How Can I Get To Sleep? Reading This Book Will Help | HuffPost Life

Having Trouble Getting To Sleep?

Dr Jessamy Hibberd and Jo Usmar— The Huffington Post UK

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As part of HuffPost UK Lifestyle's Say No To January campaign, we present the first of four extracts from a new series of This Book Will Make You...

It's believed that over a third of people in Britain have trouble getting to sleep, or getting a good quality of sleep, so let's start our first segment on sleep by Dr Jessamy Hibberd and Jo Usmar...

Snoozing, slumber, forty winks, shuteye – whatever you call it, sleep is an integral part of all our lives. You can’t choose to stop needing sleep, just like you can’t choose to stop breathing. It’s a function that our bodies perform automatically, which means not being able to drop off can be frightening, frustrating and completely exhausting.

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We spend about a third of our lives asleep on average, or at least we’re supposed to if all goes according to plan. However, when you’re lying in bed counting down the hours until your damn alarm goes off, the helplessness you feel can become overwhelming and it can start affecting your day-to-day life.

We have to sleep to survive – you’re not just conked out, your body is going through extraordinary psychological and physiological processes. In fact, you can actually survive better without food than you can without sleep.

The harder your body and brain works during the day the more you need to rest, which is why the consequences of sleep deprivation can be dramatic. In spite of all this, it’s harder than ever to switch off in the modern world. After a day at work we come home to TV, the internet and a flurry of Facebook notifications, Tweets and more emails (work and personal).

The good news is that while you can’t force sleep, there are loads of things you can do to encourage it. This book aims to give you the means to kick-start positive resting patterns, whether your sleep’s been messed up for a night, a week, a month or a year. Below are a couple of strategies you can try to encourage better sleep.

Stop clock watching. Counting down the hours you have left to sleep – ‘I’ll get three hours if I fall asleep now’ – is one of the loneliest and most panic-inducing things you can do. You’ll start punishing yourself for not having fallen asleep yet, leading to anxiety about how you’ll cope the next day.

Clock-watching actively keeps you awake as your brain is primed to assess how long you’ve been asleep. You’ll suddenly jerk awake thinking, ‘Was I asleep?’ and then chastise yourself for waking up when you realise you actually were. Turn your clock around and don’t look at it. Looking isn’t going to solve anything, it’s only going to aggravate your anxiety. If you do wake up knowing it’s late (or very early as the case maybe), tell yourself it’s 2a.m. Your brain will accept this hour without panicking because although it’s late, you’ll still be able to get a few hours of sleep before having to get up.

Story continues below the slideshow:

9 Perks Of A Good Night's Sleep

You'll Look Prettier(01 of10)

Sleeping beauty had this one right: regular shuteye alone actually makes you look prettier, according to a 2010 study published in the British Medical Journal.The researchers took photos of 23 people after a normal night's sleep of eight hours and after a period of sleep deprivation. Then, a group of 65 people rated each set of photos for perceived health, attractiveness and tiredness. The sleep deprived group scored lower in all three categories."We propose that sleep is a cheap and effective beauty treatment, both acutely and in the long-term," John Axelsson, lead researcher on the study, told NBC News. "Sleep should be seen as the body's natural beauty treatment and a clear alternative or complement to other beauty treatments."Sleep can also actually help to keep your skin in top condition. Over the long term, sleep deprivation can cause increased stress-related aging, a decreased ability to stay hydrated and a decreased ability to fight off environmental pollutants, writes Elizabeth Tanzi, M.D. on DoctorOz.com."The most important thing you can do for your skin may be getting a great night's sleep," dermatologist Dr. Howard Murad told the Los Angeles Times. (credit:Alamy)

You'll Eat Less(02 of10)

Both experts and scientific data have long connected lack of sleep with increased hunger and weight gain -- and now a recent study has quantified the phenomenon. The findings, presented last month at an American Heart Association meeting, suggest that otherwise healthy people may eat more than 500 additional calories a day when they're sleep deprived, the Huffington Post reported when the study first came out. (credit:Alamy)

You'll Make Better Decisions(03 of10)

Stumped? You may want to sleep on it.A study published last year in the Journal of Sleep Research found that people make smarter calls after a good night's sleep. The researchers asked 54 young adults to play a card game aimed to imitate casino gambling. Those who were well-rested made decisions that resulted in greater winnings four times more often than those who were sleep deprived -- and they had a firmer grasp on the rules."This provides support for what Mom and Dad have always advised," lead author and psychologist Rebecca Spencer, of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said in a statement. "There is something to be gained from taking a night to sleep on it when you're facing an important decision. We found that the fact that you slept makes your decisions better." (credit:Alamy)

You Can Ease Bad Memories(04 of10)

If you're sorting through a painful memory, try giving it a rest.One small study last year found that sleep might help to take the edge off difficult emotional experiences that happen during your waking hours."The dream stage of sleep, based on its unique neurochemical composition, provides us with a form of overnight therapy, a soothing balm that removes the sharp edges from the prior day's emotional experiences," senior author Matthew Walker, associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at UC Berkeley said in a statement.But remember we're talking a solid eight-hours of shuteye -- too much sleep may be a sign of depression. (credit:Alamy)

You Could Learn Better(05 of10)

You may be conditioned to think that the best way to learn is to stay up all night cramming, but the truth is that you'd be better off to get some sleep.Several studies have linked rest with increased performance on learning-related tasks, and now a new study has found that the timing of sleep may matter, too. The researchers asked more than 200 people to memorize related words (such as "fire and smoke") and unrelated words (think: "insect and truth"). When later tested for recall, those who slept just after learning performed better than those who went a whole day before sleeping. (credit:Alamy)

You Can Be More Organized(06 of10)

Ever notice how you can read the same paragraph over and over again when you're tired, without ever really retaining anything? That same phenomenon can result in your home or work-space becoming cluttered, explains Robert Oexman, D.C., director of the Sleep to Live Institute in Joplin, Mo. When humans are sleepy, they can lack the focus and drive to stay on task long enough to keep things orderly."Sleep-deprived people can't focus very well," he told The Huffington Post. "A lot of things are cluttered in their lives and they find themselves less organized." (credit:Alamy)

You'll Have A Better Sex Life(07 of10)

It's the oldest excuse in the book: "Honey, I'm too tired." And while there's certainly some truth to being too exhausted to have sex, Oexman believes there's something deeper at work here. Chronic sleep deprivation can take a mental toll that affects how people perceive their own attractiveness and, in turn, sexual desire."They don't just not feel like it," Oexman says. "They really don't feel like it. They don't feel good about themselves." (credit:Alamy)

You'll Exercise Better(08 of10)

Too wiped to hit the gym after work? The culprit may actually be your sleep habits, not the stress of your job. "Work should not wear you out," Oexman says -- you may be mentally exhausted, but, if you're working a desk job, you shouldn't be physically exhausted, as well. So if you feel like you just can't do it, consider upping your hours of shuteye each night.Added bonus: sleep can actually be a boon to your athletic ability. One study published last year found a correlation between increased sleep and improved performance in elite college basketball players. "Intuitively many players and coaches know that rest and sleep are important, but it is often the first to be sacrificed," study author Cheri Mah said in a statement. "Healthy and adequate sleep hasn't had the same focus as other areas of training for peak performance."Some research also suggests that regular rest can aid with muscle memory, Oexman says, which helps you learn how to do all kinds of new tasks, like perfecting your golf swing. (credit:Alamy)

You'll Be Easier To Get Along With(09 of10)

We all know a bad night's sleep can make us grumpy. And over time, that can take a real toll on your personality."People who don't sleep well tend to over-escalate a problem," Oexman says. In fact, one study even found that sleep deprived people could be more likely to blame other people and plan revenge against them. "Sleepier people seem to engage in counterfactual thinking that is more dissatisfied and perhaps more selfish," study author David Mastin, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, said in a statement. "It may be that the sleepier you are, the more likely your musings are to be angry thoughts about how others could have done better."So if you can't stop thinking how everyone else is to blame, you might want to pause to consider how many hours you've been clocking in bed each night. (credit:Alamy)

Your Immunity Will Be Boosted(10 of10)

It's pretty much common sense that if you're rundown or exhausted, you'll be more susceptible to picking up a bad cold. But a recent study helped to explain that link further. As The Huffington Post reported when the findings were released:

Researchers found that the body's circadian clock controls an essential immune system gene in mice -- a gene that helps the body ward off bacteria and viruses. "People intuitively know that when their sleep patterns are disturbed, they are more likely to get sick," study author Erol Fikrig, professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Medicine, said in a press release. "It does appear that disruptions of the circadian clock influence our susceptibility to pathogens."

(credit:Alamy)

Accept things aren’t black and white when it comes to snoozing. Thoughts like “I had a great night’s sleep!” versus “I had a terrible night’s sleep” and “I feel amazing because I slept well” versus “I feel hideous because I slept badly” will affect your life immeasurably.

Our bodies are programmed to get us through the day as best they can – a good or bad night’s sleep doesn’t directly correlate to a good or bad day – you’ll have good days when you’re tired and bad days when you’re not. That’s life. Don’t let sleep dictate your mood. Yes, you slept badly, but you can still choose to try and have a good day!

Log-off an hour before bed. Sleep is prompted by the secretion of the hormone melatonin which increases naturally when it’s dark. Blue light - the kind emitted by standard light bulbs and computer screens - will actively inhibit melatonin production as the body will still think it’s daytime. Ban any and all technology at least an hour before bed to give both your body and mind time to wind down.

Stop napping. Napping causes more problems than it solves. It makes it harder to fall asleep at night and you’re more likely to wake up sporadically.

Not only are you lessening your natural drive for sleep, but if you nod off on your sofa you’re weakening the important association with your bed and sleep. And, if you nap regularly, you’ll be conditioning your body to expect a nap each day, so if for any reason you can’t snatch forty winks you’ll feel even more tired and sluggish. It’s like jet lag – you have to ride out the tiredness until you can go to bed at a reasonable hour and then you’ll be more likely to sleep through the night.

This Book Will Make You Sleep by Dr Jessamy Hibberd and Jo Usmar (published by Quercus Publishing), £7.99

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