In recent years the connection between sleep and overall health has been studied more than ever before. We now know that sleep breathing disorders like obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can rob you of your cognitive functioning and make you more vulnerable to diabetes, cardiac disease, high blood pressure and stroke. People who are chronically sleep-deprived for any reason are more likely to develop sores, rashes, and various aches and pains—and tend to have trouble managing their moods and focusing on tasks. Deprive yourself of quality rest, and your whole body will suffer.
In a recent article, the Washington Post even claimed that sleep is a new status symbol for the well-to-do. Those who can afford it are now shelling out big bucks for luxury beds that track your sleep through apps, and self-adjust to your tossing and turning in the night. Luxury sheets sets alone can cost at around $200-500 per set—and there’s quite a market for it.
But you don’t have to be a big spender to get the best sleep of your life. If you can’t afford to devote $10,000+ to a new high-tech bed, there are several other ways to improve the quality of your rest with good sleep hygiene practices. Dr. Jamal Mohammed, Assistant Clinical Professor and Co-Director of the UC Davis sleep medicine department, regularly advises his patients to follow these sleep hygiene practices to improve the quality of their rest.
Best Practices for a Good Night’s Rest – Sleep Hygiene Tips for Everyone
- Avoid all drugs: no caffeine after noon and no alcohol 3 hours before bedtime.
- Exercise regularly, but not within 6 hours of your scheduled bedtime.
- Go to bed and wake up at regular times, even on weekends and holidays.
- No napping during the day—anything longer than a 20 minute “power nap” can upset your sleep schedule.
- Create a transitional buffer zone between yourself and bed time – a time and a place to do things that wrap up your day, so you don’t feel the need to do them in bed.
- Use your bed only for sleep—no TV, texting or emails in bed.
- If you can’t sleep, get out of bed and do something else until you feel sleepy again.
Keeping a sleep diary can help you be more reflective and intentional with your sleep habits. This will chronicle the number of hours you sleep at night, and the times at which you sleep and wake. If you have fallen into bad habits, a sleep diary can help convince you there may be a connection between erratic sleeping schedules and poor quality of rest!
Sleep Disorders Require a Specialist
If you follow these recommendations and still have sleep problems, it’s worth your time to see a specialist and/or conduct a sleep study. There are a number of sleep disorders that can be treated nowadays, such as restless legs syndrome, narcolepsy, and obstructive sleep apnea (of course) which can be diagnosed by a specialist such as Dr. Mohammed.
Dr. Mohammed is an advocate of an innovative approach to insomnia called sleep restriction therapy, which is based on moderate sleep deprivation. While not as does cruel as it may sound, this approach is based on the premise that you can reset your circadian rhythms by depriving yourself of sleep.
When you have gone several years cultivating bad sleeping habits (see sleep hygiene, above) the body learns how to get along without sleep. It sometimes takes hitting the reset button to teach your body how to sleep properly again. Patients treated with sleep restriction therapy are directed to start with a strict regimen of only the minimum number of hours of sleep they can “survive” on, and then slowly add more hours to that number, over time. Eventually the body relearns how to sleep well, as every hour of sleep is cherished and maximized for its positive effects. It’s an interesting approach and it seems to be successful for many of the insomnia patients under Dr. Mohammed’s care.
Sleep problems, like allergies and gum disease, (and so many other things) can be a difficult beast to tame. We still understand very little of the precise mechanisms whereby sleep offers its restorative and regenerative benefits, so clinical research and best courses of treatment are often an evidence-based game. We may not always know how a treatment works, but we can definitely tell when it does work, and maybe work backwards from there.
Dr. Jamal Mujaddid Mohammed offers cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, and specializes in family and community medicine and sleep medicine. He is an assistant clinical professor and co-medical director of sleep medicine, in the Department of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine at UC Davis in Sacramento, CA. To reach out to Dr. Mohammed, call (916) 734-3564.
About the Author: Dr. Mickiewicz is board certified in sleep by the Academy of Clinical Sleep Disorders Disciplines. He owns a private practice in Sacramento and lectures across the nation on TMD treatments. He is a diplomate of the American Academy of Pain Management and holds membership in many professional associations for dentistry, sleep medicine, and TMD. In addition, Dr. Mick, as his patients call him, founded Pacific Orofacial Pain Consultants, a team of experts in various disciplines, who tackle the issue of TMD pain and treatment, to help sufferers find relief from chronic pain. To talk with Dr. Mick, call his Sacramento dental office at 916-457-7710.
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