Sleep is essential for our body and mind to function optimally. Without good quality sleep, our body cannot repair itself properly, we find it harder to concentrate and studies have shown that driving when sleep-deprived impairs performance MORE than alcohol consumption!
And yet, according to their 2024 Sleep Manifesto, The Sleep Charity’s research found that 9 in 10 people are experiencing sleep problems! It’s no wonder they describe the UK as being in the midst of a sleep crisis.
With World Sleep Day falling on 14th March this year, it’s the perfect time to talk about the most important aspect of our overall wellbeing: SLEEP!
Poor sleep can lead to long-term health conditions, affect development in children, increase levels of stress and anxiety and even contribute to weight gain.
In the chapter on Sleep in Dr Rangan Chatterjee’s Four Pillar Plan book, he quotes Professor Matt Walker from the University of Berkeley, California: “There is no tissue within the body and no process within the brain that is not enhanced by sleep, or demonstrably impaired when you don’t get enough.”
Sleep is utterly vital to good health. Yet the statistics on The Sleep Charity’s website are sobering: some people are suffering with poor sleep for as long as 6 years before seeking help; 75% of people who suffer poor sleep believe it to be caused by work-related stress and only 1 in 20 are aware of the links between poor sleep and long-term health issues (such as stroke and heart disease, diabetes and cancer).
Advice for adults is 6-8 hours of quality sleep per night (children will need more) but a good benchmark to know if you’re getting the right amount for you is how you feel when you wake up. Do you feel rested and ready to face a new day?
Dr Chatterjee also says that, “Waking up at the same time, give or take 30 minutes, without an alarm, is a good indicator that your body’s intrinsic biological rhythms are working well.”
He also says that not being able to drift off within 30 minutes of trying is an indicator that external factors are affecting your body’s natural ability to sleep.
Does this sound familiar?
If you’re not sleeping well, the chances are your health and wellbeing are suffering.
A good night’s sleep helps to replenish the body’s energy reserves and boosts the immune system making it easier to fight off colds and other viruses and infections.
While we sleep, the brain processes all the data we have taken in during the day so it is important for our short and long-term memory and enables better cognitive activity and concentration when we wake.
Regular, good sleep lifts our mood, improves mental clarity and emotional resilience and helps us cope better with stressful situations. It also reduces the risk of mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression.
Poor sleep can impact the hormones that regulate hunger and feeling full and so can have a detrimental impact on our weight, further increasing our risk of developing long-term health issues.
In children, sleep is vital for them to thrive! Disrupted or insufficient sleep can affect growth and development, lead to behavioural issues, poor academic performance and long-term health problems.
There are so many factors in this day and age that impact our ability to sleep well. From light and noise pollution, stress, illness, hormonal changes such as perimenopause, shift-working, screen time, caffeine and other dietary influences… the list goes on!
How well do you sleep? What’s stopping you from sleeping better?
If you are struggling, please talk to your GP in the first instance. The Sleep Charity’s research revealed only 1 in 3 sufferers of insomnia have been officially diagnosed.
There are many things that can be done to improve our sleep and identifying the causes of the disruption will help to address them. For example, blackout blinds or an eye mask will help if there’s unavoidable light pollution, perhaps from a streetlight or because you are a shift-worker having to sleep during the day.
Bigger problems, such as sleep apnoeia or hormonal changes such as menopause, however, will need more support from your doctor.
Sleep is a subject I frequently talk about with clients and many report sleeping better after they’ve had a massage treatment as it helps reduce stress – both physically by releasing tension in the body and emotionally as it promotes the release of serotonin, a key hormone in regulating our sleep.
Adding some Aromatherapy to your massage and/or your night time routine can also help promote restful sleep.
Everyone knows of the relaxing effects of Lavender but there is a vast array of essential oils that can help support you through times of stress, calm the mind, clear the sinuses if a cold or seasonal allergy is keeping you awake and so on.
As part of your appointment, I will ask some questions to get to the bottom of what is keeping you awake and then create a bespoke blend of essential oils specifically to help.
And as a Clinical Aromatherapist, it’s not just about adding them to some carrier oil to use in your massage; I can also consider how you would like to use them at home in a way that suits your lifestyle. For example, you might find a relaxing bath before bed helps so I can create a bespoke bath gel or bath salts to soothe the mind and create a sense of calm so you can drift off to sleep more easily.
If you would like to explore the possibilities of how aromatherapy and/or massage might improve your sleep, please get in touch or book an appointment here.
I am also running an Essential Oils for Better Sleep Workshop at the end of this month. You can find out more and book your place here.
