The reason you’ve been sleeping all wrong.
Photo by Christopher Jolly on Unsplash
We all need to sleep. That’s a given. Sleep is a total non-negotiable, underpinning everything from immunity to cognitive function and social skills. Nearly everything in our bodies is affected by how much sleep we get. It has been medically proven that sleeping fewer than 5 hours a night can double the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Sleep deprivation – or the anxiety surrounding it – is all too real, says elite sport sleep coach Nick Littlehales. And bad news: Sleep debt we accumulate is unrecoverable.
Life has a way of throwing us situations and circumstances that bump a healthy sleeping pattern further from the top of the priority list. That makes it seriously unfair to oversimplify and say, “Just get more sleep!” Instead, let’s look at a couple common problems that can upset a restful night.
A snoring habit. That impressive imitation of a freight train is the result of sagging tissue blocking or narrowing the airway. There’s a happy thought. If you sleep on your back, for example, your tongue could fall backwards and create that broken motorbike sound. Folks who snore tend to have a poorer quality of sleep compared to those who don’t. So it’s worth taking it seriously and talking to your doctor about solutions.
Stress about sleep. Littlehales, who founded Sport Sleep Coach, says that too much focus on poor sleep quality is often counter-productive. In fact, he says, “Worrying about sleep is the key sleep disruptor.”
A slow moving glymphatic system. Think of it as your internal waste management system! Our brains use cerebrospinal fluid to “wash off” biological waste products, which, if allowed to build up over time, can cause all sorts of not-fun health scenarios. The glymphatic system only works when you’re asleep and scientists have discovered that those who sleep on their back may slow their glymphatic system function.
A less-than-ideal sleeping position. Most of us prefer to sleep in one of three ways: On our bellies, on our backs or on our sides. How you like to sleep often influences how well you sleep. Researchers agree the ideal position is on our sides. Why? Lying on your side allows gravity to pull your tongue toward your cheek – which keeps it from making you sound like an angry motorboat. The glymphatic system is also able to function at its best, leaving you with a scrubbed up system come morning.
Changing position in the night. Sometimes it’s not getting into a side lying position, but sustaining it. Most of us change position an average of 35 times per night. That’s a lot of rolling!
So try training yourself to stay put. You might try propping pillows next to yourself or using a body pillow to stop yourself rolling. If you’re consistently rolling onto your front or back and would like to stop, you might try ditching pillows entirely. Why? Pillows can make it incredibly comfortable to sleep in a poor position. Without them, you’ll likely naturally transition into the lateral position as your arm becomes a makeshift pillow.
Often being a bit more thoughtful about how you’re sleeping can do wonders for the quality of your rest. But if it doesn’t, it could well be worth talking to your doctor for a solution. Sleep is too valuable to go without!