Sleep: Tips on getting a good night’s rest

What is the purpose of sleep?
Sleep is vital to helping our bodies rest and recover. Non-REM sleep, which includes phases of deep sleep, contributes to a number of biological functions, immune defense mechanisms and healing. It is also essential for learning and remembering. REM sleep, during which we dream, helps our brains sort memories and consolidate our emotional memory. These two types of sleep alternate in a cyclical pattern several times each night.

How do I know if I sleep well?
If you fall asleep within ten minutes, without waking up in the middle of the night, and feel fresh and well-rested in the morning with no daytime drowsiness, then you sleep well!

What are the main sleep disorders?
10 per cent of the population suffers from severe insomnia (trouble sleeping three to four nights per week), with consequences on daily life such as fatigue, difficulty concentrating and faintness.
But other disorders exist, such as obstructive sleep apnea (blocking of the upper airways), which affects 5 to 7 per cent of the French population; restless legs syndrome (5 to 15 per cent of the population); and sleepwalking (3 to 10 per cent of the population).
3 to 8 per cent have nightmares. Unlike children, adults are not “supposed” to have bad dreams. Nightmares in adults therefore indicate a state of real anxiety or malaise.
More rare, 2 per cent of French people behave violently while sleeping and 1 per cent report nighttime eating disorders.
Narcolepsy (suddenly falling asleep during the day) and idiopathic hypersomnia (excessive daytime sleepiness) are far less common, affecting only 0.02 per cent of the population.

What are the different factors that disrupt sleeping patterns?
Quite often, sleep is disrupted by noise and movement (a spouse who snores loudly and moves a lot, for instance), too much light, an over-heated room or low-quality bedding.

What type of lifestyle is conducive to restful sleeping?
To ensure a good night’s sleep, it is essential to follow a few basic rules. Having a bedtime ritual is one, as is having a very regular sleep schedule in order to train your biological clock. Ideally, sleep should occur between 11 pm and 7 am.
Calm activities at the end of the day are also recommended. In the evening, avoid doing sports, watching violent movies, working on the computer and engaging in unpleasant discussions. Stimulants such as alcohol, tobacco and all other drugs should also be prohibited at day’s end. Alcohol causes people to fall asleep quickly, but the sleep will be fragmented by brief waking periods throughout the night, causing tiredness in the morning.
Contrary to popular belief, overly relaxing activates should also be avoided at the end of the day. If you have trouble falling asleep, it is better to take a cold shower, which will lower your body temperature, rather than a hot bath, which will help you relax but afterwards, actually reduce sleepiness. Instead, take your bath at least two to three hours before going to bed.

What anti-insomnia treatments are available?
To treat light insomnia, alternative medicines may be the right solution. These include homeopathy, hypnosis, acupuncture, auriculotherapy (ear acupuncture), biofeedback and phytotherapy (medicines containing plant extracts and natural active ingredients). Plants such as valerian, hops, passion flower, common balm and hawthorn all help combat insomnia.
When insomnia is more severe, cognitive and behavioral therapies have proven very effective. They help insomnia victims break unhealthy habits and learn to relax in order to embrace sleep as something beneficial.
But when insomnia becomes chronic and severe, the use of sleep-enhancing medicines is often necessary to break the vicious circle, in which poor sleep leads to daytime hypervigilance and stimulation, which in turn causes poor sleep, resulting in hypervigilance all over again.  

Sleep disorder consultation
Telephone number : 01.46.41.28.37
E-mail : opd2a@ahparis.org