A Cumbrian NHS trust has recommended 10 tips to achieve healthy sleep ahead of World Sleep Day.
North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust’s sleep apnoea specialist nurse, Nicola Exton, is also hosting a live event on World Sleep Day next Friday (March 19) to offer advice on how to treat sleep apnoea.
Sleep apnoea is when your breathing stops and starts while you sleep. Nicola will be discussing what causes this condition and how it can be treated. Symptoms include daytime sleepiness, loud snoring and restless sleep.
It is more common than you would expect, as Nicola explained: “There are currently 1.5 million adults diagnosed with sleep apnoea in the UK, but research shows that between 80 to 85 per cent of people with this condition are undiagnosed.”
Created and hosted by the World Sleep Society, the focus of World Sleep Day 2021 is to highlight the importance of regular sleep and the attributed health benefits.
Studies have shown that good sleeping habits can improve the quality of our sleep as well as improve our mood, mental wellbeing and can aid concentration.
Ahead of the event, you can send in your questions about sleep apnoea by emailing them to [email protected]
Amy Davidson, health and wellbeing coordinator at NCIC, said: “We spend a third of our lives asleep – yet for most of us it falls into that strange category of things we do every day but know very little about.”
If you feel that a lack of good quality sleep is affecting your quality of life – or that of your partner – then it’s time to learn more about it by attending our event on March 19.
The World Sleep Society recommends the following 10 steps to achieve healthy sleep:
- Fix a bedtime and an awakening time.
- If you are in the habit of taking a nap, do not exceed 45 minutes of daytime sleep.
- Avoid excessive alcohol ingestion four hours before bedtime and do not smoke.
- Avoid caffeine six hours before bedtime. This includes coffee, tea and many sodas, as well as chocolate.
- Avoid heavy, spicy, or sugary foods four hours before bedtime. A light snack before bed is acceptable.
- Exercise regularly, but not right before bed.
- Use comfortable bedding.
- Find a comfortable temperature setting for sleeping and keep the room well ventilated.
- Block out all distracting noise and eliminate as much light as possible.
- Reserve the bed for sleep and sex. Don’t use the bed as an office, workroom or recreation room.
