Make These Vital Sleep Adjustments When You’re Over 40
Add quality not quantity, for the optimum energising sleep cycle.
Better sleep can make all the difference after 40.
THE BRIEF
Time to read: 2 minutes 30 seconds
Time to action: 20 minutes daily
Mantra: Nothing cures insomnia like the realisation that it’s time to get up
Main message: Seek efficiency, not chronology
Stat: 1/7 Brits survive on a dangerously low ‘under 5 hours of sleep a night’
The internet is full of nonsense and scare stories about how bad your health turns as you hit 40. When it comes to your sleep, it’s no different. What is true is that the amount of time you spend sleeping probably does reduce around 40 (and interestingly increases again at 50), but the quality of the sleep you’re getting isn't as widely noted. The old metric of hours is valid, of course, but there is a new measure, ‘sleep efficiency.’ This phrase asks the question, ‘how well are you using the time you’ve set aside for sleep?’.
It isn’t wrong to think about the volume of sleep, but like using BMI for weight management, it’s a crude tool, at best. At 40+ the new trick for activating quicker recovery and enjoying more energy is to prepare properly for the time you are able to sleep. Next, decide for yourself your energy optimising length of slumber. As always, we’ve spoken to a panel of experts, then referenced what they told us against the very latest research to provide 4 key steps for sleeping sweetly in your forties:
1. Exercise for slumber support
Low intensity weight training session (2 sets of 6 exercises, 12 reps on each), improves sleep quality. Do not over do it as adrenaline in your system can ruin a good night’s sleep, so aim for less than a 30-minute session. We are saying don’t go heavy, then do go home.
2. Make your bed, then lie in it
Somewhat surprisingly, after a vast consumer test, it was revealed that woollen bed clothing produced deeper and longer sleep. Wearing the sheep, not counting them, is what makes fighting insomnia simpler.
3. Eat right sleep right
A poor night's sleep causes you to eat more. This in turn creates a lower quality sleep. To break the cycle of feeding low-level insomnia, eat a light protein, high-fibre dinner. Aim for foods rich in magnesium as research shows it helps improve your sleep quality.
4. Think clearly for extra quality
Kriya Yoga showed the highest returns in helping to relax the body and mind for a tangible improvement in sleep quality. Interestingly it doesn't have to be performed as part of the nightly ritual. Doing it at ‘some point in the day’ helped the study participants to find their inner ‘ome’. Clearing the mind, or at least helping to re-order it, means speed of sleep can come about much more quickly, making those moments count more, even if there are less of them.
WELLNESS RABBIT
(Wellness)
Not simply a life coach, but an award winner in the wellness sector with over a decade of experience. Rabbit specialises in the accessibility of information. If there is a theory worth exploring, Rabbit will also work out how easily it can be integrated into the way we actually live our lives.
DR DRAGON
(Body Health)
A GP for an eclectic community, Dragon is a prolific author in the world of health. Award winning for his content creation and ability to answer the ‘actual’ questions asked of him, his theories are always worth listening to in looking for those little things that can actually make a real difference in our lives.
DR DOG
(Mind Health)
A cognitive psychologist specialising in those most 21st Century of issues, anxiety and depression. Dog is especially good at delivering actionable answers. Removing the rhetoric and hyperbole and focussing simply and directly on practical information that can be used to help mental health on a daily basis.
SOURCES:
SLEEP COVERSLeigh F. Trevillian, PhD, MBBS, MPH, Anne-Louise Ponsonby, PhD, MBBS, Terence Dwyer, MD, MBBS, MPH, Andrew Kemp, PhD, MBBS, Jennifer Cochrane, BA, Lynette L.-Y. Lim, PhD, MSc, BSc, and Allan Carmichael,
Am J Public Health. 2005 December; 95(12): 2238–2245. Infant Sleeping Environment and Asthma at 7 Years: A Prospective Cohort StudySLEEP WORKOUTFerris, L.T., Williams, J.S., Shen, C-L., O-Keefe, K.A., and Hale, K.B. 2005. Resistance training improves sleep quality in older adults—A pilot study. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 4: 354–360. 4 HOURS SLEEP A NIGHTYngvar Gundersen, Per Kristian Opstad, Trine Reistad, Ingjerd Thrane, Per Vaagenes. Seven days’ around the clock exhaustive physical exertion combined with energy depletion and sleep deprivation primes circulating leukocytes. European Journal of Applied Physiology. May 2006, Volume 97, Issue 2, pp 151-1578 HOURS SLEEP A NIGHTY. Takahashi, D. M. Kipnis, and W. H. Daughaday. 1968. Growth hormone secretion during sleep. J Clin Invest. 1968 September; 47(9): 2079–2090.10 HOURS SLEEP A NIGHTCheri D. Mah, MS, Kenneth E. Mah, MD, MS, Eric J. Kezirian, MD, MPH, and William C. Dement, MD, PhD. The Effects of Sleep Extension on the Athletic Performance of Collegiate Basketball Players. Sleep. 2011 July 1; 34(7): 943–950.11 HOURS OF SLEEP A NIGHTDaniel J. Gottlieb, MD, MPH; Naresh M. Punjabi, MD, PhD; Ann B. Newman, MD, MPH; Helaine E. Resnick, PhD; Susan Redline, MD, MPH; Carol M. 2005. Baldwin, RN, PhD; F. Javier Nieto, MD, PhD. Association of Sleep Time With Diabetes Mellitus and Impaired Glucose Tolerance. Internal Medicine. April 25, 2005, Vol 165, No. 8 >SLEEP FOODSHornyak M, Voderholzer U, Hohagen F, Berger M, Riemann D. 1998. Magnesium therapy for periodic leg movements-related insomnia and restless legs syndrome: an open pilot study. Sleep. 1998 Aug 1;21(5):501-5.SLEEP BUFFETHogenkamp PS et al. Acute sleep deprivation increases portion size and affects food choice in young men. Psychoneuroendocrinology, in press
SLEEP MEDITATIONhttp://www.aasmnet.org