What you need to know about getting a good night’s rest
Sharing your bed with a partner can help, as can having a dog in the room – but forget about cats
As more becomes known about the effects of sleep on our overall physical and mental health, research into this area is increasing.
The idea that we simply “recharge our batteries” while sleeping is long since dead, as it has been shown that our brain is very active while we sleep, and carries out important tasks.
We look at some recent research papers on sleep – and how to get more of it.
Are your pets damaging your sleep?
Pets are known for their ability to help alleviate depression, but some of them may be negatively affecting your sleep. New research led by Lieve van Egmond in the Department of Neuroscience at Uppsala University in Sweden, published in online journal Scientific Reports, measured pets’ impact on achieving the recommended seven hours sleep each night, on sleep quality, and on falling and staying asleep.
Dogs were not found to affect their owner’s sleep, but cats are a different story. Researchers say this may be because cats tend to be active at dawn and dusk, disturbing their resting owners.
The research showed owners who let their dog sleep on the bed, rather than just in the room, reported a less restful night. An earlier study, the Whitehall II Study of British civil servants, noted that pet owners fall asleep more easily, but feel less rested when they wake up. A further study from China concluded that pets can ease depression, which can lead to better quality sleep.
Togetherness brings nightly benefits for couples
Those who share a bed with a partner or spouse reported they achieved more sleep, suffered less severe insomnia and less fatigue, said a new study led by Brandon Fuentes at the University of Arizona in the US. Sleeping with a partner or spouse was associated with better overall sleep quality, the researchers noted.
Sleeping with a partner may result in reduced depression, anxiety and stress, and may lead to more satisfaction with relationships and higher quality of life, the researchers said.
But parents who shared a bed with their child reported more severe insomnia, less control over their sleep, and a higher risk of sleep apnoea, a condition in which breathing stops and starts.
An earlier study in 2020, led by Dr Henning Drews at the
Centre for Integrative Psychiatry in Kiel, Germany, said when couples slept together, their REM
(rapid eye movement) sleep was less disrupted, and this may bring benefits. The brain carries out important functions during REM sleep, such as memory consolidation, although its purpose is not fully known.
Let your sleep needs and patterns drive you, rather than the other way around
COLIN ESPIE, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Yes, your dreams have got weirder in the pandemic
If you think you are having more scary dreams during the pandemic, you are probably right. New research led by Hailey Meaklim, from the School of Psychological Sciences at Monash University in Australia, found about half of the respondents in a 2,214-person survey reported changes in their dreams in April 2020, near the start of the pandemic.
Dreams were more vivid and bizarre, more film-like, played out in “high definition”, and had a strong negative charge, researchers said in the Journal of Sleep Research. Respondents reported having more nightmares, and more dreams overall, and their dreams were more death-related. The dreams contained more complex storylines, and “felt real” although they made “no sense”, one respondent said.
“Dream content is continuous with changes in our waking life,” the researchers said, “so stressful and threatening events during wakefulness can lead to more frequent and severe threat-based dreams during sleep.”
Dreams also reflected people’s desire to survive the pandemic. More people dreamed of running and being chased, and experienced feelings of panic, falling and suffocating. The content brought about a desire to connect with loved ones and absent friends, although this was coupled with feelings that we could not help those close to us.
“Dream changes and insomnia symptoms may be evolutionary mechanisms to keep us awake and safe in times of danger, but may not offer an evolutionary advantage for modern-day crises like a global pandemic,” researchers wrote.
Fresh ideas on how to get to sleep
Sleep hygiene – practical rules for good sleep – has been discussed since the 1930s. But Colin Espie, from the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute at the University of Oxford in Britain, said a conceptual shift would also be of help. Writing in the Journal of Sleep Research, Espie listed five ways of thinking that would benefit sleep.
• Value your sleep: Sleep is one of the most important physiological ingredients that gives us the capability to live our lives, so treat it seriously, Espie says.
• Prioritise your sleep: Put sleep higher up the list when making decisions. It’s OK to feel tired and sleepy, Espie writes, and it’s fine to leave a social event early if you feel tired.
• Personalise your sleep: Everyone has different sleep requirements, so find out what is best for you by trial and error.
• Trust your sleep: Sleep occurs best when it happens at the same time each night. “Let your sleep needs and patterns drive you, rather than the other way around,” Espie writes.
• Protect your sleep: “A racing mind is the fiercest enemy of sleep, and this is where you need effective armour,” Espie says. We should mentally put the events of the day behind us before bedtime.
Espie says it’s pointless trying to force yourself to go to sleep. The best sleepers know how to relax to allow sleep to occur naturally.