GOODNIGHT SWEETHEART

Why Is Good Sleep So Hard To Find In Middle Age?

When you wake up each morning feeling like you’ve been burning the candles at both ends when you haven’t had a drop of alcohol in months and go to bed at 8pm most nights, it’s a mild form of torture. But while our parents’ generation would have suffered in silence, there’s now emerging science that’s inspiring a new genre of sleep-hacking advice, from tech to habit shifts, to help us get the quality of sleep our bodies need for longevity.

Not only is sleep more studied than it’s ever been, Western culture has become obsessed with wellness, making rock stars of experts such as Matthew Walker, professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, who is the founder of the Center for Human Sleep Science. His work examines the impact of sleep on human health and disease (he’s published in more than 100 scientific research studies on the science of sleep), the highlights of which he’s promoted on popular podcasts such as neuroscientist Andrew Huberman’s wildly successful health pod, Huberman Lab. We’re turning into a society of longevity nerds – and sleep is at the cornerstone of it.

Nowadays, it’s as common to discuss how many hours REM (rapid eye movement) you got last night as it is to talk about the weather. Indeed, most mid-lifers I know are well-versed in the nuances between melatonin, magnesium, ashwagandha and CBD drops as an aid to sleepiness.

But getting lost in the minutiae can only make things worse if you don’t know the root cause of why you’re not sleeping in the first place – one of social media’s less admirable qualities is its tendency to disseminate health in binary soundbites. Hence why specialist consultants such as Dr Matthew Hind, consultant respiratory physician at the Royal Brompton Hospital London and an honorary senior lecturer for the National Heart and Lung Institute, prefers to rely on medically recognised sleep studies to determine causality. When he’s not doing life-saving work (such as researching how to grow new lungs for patients with lung disease), he is one of the leading consultants at OneWelbeck’s sleep clinic, which is where our paths first crossed.

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Ask The Expert: Dr Sundeep Chohan

Dr Sundeep Chohan, a GP and sleep specialist, reveals the secret to a good night’s rest…

Why is sleep so important for our bodies?

Good sleep is the cornerstone of good mental and physical health. We spend about a third of our lives asleep, but it strongly impacts the quality of the remaining two thirds. While everyone has an occasional bad night, long term sleep issues are linked to a range of physical medical conditions including obesity, diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease as well as mental health conditions.

How many hours of sleep do we need each night?

There is no right number as it depends on factors like your age, gender, genetics occupation, sociocultural influences and even how much physical work or exercise you have done during the day. Around seven to eight hours would be sufficient for most, but there are people who only sleep for four hours and still function as normal.

Do women need more sleep than men?

While the research does indeed show women in general need more sleep than men, it is only by a few minutes extra. The reason women may spend longer in bed, however, is more complicated. For example, the sleep wake cycle is heavily influenced by hormones, so fluctuations and symptoms with periods, pregnancy and eventually menopause all interfere with the quality of sleep, leading to longer periods in bed to catch up.

How can we change our routine to make falling asleep at night easier?

Understanding and working with your body’s circadian rhythm during the day and evening sets the right chain of physiological events to get you ready for sleep. Some of the things you can do to help include:

• Having a regular sleep routine and bed time

• Opening your curtains as soon as you wake up

• Avoiding or reducing alcohol, caffeine and stimulants in the evening

• Dealing with any issues in the bedroom environment

• Avoiding blue light for about two hours before bed

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