“Sorry, I didn’t get to sleep well last night.” This is the first thing I tell sleep expert Ria Campos-Lopez (and himbing.ph founder) when we get on a call one morning in March. Considering that we’re meeting to talk about that very subject, the irony isn’t lost on her. “It happens more often than you think,” she replies assuredly.
Sleep is the one thing that many of us take for granted. A survey from consumer research firm Milieu Insight reports that 56 percent of Filipinos have sleep problems, and data from sleep tracking app Sleep Cycle also shows that the Philippines ranks 4th among the most sleepless people in the world.
This isn’t surprising—when there’s another deadline to chase, chores to finish, or a show to finish bingeing, sleep often takes the backseat in favor of so-called productivity.
But what we have to understand—and take more seriously—is that getting proper sleep regularly can do wonders for our overall health and wellness.
“Think of sleep as food for our brain,” says Campos-Lopez, illustrating how it can help you look and feel good in the long run. “Sleep also is when our brain heals and puts together everything that we’ve learned in the day and we’ve experienced. It affects our brain function through our learning and memory. So when we lack sleep, it’s like we’re fuzzy. We can’t remember as much, we can’t do as much. It affects focus and concentration, our problem-solving skills, and also our creativity,” she adds.
A good night’s rest
Medical studies, including one from the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, state that adults need seven or more hours of sleep per night on a regular basis to “promote optimal health.” These claims have also been disputed. Campos-Lopez says that while there are various studies on the components of a “normal sleep” (a “healthy sleep” or a complete good night’s sleep), it all really boils down to a person’s lifestyle.
“It’s personal to [every individual]. Just because we have arranged [working hours from] 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., I shouldn’t say that, okay, I can do the bare minimum of seven [hours] when in fact I should check myself based on my routine,” says Campos-Lopez.
This means that if you feel refreshed upon waking up and can go about your day without getting tired despite only getting six hours of sleep, then you have a normal sleep. A “normal sleep” should be uninterrupted and should leave you feeling good upon waking up, energized and alert enough to complete your daily tasks without the need for caffeine.
It can be hard to really determine if you’re getting enough sleep, but one helpful tip is to ask yourself Sleep Cycles’s four questions: How do you feel when you wake up? Do you wake up multiple times at night? How long does it take you to fall asleep? And lastly, do you feel energized and alert throughout the day? A normal sleep should be uninterrupted and should leave you feeling good upon waking up, energized and alert enough to complete your daily tasks without the need for caffeine.
If you are unable to get a proper amount of rest on a regular basis, the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine says that consequences could include “weight gain and obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and stroke,” as well as mental health concerns, such as depression and anxiety.
Effects of poor sleep habits can also show on your face, which is why we’re told to get our “beauty sleep.” Dark undereyes are a tell-tale sign of a lack of sleep. An article from Healthline cites board-certified dermatologist, Dr. Erum Ilyas, saying that this and dry skin could be the result of “dehydration associated with tiredness.” And while we can use skincare products to lighten and keep our skin hydrated, it’s still better to prevent dehydration in the first place.
Catching up on sleep
I ask Campos-Lopez if it’s true that you can catch up on sleep during the day by taking naps to complete the sleep cycle. The answer? You can’t.
“Your nightly sleep cycle is one night’s sleep… If you can get a nap in for adults, then that’s good. But that doesn’t add to your lack of sleep,” she explains. A full sleep cycle takes about 90 minutes to complete, meaning that we go through it four to six times a night.
“And of course, just like anything, a few nights of lacking sleep is okay,” she adds. “But if it becomes systemic, [for example, it goes on for] weeks and weeks, or well, at this point, as a working adult, months at a time, you get into a chronic sleep deficit and it’s hard to recover [from that] because then from there we already have [developed] all the negative health effects.”
Clinical psychologist Dr. Arlene K. Unger outlines the five stages that make up the sleep cycle in her book, “Sleep: 50 mindfulness exercises for a restful night’s sleep”. The first stage is called light sleep, where the muscle activity decreases. Next is real sleep, which is when the body temperature begins to fall and we properly become unconscious. The third stage is deep sleep, which is when our body produces delta waves known to stimulate growth hormones. Then there’s the restorative sleep stage, wherein the body repairs itself through hormones that promote cell growth. Finally, there’s REM sleep, the stage when our eyes dart back and forth between our eyelids and we tend to dream.
Unger says that the full cycle takes about 90 minutes to complete, meaning that “we go through [it] four to six times a night.”
Disturbing the circadian rhythm
We’ve all been through it—we tuck ourselves into bed, feeling cozy under the blanket after a long day. Then we close our eyes, expecting to enter dreamland in a while. But 10 minutes go by and we are still fully awake. Then we start tossing and turning, but we just can’t seem to doze off. After what seems like hours of closing our eyes to no avail, we resort to popping a melatonin tablet to finally fall asleep.
Campos-Lopez says that while effective, it’s a “stop-gap measure.” Since, there’s no way of telling how much of the melatonin hormone our body produces for a good night’s sleep, it’s difficult to tell how much you need to consume. The light from our laptops or gadgets communicates to the brain that it’s daytime, confusing the natural rhythm.
“Our body naturally produces melatonin if we’re good at following our own schedule,” says Campos-Lopez. She acknowledges that most of us aren’t, so it’s important to condition our brains to be awake and to rest at the right times.
Campos-Lopez explains the concept of the circadian rhythm, which is basically our internal clock that tells our body things like “rise with the sun and sleep when the sun sets.”
She gives me a scenario: “Our bodies will tell us—maybe sometime after dinner or toward the end of the day—that you’re tired. Because of the way we live and we know that we have work tomorrow, same thing. But say, it’s 9 p.m. after dinner, and I’m kind of feeling like that tiredness, my body’s already telling me to rest. But [you’re] going to say, ‘Oh no, I still have to write my article for tomorrow’ or ‘I still need to see my clients.’ So I’m going to turn on my computer, start working, and maybe go until 12 a.m. And finally, when I’m ready to sleep now, I’m done with my work. Have you done that? You lie in bed and you’re so wired but you can’t, you just can’t sleep, no?”
This is because the light from our laptops or gadgets communicates to the brain that it’s daytime, confusing the natural rhythm. “It stops the melatonin so I don’t feel sleepy, and then it releases cortisol and energy,” she says. “Instead of resting and following my hormones, I push it up unintentionally. So it keeps me going, but when I’m finally done and I want to go to sleep, my body’s not cooperating anymore.”
Are there ways to “hack” sleep and improve the quality of a good night’s rest? Campos-Lopez says it all boils down to what she calls practicing sleep hygiene. See her tips below:
Sleep hygiene
Avoid heavy meals and alcohol two to three hours before sleeping.
“When we do things out of moderation, like drinking a lot or eating heavy meals before dinner, instead of our body being able to sleep and rest and repair, your system is on overdrive trying to break down all the extra enzymes,” says Campos-Lopez.
Don’t work in bed.
Train your brain to solely recognize your bed as a sleeping space by keeping your workspace in a separate area. Your bed should only be the place where you rest.
Unplug and destress at least an hour before you plan to sleep.
Avoiding bright screens before sleeping Campos-Lopez suggests finding guided meditation and doing breathing exercises on a comfortable chair or mat.
Invest in blackout curtains or a sleeping mask.
Lighting is an important factor in helping our body release the amount of melatonin needed to get us to sleep. Winding down in a fully dark room will tell your body that it’s nighttime and that this means it’s time to sleep.
Keep things quiet or play uniform sounds.
Sound also plays a big part in an ideal sleeping environment. Some people may find it helpful to play nature sounds, but Campos-Lopez says that static sounds are best. “You want to make the sounds of your surroundings consistent, and with other types of tracks you can’t predict if, say, a loud wave will crash,” she adds.
After all that’s been said and done, if your sleep problems are affecting your daily performance, then it would be best to consult a medical professional for further advice.
