With World Sleep Day (19 March) coming up, it is time to drop ourselves a reminder of how we should continue to prioritize our sleep to achieve an optimal quality of life. Getting our eight hours of quality sleep every night is important as adequate sleep and regular sleep patterns help rejuvenate our mood regulation, cognitive function, and overall health.
According to Fitbit’s data in 2020, Singaporeans were sleeping more last year. However, Singaporeans still had one of the lowest sleep durations in the region, indicating there is still room for us to improve our quality of sleep.
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To help you stop any tossing and turning at night, Fitbit recommends five top tips for ways you can sleep longer and get better quality shut eye:
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Power nap like a pro.
If you are struggling to stay focused during the day, consider napping to gain some additional sleep-related benefits. The optimal duration of a nap is anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes. It can offer a variety of health benefits from increased alertness, better endurance, increased creativity, and a lowered risk of heart disease¹.
The ideal time for a power nap is usually between 1-3 pm. If you are unable to get a nap in before 3 pm, it is best to push through and wait for your bedtime, as napping too close to bedtime can impact your nightly sleep.
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Clear the air.
Research shows that people may get better quality sleep when fresh air circulates in the bedroom. A recent study² found that when people slept in rooms with ventilation – either with an open window or open door, their sleep improved as they woke up fewer times per night. As carbon dioxide levels in the room were lower, people slept more soundly, and their awakenings decreased. They also felt better rested the next morning with improved concentration levels. This may be because ventilated rooms are likely to contain more oxygen, which may be linked to better cognition.
Try opening your windows slightly to minimize entry of noise and light, while allowing for better air circulation for better sleep.
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- Hold on that last cookie before bedtime.
Eating or drinking too close to bedtime can focus your body on digestion, not sleeping. If you have a consistent body rhythm of eating dinner at 6 pm and having a snack at 8 pm, your body may think that it is not time for it to shut down yet. If you can, avoid eating for two hours before your bedtime.
- Take a shower.
Showering is relaxing and lowers your body temperature, signalling that it is time for bed. Falling core body temperature is associated with rises in melatonin levels in the body, which facilitates our transition to sleep and promotes consistent, quality rest³. To encourage your body temperature to drop even more, try cooling down the air in your bedroom with a fan or simply by opening a window.
- Create your ideal sleep sanctuary.
Your environment can impact your sleep. To improve the quality and duration of your sleep, a few easy changes to your sleep environment can make a big difference.
• Sleep in total blackness and silence. An eye mask and earplugs can help.
• Sleep at the right temperature. The optimal bedroom temperature for quality sleep is between 15 – 21 Celsius (°C).
• If there are noises in your environment you are unable to control (like loud neighbours or street noise), use a white noise machine to drown out disruptive noises.
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This World Sleep Day, make the necessary adjustments you may need to achieve better sleep for the year ahead to improve your overall physical and mental health. Fitbit is committed to helping you improve your sleep quality and understanding your health and wellness better, with its sleep-tracking features on its devices to help you optimize your sleep.
You can also get deeper insights to improve your sleep with Fitbit Premium’s advanced sleep features, which includes sleep programs, personalized sleep insights and a thorough analysis of your sleep stats. You can also get a deeper analysis of your free daily Sleep Score, calculated based on your time asleep, time spent in each sleep stage (light, deep and REM), and how restorative your sleep was – which makes it easier for you to understand your sleep quality.
For more information about Fitbit, Fitbit Premium and its latest devices, please visit: https://www.fitbit.com/sg/home.
¹Fitbit Blog: “How Daily Naps Can Boost Your Health”
²Indoor Air International Journey of Indoor Environment and Health: “Window/ door opening-meditated bedroom ventilation and its impact on sleep quality of healthy, young adults”
³Sleep Foundation: “Melatonin and Sleep”.
