Pittwater Life March 2023 Issue

Sleep hygiene for clean thinking
Sleep is an almost mythical
component of life,
with that all-too-famous
question “when we fall asleep,
where do we go?” becoming
clear only in recent years.
With schools back and
Autumn here, a deep dive into
sleep and its powerful effects
can do us all the world of
good.
The 2017 release of English
scientist Dr Matthew Walker’s
‘Why We Sleep’ was a gamechanger
to help us understand
how sleep affects our waking
life. Sleep deprivation was
once a misguided badge of
honour, and almost an expectation
of anyone deemed
“busy” – from students to
CEOs. Thankfully, the damaging
belief system of sleep as a
luxury is changing.
Sleep supercharges everything
from beauty routines to
mental and physical health.
We know that the development
of long-term memory
happens during sleep, and if
we want to amplify a workout
or study session, one of
the best tips is take a nap
afterwards. Try it out! The
next time you need to learn
or create something, schedule
a nap. There are plenty of
breakthroughs in history that
have involved a good snooze,
from the Rolling Stones to
Mendeleev. The benefits of
sleep are also harnessed by
world-class athletes to boost
the body’s rate of recovery
and the mind’s capacity to
remember new skills.
However, even the best naps
can’t replace a full sleep cycle.
Biologically, adults are hardwired
to need eight hours’
sleep a night. The two types
of sleep our body needs are
REM (when the mind dreams)
and non-REM (when the body
regenerates). Importantly,
they are not evenly distributed
throughout the night,
and most of our REM sleep
happens near the end. That
means that if we cut our sleep
short by a couple of hours,
we can miss up to half of the
dream sleep that we need.
Chronic sleep deprivation
negatively impacts our
wellbeing. The good news
is that setting good habits
is a sure way to support our
body’s natural sleep/wake
rhythm. Dimming the lights
before bed, avoiding caffeine
at night, isolating our sleep
space from where we study
or eat and going to bed at
regular hours are just some
of the many ways to maintain
good sleep hygiene.
Quality sleep is a literal
life-changer and should be enjoyed
as the sport enhancing,
memory boosting and beauty
revolutionising feature of our
wellbeing that it is.
*By Tracy Milenko – Creative
Director of Ecotopia,
Warriewood. Tracy has been
a passionate advocate of the
Human Potential movement
and stress management
since the mid-1980s.
Health & Wellbeing
The Local Voice Since 1991
MARCH 2023 59