making it harder to fall asleep. However, it can be difficult nowadays to find entertainment outside of our screens. If you cannot find an alternative relaxing activity, experiment with using dark mode or night shift on your screens to mitigate the effects of blue light.
To meet with a professional psychologist or counsellor, call The Other Clinic at 8809 0659 or email us hello@theotherclinic.sg.
References:
Bhaskar, S., Hemavathy, D., & Prasad, S. (2016). Prevalence of chronic insomnia in adult patients and its correlation with medical comorbidities. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 5(4),780-784.
Lee, Y. Y., Lau, J. H., Vaingankar J. A., Sambasivam, R., Shafie, S., Chua, B. Y., Chow, W. L., Abdin, E., & Subramaniam M. (2022). Sleep quality of Singapore residents: findings from the 2016 Singapore mental health study. Sleep Medicine: X, 4, 100043. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleepx.2022.100043
Manber, R., & Carney, C. E. (2015). Treatment plans and interventions for insomnia: A case formulation approach. The Guilford Press.
Silvani, M. I., Werder, R., & Perret, C. (2022). The influence of blue light on sleep, performance and wellbeing in young adults: A systematic review. Frontiers in Physiology, 13, 943108. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2022.943108.