How to get perfect night's sleep as one third of Brits experience problems at least once a week

Good sleep is one of the most important factors for our health and wellbeing and lack of it is one of the most common NHS complaints.

This week, research emerged showing that waking up in the night due to work stress is a major problem for most over-50s. A third of us experience sleep problems at least once a week.

Sleep is crucial throughout our lives for healing tissues and strengthening the immune system as well as being when the brain clears out waste and locks in the previous days memories. Lack of sleep can contribute to health problems from depression to heart attacks, dementia and obesity.

Here we explore the scientific evidence behind sleep and how we can get that perfect, rejuvenating nights shut eye.

Work Stress

Problems sleeping are particularly common in older adults and we tend to get less sleep as we age. A year-long study of older workers by Edinburgh University discovered for the first time that regular sleep disturbances - rather than lack of sleep duration - appear to be why people feel poorly rested.

Researchers tracked 45 workers aged 50 to 66 doing different jobs who wore wearable sensors as well as filling out regular wellbeing and workplace assessments. Over 70% experienced persistent, clinically significant sleep problems despite having no diagnosed history of sleep disorders - even though most people were getting the recommended 7 to 9 hours in bed.

An uninterrupted couple of hours deep sleep - usually soon after nodding off - is crucial to getting the restorative health benefits of sleep.

Exercise can help

Research shows that exercising at least twice a week cuts the risk of insomnia. People who do regular keep fit sessions are 42% less likely to have difficulty falling asleep and 22% less likely to report insomnia.

Imperial College London reviewed data on 4,339 people from nine European countries over ten years and found people who kept exercising in the long term were 55% more likely to be good sleepers.

The study, published in the journal BMJ Open, found even people who had not exercised previously but who then took up keep fit over the study period were 21% more likely to be good sleepers than people who were inactive.

Weight lifting and tai chi best

One review of 24 clinical trials sought to establish which forms of exercise were best for sleep. The trials scored the sleep quality of 2,045 people who were 60 after the following forms of exercise:

• aerobic - such as cycling, dancing, swimming, brisk walking and hiking
• resistance - such as lifting weights, arm curls, wall push-ups and gym machines
• balance - such as sideways walking, heel-to-toe walking, one-leg standing
• flexibility - such as gymnastics, yoga, dance and pilates

Aerobic exercise or a mix of exercises helped tackle insomnia but not as much as resistance exercise such as heavy lifting. A separate study published in the British Medical Journal found tai chi exercise was just as effective as the current NHS gold standard treatment of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).

What time you exercise could make a difference

Researchers have also looked at the importance of the so-called circadian rhythm and whether someone is an early bird or a night owl. A trial showed exercising at the right time of day for your body boosted a host of heart health measures as well as sleep quality.

The study published in the journal Open Heart looked at the chronotypes of 150 middle aged participants who were randomly assigned to groups for exercise that either matched their circadian rhythm or did not. Workouts were scheduled between 8am and 11am, or 6pm to 9pm.

Improvements were greater when exercise time was matched to chronotype - so that for example morning people went to the gym before work. This group of exercisers saw blood pressure reduced more and greater improvements for functions such as heart rate, aerobic capacity and sleep quality.

Researchers suspect that exercising at the time best suited to your body works muscle and fat tissue more effectively as well as reducing harmful inflammation in the body.

Sleep this way to avoid going blind

A little known fact was proven recently that sleeping with your head and neck in a high pillow position increases the risk of glaucoma.

A trial showed that sleeping on stacked pillows alters the neck position to compress the jugular vein and prevent natural drainage of fluid in the eye. This increases internal eye pressure which can lead to optic nerve damage and glaucoma. Over a millions Brits have glaucoma and the condition is a risk for people aged over 40 and can lead to blindness if untreated.

The study, published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, found eye pressure increased by two thirds when participants lay with heads raised by 20-35 degrees on two pillows, when compared to lying flat with no pillows.

How much sleep do I really need?

The NHS states that the average amount of sleep needed by adults is seven to nine hours, while children need around nine to thirteen hours. Sleeping too much can be a sign you are unwell.

Different people can require different amounts of sleep but one study of 23,000 Americans sought to establish the optimum amount of sleep needed for good blood sugar control.

The findings, published in the British Medical Journal, concluded the optimal length of sleep was seven hours and 19 minutes on average for avoiding insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is the precursor to type 2 diabetes.

A separate study covering one million people in six countries showed less than seven hours sleep a night was linked to a 7% greater risk of high blood pressure.

Regular bedtimes best

Going to sleep at the same time each night reduces the risk of a stroke. A study by the University of Ottawa in Canada tracked more than 72,000 volunteers' sleeping habits using activity trackers. They then grouped them into regular, moderately irregular and irregular sleepers and monitored their health over eight years.

Irregular sleepers were 26% more likely to suffer a stroke, heart failure or heart attack than regular ones. Irregular sleepers were at a higher risk of stroke or heart attack even if they got the seven to nine hours the NHS recommends.

Emily McGrath, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: "Research suggests that disturbed sleep is associated with higher levels of a protein called CRP. This is a sign of inflammation."

But a weekend lie-in can help

A 14 year study found those that caught up on sleep at the weekend were a fifth less likely to develop heart disease. Researchers tracked 91,000 Brits who wore wearable devices to monitor their sleep and researchers found that 20,000 were regularly getting less than the recommended seven hours of sleep a night.

Those who got at least an extra one hour and 17 minutes sleep over the weekend were 20% less likely to develop conditions such as ischaemic heart disease, heart failure, atrial fibrillation AF and stroke.

Even participants who usually got more than seven hours daily sleep in the week were 19% less likely to develop a heart condition if they had at least one hour and 17 minutes extra weekend sleep.

Prof James Leiper, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said: While a weekend lie-in is no replacement for a regular good night's rest, this large study suggests that it might help reduce risk of heart disease.

What the NHS says

The NHS says a few sleepless nights are usually nothing to worry about, but it can become an issue if a lack of sleep starts to affect your daily life.

Recommended measures to improve sleep include the following:

• Avoid caffeine or a big meal late in the evening
• Try not to use phones, tablets or computers for an hour before bed as blue light from these screens can make it harder to fall asleep
• Talking to someone you trust or writing down your worries can help you manage them

Current NHS guidelines are for GPs to treat people with insomnia through managing issues such as anxiety, short-term courses of sleeping pills and CBT counselling for more severe cases.

Click HERE to access NHS support for sleeping problems.

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