Anxiety and Sleep

The Most Important Things to Know About Anxiety and Sleep

• If you are a ""worrier"", you are at greater risk of having insomnia.
• Worrying about your sleep can make it worse. This may create a vicious cycle of poor sleep and worrying.
• Worrying may disturb your sleep even you

Caffeine and Sleep

Caffeine is a naturally occurring substance that affects the brain and behaviour. It can be found in many different drinks and foods. This includes tea, coffee, chocolate and soft drinks. Caffeine is also found in some medications.

Caffeine promotes alertness by inhibiting

How can caffeine affect my sleep?

Caffeine is a drug that acts as a stimulant, both mentally and physically. It is found in many drinks and foods that are common in our everyday life. These include tea, coffee, chocolate and cola drinks. Many people do not think of it as a drug. It can be bad

Things you should know about Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia:

• Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is evidence-based and the first line treatment for insomnia
• CBT-I is a multi-component treatment that usually includes a combination of education, behavioural and

1. Taking sleep for granted

Many people do not realize how important sleep is. Instead, they may think of it as a waste of time. Time spent in bed asleep is time well spent. There are many very important things that the brain needs to do while asleep. These include forming memories and going

TEN COMMON SLEEP DISORDERS

1. Insomnia

Insomnia is when it is hard to get to sleep or stay asleep. Often, the cause is discomfort from an illness. Other times, it can be feeling upset, sad or stressed. In these cases, what needs to be done is to get rid of the cause. But in other cases, there is

We all dream every night
Our brains are active throughout the night. But after we wake up, we often don't remember much about our dreams.

We dream most vividly during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep
Some of our sleep has vivid, structured thoughts - or dreams. These occur during a stage of sleep

Sleep need varies

Different people need different amounts of sleep.  Eight and a quarter hours is the average for adults.  Some people can cope very well with much less and some need much more every night.

Sleep is an active state

We used to think that everything shuts down

Many people dread summer because of the problems they experience on the hot nights. There are some things that you can do to help (short of installing air conditioning).

Skin temperature is the key
Research has found the ideal sleeping temperature is around 17 to 19 degrees Celsius. If this level

 How do our sleep needs change with age?

It is well known that as children get older they need less sleep. Different people have different sleep needs. The advice in the table below is only a guide. You can make a good guess if a person is sleeping enough at night - observe how they act and

Why nap?

If we don’t have enough good quality sleep, we may feel tired and sleepy during the day. This can make it difficult to do our normal daily activities. Naps may help to make us more alert, active and better able to cope during the day.

When can naps be good?
Sometimes we know in advance

1. What are good sleep habits?
Good sleep habits are often referred to as good sleep hygeine. There are many things that can be done to improve sleep. Here, we will give you some guidelines for what you should and should not do for a good night's sleep. Many people have trouble with their

1. Not going to bed and getting up at consistent times each day
Some of us can get away with changing the times we go to bed and get up. However many people cannot. These people do far better with regular hours of sleep. This lets our internal body clock build a strong sleep wake cycle. Going to

Myth 1: The brain shuts down and is inactive during sleep
In fact, the brain is very busy during sleep. Among other things, it sorts and processes information on what was going on that day. Then it cements these into your long term memory. This is a vital for learning and memory.

Myth 2: You can

Sleep Tracker technology

High-tech wrist watches, smartphone apps, and bedside sensors have been developed to monitor your sleep patterns. These trackers promise a lot, with some even claiming to measure the time you spend in each stage of sleep. Although it might be fun to pore over data you

1. Get the Environment Right

• Your room should be quiet. Hotel rooms are usually well sound proofed to help you sleep well. Use the “do not disturb sign” to prevent unwanted interruptions and take care with the time you set on your alarm clock for the morning. Ear plugs may help if you have a

How can technology use affect us at bedtime?

Technology use before bed is linked to difficulties falling asleep and reports of increased alertness (1). This may be due to one, or a combination of the following:

• Bright screen lights, which can stop our bodies from releasing the ‘sleepy

1. Have a regular sleep pattern
Try to go to bed at around the same time every evening and get up at around the same time every morning. Improved sleep will not happen as soon as changes are made. But if good sleep habits are maintained, sleep will certainly get better. Find what time works for

1. For short trips, stay on home time.
If you are away from home for a only a day or two, try to eat when you would usually eat at home, try to sleep when you would usually sleep at home and try to not go outside when it is dark at home.

2. For longer trips, change your time as soon as possible