Insomniac? Can’t put your phone down at night? Tired throughout the day but wide awake when you hit the sheets? Sounds like you need a re-work of your sleep hygiene. Let us help. If you want good sleep you need to understand sleep… or at least on a basic level.

Sleep Stages

Throughout the night our body cycles through four stages: 

• Stage 1: Light Sleep

• Stage 2: Moderate Sleep

• Stage 3: Deep Sleep 

• Stage 4: REM Sleep   

During the first stage, we are easily wakeable, our muscles begin to relax, and brain activity begins to slow. This stage usually lasts one to seven minutes before we properly doze into stage two. Upon entering stage two, our body temperature begins to drop, our breathing and heart rate slow, and our muscles properly relax. Our brain activity begins a new pattern and all eye movement is stopped. The first cycle of stage two can last ten to twenty-five minutes and gets progressively longer throughout the night. 

Once you enter stage three, you have slipped into a deep sleep. During this stage, it becomes increasingly difficult to wake and brain activity has turned into a pattern of delta waves, or slow-wave sleep. Deep sleep is arguably the most critical stage of sleep as it allows for bodily recovery and growth, and some research suggests it also boosts the immune system and other body processes. This phase usually lasts twenty to forty minutes getting shorter with every cycle. 

Our final sleep phase is REM (rapid eye movement). Exactly as it sounds, during this stage our eyes flutter from left to right, brain activity picks up to levels close to those of someone awake, and our bodies fall to complete stillness. This stage is popularly known for dreaming, it is possible to dream in any sleep stage, but the final phase is known for having the most vivid and intense dreams. Unlike the other stages, REM gets longer throughout the night with the later cycles lasting up to an hour. REM sleep is essential for memory, learning, creativity, and emotional processing (Source 1, Why We Sleep). 

Why Am I Not Sleeping Like a Baby?

Now that we know a little more about the cycles of sleep, let's figure out what's causing your lack thereof. Well for one it could be age. The older we get, I’m talking 65+, the more time has worn down the part of our brain that controls our circadian rhythm, the SCN (suprachiasmatic nucleus). When age-related effects take their course on our SCN, a whole lot can be thrown off including changes to the production of cortisol and melatonin. As we age our body produces less melatonin, making it harder for us to get sleepy at the right times. Older adults also spend a lot less time in the deep sleep stage which makes them more vulnerable to waking up throughout the night. This plus the lack of melatonin in their bodies causing them to wake up earlier than in their younger years, explains just why older adults may feel more tired and like they are getting worse sleep, even when the number of hours in bed may have not changed significantly (link). 

Another cause of poor sleep could be due to your current sleep patterns. Maybe it’s because you work the night shift, or maybe it’s because you’re getting too much blue light throughout your day, especially at night (check out these blue light glasses). If you’re working a non-traditional 9-to-5, I wouldn’t recommend trying to “fix” your sleep schedule on your days off; our brains and bodies aren't made to constantly flip back and forth. Keep your sleeping and waking hours consistent. When sleeping during the day, try to mimic the night in your bedroom; make it as dark as possible. Matt Walker, a renowned sleep scientist, recommends blackout curtains as well as a sleep mask to help you with this. He states that you should also cool your bedroom temperature as this aids in the “night-time” recreation effect.

Matt Walker has also stated, that if something you do feels like it helps you sleep better, for example, a lavender sleep mist, amethyst crystals on your bedside table, or white noise, continue to do it. The placebo effect is one of the most reliable in pharmacology. You can check out how I get my much-needed sleep with Metsä’s curated guide here on our Pinterest board.  

Keep in mind that acute and long-term illnesses play a part in sleep quality as well. If you’re suffering from a cold you may not be able to get the best quality of sleep due to congestion, or if you suffer from chronic pain you may have more difficulty falling asleep because of pain. I would highly suggest talking to your doctor about your options, but you can also check out our quick guide to chronic pain relief here. The last sleep disrupter I want to touch on is alcohol. We’ve all enjoyed a nice glass of wine to put us to sleep, however after the first stage, it isn’t doing us many favors. Alcohol is a sedative that induces feelings of relaxation and sleepiness, but depending on how much and how quickly you have consumed it, it can disrupt your sleep cycle and keep you from getting high-quality deep sleep. Some research has also found that alcohol exacerbates the effects of sleep apnea due to extra relaxation of the throat and narrowing of airways (source).   

To sum it up, here is what you need to do to get some quality shut-eye:

1. Stay consistent. Go to bed around the same time every night and get up around the same time every morning. 

2. Make sure you’re getting natural daylight exposure. This helps regulate your natural body clock.  

3. Avoid overconsumption of alcohol around bedtime & stop caffeine consumption about 6 hours before bedtime. 

4. At night, reduce your blue-light exposure and limit screen time to help you relax and not be overstimulated. 

5. Make sure your bedroom is as dark as possible and at a comfortable cool temperature.

6. Read a book and listen to Metsä’s sleep playlist on Spotify.

As much as we wish we could have the most restful, rejuvenating, deep sleep every night, it’s likely that won’t always work out due to our modern lives. We’ve all got a phone addiction (we’ll cover this topic in a future blog), we don’t always live lives that allow us to stay consistent on when we fall asleep and when we wake up, and we all are guilty of having a little too much to drink at evening parties… however, with the information and tips given in this blog, I hope you will be able to incorporate some new changes into your evening routine to get that higher quality sleep that we all deserve and need.

Goodnight.