Sleep Series, Part 4: Sleep Kit & Environment
If you’ve made it here, that means you’ve made it to the end of our Sleep Series… Thanks for coming along! So far, we’ve looked at your routine before and after sleep, as well as organising your time in bed according to your sleep cycles and how to compensate for late nights. Today we’ll finish off by discussing your sleep kit and recovery environment. So how should we actually sleep?
Let’s talk about positions first:
On your back
This is a popular option, with the postural benefit of keeping the neck and back aligned (provided you aren’t sleeping on a pillow that interferes with this). This position however also makes us relax our throats and causes a narrowing of the airways, which may contribute to snoring and sleep apnoea. Lying on your back has also been suggested to leave us feeling exposed and keeps our brains in a state of alertness – Not what we want when we are trying to get some zzz’s.
On your front
Stomach sleepers twist their spine into an unnatural position, which can result in lower back pain, neck pain, and all sorts of postural issues. Additionally, any existing posture related pain can be exacerbated when sleeping like this (which is not good news for me because this is the position I’m used to sleeping in).
On your side
This is the best position for you to sleep in. In this position your neck and spine are in a natural position and you won’t cause any postural problems, your chances of snoring and sleep apnoea are reduced, and your brain likes this position because it feels that your body is secure, especially if you are lying on your non-dominant side.
Next, the mattress check...
I often get my clients to do this when they come in with neck or back pain… Try this little test at home, ideally with a partner or friend (but you could also use the camera on your phone):
Stand with a good upright posture with your arms gently folded. Bend your knees into a comfortable and balanced position – This is your standing foetal position.
Adopt this position on the floor, lying on your non-dominant side, and hold this posture for a little while. Your partner or friend (or phone) will acknowledge the gap between your neck and the floor, where the pillow would normally be. As you lie there, you’ll feel the urge to move and adjust, which commonly happens to us during sleep (especially on firmer mattresses).
Adopt this position on your current mattress. Get a friend or partner (or use your phone) to judge the gap between your head and the surface. If there is a clear gap of 6cm or more with your head needing to drop towards the surface as it did on the floor, then the mattress is too firm. If your hip is dropping into the mattress and out of alignment and your head is being raised up by the mattress, then it is too soft. The correctly profiled surface should easily accept your body shape and weight, distributing your weight evenly, and giving you a straight postural line.
On to pillow talk now…
This one’s nice and easy. A single shallow pillow for comfort will do just fine, which on the correctly profiled mattress will compress to fit.Now let’s get into your sleep environment itself. Your bedroom should not only be thought of as an extension of your living space… it should be thought of as your physical and mental recovery room.
Walls
Ideally you want this room to be painted white (or a light white variety). You also don’t want to have anything on the walls.
Light
We produce melatonin in darkness and as such, we need our recovery rooms to be free of ambient light (such as street lights). Total blackout is the most effective method to achieve this, using curtains or blinds. Note that we do need daylight in the morning, so once you awake at your constant time, it’s essential to get the blinds or curtains open immediately to flick the internal switch and get your body producing serotonin.
Temperature
Approaching sleep time, our bodies want to move into a cooler but not cold environment. Everyone has different sensitivities to temperature so find a temperature that works for you (and your partner) that is cooler than the rest of the house.
Essentials
Try to keep your bedroom as simple as possible. Generally, all you need is your sleep kit and wardrobe. Try not to have a desk in your room if possible so your mind doesn’t make associations between your recovery room and work, and try not to have a bookshelf and such as seeing these objects will stimulate your mind.
Technology
An alarm clock is the only piece of technology that is needed in your bedroom (and ideally this isn’t your phone).
Cleanliness
Keep your room (including bedding) clean and clutter-free.
Noise
You get two types of people when it comes to noise and sleep – Those who can only sleep in complete silence, and those can sleep to anything. If you can only sleep to silence, consider wearing earplugs. If you prefer sleeping to white noise, there are numerous apps that can be downloaded for this purpose (I myself love sleeping to the sound of rain).
And there we have it folks! The end of our Sleep Series. Thanks for joining along and I hope this brings you a more restful sleep.