A Fresh Start for Better Sleep in the New Year

A new year often comes with resolutions to improve your health and mental wellness. There’s no better place to start than by enhancing your sleep, both in quality and quantity. However, between managing busy schedules, kids, anxiety or technology, it might be difficult to be able to get a good night sleep.

We take a closer look at steps you can take to improve your daily wellness, sleep routine, and bedroom environment to make it easier to fall asleep at night and feel more well rested in the morning. ENT surgeon Dr. Soon Sue Rene and cardiologist Dr. William Kristanto also share some insights on how bad quality sleep from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may play a role in your heart health.

Importance of Getting Good Sleep

Getting enough sleep is crucial for your overall health and well-being throughout your life. How well you feel while awake is dependent in part on how well you were able to sleep.

Good sleep helps to boost memory and learning, as well as improve your heart health and support weight management.

Quality sleep plays a vital role in overall health. It strengthens memory and learning by helping the brain consolidate information, supports heart health by regulating blood pressure and stress hormones, and aids weight management by balancing appetite and metabolism.

Implications of Not Getting Sufficient Sleep

Consistently getting poor-quality sleep, or not enough sleep, can have profound consequences on your long-term health. Studies have shown that people who frequently lack good sleep are at an increased risk of the following chronic diseases:
 

• Diabetes: Insufficient sleep may affect the way your body processes glucose, increasing your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Studies have found that healthy individuals who cut their sleep from eight to four hours processed glucose more slowly.
   
• Mood Disorders: Not getting enough sleep may cause irritability and moodiness the following day. Chronic sleep issues have been linked to depression, anxiety, and increased mental distress.
   
• Obesity: Research has shown that people who often sleep less than six hours per night are much more likely to have a higher-than-average body mass index than those who sleep at least eight hours. When we sleep, our body releases hormones that help control appetite, energy metabolism, and glucose processing. If we get too little sleep, the balance of these and other hormones become disrupted.
  
  According to Dr. Soon, obesity is also a known risk factor for OSA. “When one is overweight or obese, there is associated increased fat deposition in the tissues of the upper airway. This results in a narrower pathway, which in turn predisposes you to OSA.”
  
  “Obstructive sleep apnea is generally characterised as a complete or incomplete upper airway collapse, and that results in a decrease in oxygen delivery to your body,” Dr. Soon explains. This creates an effect similar to a feeling of being choked repeatedly. As a result, poor quality of sleep is experienced and the body undergoes significant amount of stress.
  
  Adults with OSA may experience impaired concentration, fatigue and excessive sleepiness which may contribute to weight gain. If you are constantly fatigued, you might not feel motivated or have the energy to exercise. Therefore, it may be more difficult for people with OSA to lose weight, and because obesity can cause difficulties during sleep, the vicious cycle of OSA continues. 
   
• Heart Disease: A single night of insufficient sleep in people with existing hypertension may result in elevated blood pressure for the rest of the day. There is also growing evidence of a connection between OSA and heart disease.
  
  Dr. Kristanto recalls a patient who was diagnosed with severe OSA, “This patient was roughly being strangled more than 100 times in an hour. This means that not only is his quantity of sleep low, but his quality of sleep is also poor. You can imagine the amount of stress his body undergoes.”
  
  He adds, “So, when he's sleeping, the brain tries to wake the person up by secreting stress hormones, and that is what causes hypertension.”
  
  “An increase in blood pressure is never good,” Dr. Kristanto explains. “It can cause heart attacks, and over time, there will be structural changes to your heart. This can cause atrial fibrillation that, over time, would predispose you to the risk of having strokes.”
  
  Treatment options for OSA include the Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), which Dr. Soon describes as a "mechanical splint that patients put over their noses to deliver an airway column to keep the upper airway stented and open."
  
  "This helps stabilize their oxygenation overnight when they sleep, decreases oxidative stress and prevents all the other cardiovascular complications that Dr. William has spoken about," she adds.

Ways to Get Better Sleep

Get at least 30 minutes of exposure to daylight

Studies have shown that getting sunlight exposure for at least 30 minutes early in the day can help you sleep better at night by resetting your body’s circadian rhythm—the internal “sleep clock” that tells you when to wake up and when to rest.

You can try stepping outside early in the morning for a cup of coffee or a simple stroll around your neighbourhood. Alternatively, consider skipping the blackout curtains and let natural light in through your window.

Limit naps to 20 minutes in the afternoon

An afternoon nap can be a great way to recharge, but napping for too long or too late in the day can make it harder to fall asleep at night. Research also suggests that adults who take longer naps, those lasting an hour or more, may be more susceptible to conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. If you decide to nap, try to limit it to 20–30 minutes and schedule it for at least eight hours before your bedtime.

Follow the same pre-bed routine

Repeating the same sequence of steps to prepare for bed can help signal to your body and mind that it’s almost time to sleep. Some steps you could follow include dimming the lights, putting away phone or computer screens, taking a warm bath, and engaging in calming activities like reading or stretching.

Complete your routine in the same order every night helps to reinforce the habit.

Keep the bedroom dark and reduce noise

Exposure to light and sound can make it more difficult to fall asleep and may lead to shallower sleep or unintentional awakenings. Make your bedroom as dark as possible when it is time to sleep by switching off lights and using curtains to block external light. If that isn’t possible, consider wearing an eye mask. If noise is an issue, try earplugs or a white noise machine to mask disruptive sounds.

Choose a good pillow

Many people underestimate the impact a good-quality pillow can have on sleep, until they wake up with a stiff neck or sore back. A properly fitted pillow can significantly improve comfort and make it easier to get a good night’s rest.

The right pillow does more than provide comfort. It supports proper spinal alignment, reduces muscle strain, and allows your body to fully relax, setting the foundation for deeper, more restorative sleep.

If your current pillow feels uncomfortable or lacks support, it may be time to shop for a new one. Your sleeping position and personal preference will determine the right type of pillow, whether you prefer something firmer with more support or softer with a lower height.

When implementing these tips and tricks for better sleep, one more tip to follow is to start small and build momentum from there to avoid feeling overwhelmed. Over time, you can build on these gradual changes to improve your sleep. Keep in mind that the benefits may not appear immediately. It may take weeks or even months to adjust to a new habit but sticking to good sleep practices can pay off significantly in the long run.