Do you know your own sleep efficiency? Do you know how to calculate it? It is simple, you divide the total sleep time
(T-S-T) to the time in bed (T-I-B) The ideal is between 85 and 89%. Higher than 90% is a problem, and lower than
84% is also a problem. There are many scientifically proven methods
to improve sleep efficiency and to have a better quality of sleep. In this video I will show you how to calculate
your sleep efficiency, and I’ll talk about 10 proven method to improve it. Let’s talk about how improve sleep efficiency
today Tonight, before you go to bed, copy these
questions. If you prefer, you can download them from
a document that I posted below. Just go to the description of this video below
and you will find the link to download this document. Here are the questions, and when you wake
up tomorrow morning, answer all of them: 1 What time did you go to bed? 2 What time did you try to sleep? 3 What time did you fall asleep? 4 How many minutes did you stay awake during
the night? 5 What time did you wake up? 6 What time did you get out of bed? Let’s illustrate with an example:
He went to bed 10 pm, was reading until 11 pm, tried to sleep after 11 pm but was able
to fall asleep at midnight. At 3 am he woke up to go the washroom, drank
water, and came back to bed, but was not able to sleep again until 4 am. Woke up 6 am with the alarm clock, but was
so tired, so he stayed in bed another hour and got up at 7 am because he needed to walk
the dog. Let’s calculate the time in bed. It is from 10 pm to 7 pm. So, it is 9 hours or 540 minutes. Well, that sounds good. If someone asks him how many hours he spent
in bed he will say 9 hours! Now, how many minutes he stayed awake? That is 60 + 60 + 60 + 60. So, it is 4 hours, or 240 minutes. The total sleep time is 9 hours minus 4 hours,
which is 5 hours or 300 minutes. And his sleep efficiency is 300 divided by
540 which is 0.56. When we multiply by 100%, it tells us it is
56%. Is that good or bad? If you don’t want to do all these calculations,
or you don’t remember how many minutes you stayed in bed, I’ll show you the smartphone
app that I use to calculate my sleep efficiency at the end of this video. If your sleep efficiency is between 85 and
89%, then you can stop watching this video right now. You are doing everything right and you probably
feel very rested during the day and refreshed when you wake up in the morning. In this video I will not talk about what to
do when there is a sleep disorder, or about sleep positions, or mental health condition
like depression or anxiety. I’ll address those problems in future videos. Now, if you are healthy and your sleep efficiency
is not good, keep watching this video. So, if your sleep efficiency is close to 100%,
this means that you are not getting enough sleep. Perhaps you need to go to bed 30 minutes earlier. Some people will say that everyone needs 8
hours of sleep a night. Well, people are different. According to the National Sleep Foundation
in the US, the amount of sleep that adults need is between 7 and 9 hours. And we know from scientific studies that less
than 6 hours or more than 9 hours is a strong factor to develop chronic pain. Now, if your sleep efficiency is less than
85%, and you don’t feel refreshed when you wake up, or you are tired during the day,
the solution may not be just increasing the amount of Time in Bed ( T, I, B), but it might
be that you need to improve the quality of your sleep. There is good evidence, from scientific studies
that these 10 sleep hygiene tips work to improve sleep efficiency, and consequently, sleep
quality. (1) Number 1) Light
Try getting exposure to natural sunlight in the morning every day. Natural sunlight or bright white light helps
to regulate our brain and tell our brain when it is time to be awake and alert. Have you noticed that when you spend a day
at the beach you sleep better? So, go for a walk outside during the day. Open the windows, move your home office to
a well-lit room. If you can’t get exposure to sunlight, then
make a big light box or buy an artificial white light and turn it on for 2 hours every
morning. A study done in 11 nursing homes in Norway
using light boxes of a bright light of intensity of 6,000 to 8,000 lux for a period of two
hours every day for 2 weeks. They showed that older adults improved their
sleep efficiency by 80%. Another advantage of exposure to sunlight
is that your brain will produce serotonin, which is the mood hormone. That is why some people have seasonal affective
disorders (S, A, D) and feel sad or moody in the winter. They also benefit form daily exposure to these
bright light boxes, and the studies showed that 30 minutes exposure to a 10,000 lux device
is enough. While bright light is good during the day,
the opposite is true in the evening. When we are exposed to darkness, our brain
will release the sleep hormone, called melatonin. Too much light in the evening or night is
not good. Especially blue light, the type of light that
is emitted by the electronic devices. This includes computers, smartphones, tablets
and TVs. So, if you are watching this video before
bedtime, it is time for you to put it down right now. A group of researchers from Universite´ Laval,
in Quebec showed that glasses that block blue light prevent the suppression of the sleep
hormone melatonin. You see my glasses? I have the blue light filter in my lenses. That is why the blue light is reflected towards
you. I did notice that my sleep quality improved
a lot after I started using these new lenses. If you do not wear glasses, then the solution
is to avoid exposure to blue light in the evening. At least 2 hours before bedtime. The light of your bedroom is very important. Keep your bedroom very dark when you are sleeping. A Japanese study with older adults showed
that people who slept in bedrooms with some light had worse sleep quality and 61% more
insomnia than people who slept in very dark bedrooms. Sleep hygiene tip Number 2) Pay attention
to what and when you eat and drink Caffeine is good to wake our brain in the
morning because caffeine improves performance, vigilance and boosts energy. We should avoid any caffeine for at least
6 hours before bedtime to avoid sleep disruption. But it also depends on the amount of caffeine
that we ingest in a day. Generally, more than 200 mg of caffeine is
needed to affect sleep quality, decreasing total sleep time, prolonged time to fall asleep. One 8-oz cup of coffee contains 95 mg. A espresso has 64 mg. A black tea has 47 mg,
Green tea has 28 mg and sodas have 22 mg. Avoid alcohol in the evening. Alcohol blocks the production of melatonin
and decreases the production of growth hormone, which are important to regulate the sleep
cycle. Oh, but I heard that drinking alcohol helps
to sleep better! False! Alcohol reduces the time the person takes
to fall asleep and causes the person to have a deeper sleep in the first half of the night. However, alcohol leads to a lot of sleep disruptions
in the second half of the night. Total R-E-M sleep is reduced. R-E-M sleep is the rapid eye movement sleep
that is important to promote learning, memory and mood. People who have poor R-E-M sleep have a higher
tendency to obesity, type 2 diabetes, migraines, and depression. Avoid heavy meal before bedtime
Another way to block the production of melatonin and grown hormone is to have a heavy meal
right before bedtime, especially a high carbohydrate meal. On the other hand, having a light snack before
bedtime helps to improve the sleep quality. There is a condition called night eating syndrome
(N-E-S) that is prevalent in 1.5% of the population, and 2.8% of college students. The person will feel hungry at night at least
2 times a week and the person has insomnia. It is not clear if this is a eating disorder
or a sleep disorder. The best treatments are cognitive behavioural
therapy and progressive muscle relaxation. A study showed that people with night eating
behaviour have more problems to maintain their blood sugars and have more diabetes-related
complications. People with N-E-S also suffer from other eating
disorders or mood disorders such as major depressive disease. Obesity increases the risks of developing
N-E-S, however, non-obese subjects also present with N-E-S. If eating a heavy meal is not good at night,
the same is true for drinking liquids. Sleep hygiene tip Number 3) Avoid drinking
liquids before bedtime and getting up at night to pee
Nocturia is the medical term for getting up at night to pass urine. It may be simply a consequence of drinking
too much liquid within 2 hours before bedtime. If this is your case, the solution is easy,
just stop that habit, and remember to empty the bladder before going to bed. However, nocturia affects 60% of older adults
and a group of Japanese scientists found that nocturia is associated with mortality. Those who get up once have 46% higher chance
of dying than those who do not get up to void. Those who get up twice, have 85% higher chance
of dying, and those who get up 3 or more times have double the chance of dying (2.06). These researchers explained that this higher
chance of dying can be due to multiple mechanisms: First, nocturia can be a sign of a serious
disease like sleep apnea, high blood pressure, diabetes or cardiac disease. Second, waking up causes sleep loss, reduction
of sleep quality and duration which then cause more diabetes and obesity. Third, people with nocturia have a higher
risk of falls and fractures, and these injuries could lead to death. Sleep hygiene tip Number 4) Exercise and physical
activity There are hundreds of scientific studies showing
that regular physical activity improves quality of sleep. In a study of older adults who were sedentary,
half of the group was randomized to 16 weeks of moderate intensity training, while the
other half didn’t do any exercise. They did low-impact aerobics, brisk walking
for 30 to 40 minutes four times a week. The group that exercised feel asleep faster,
slept more, improved their sleep efficiency, and felt more rested on awakening than the
control group. Exercises seem to be more effective to treat
insomnia than many medications. Some people prefer to do the exercises during
the day, others in the evening. There is conflicting evidence regarding what
time of the day is better or worse. So, you should find out what works for you,
and if you do exercise in the evening and have a good sleep quality, there is no need
to change the time you practice exercise. Sleep hygiene tip Number 5) Don’t take long
naps during the day How common is the siesta? In the US, a survey showed that 55% of Americans
took on average at least one nap during the week, and 35% took 2 or more naps each week. Daytime naps are common in many cultures,
specially when the temperatures are higher. Naps less than 10 minutes have few if any
benefits. Naps between 10 and 45 minutes have several
benefits, but longer naps are associated with loss of performance and sleep inertia. Sleep inertia is the period of 30 minutes
after the person awakens in which there is a low brain speed. This can be very dangerous specially if the
person needs to operate a vehicle or machinery. Sleep inertia is also associated with low
performance and low mood that can last for several hours after awakening from the nap. Another problem with longer naps is that it
also deteriorates the quality of the night sleep. In older adults, frequent and longer naps
were associated with a 30% higher chance of mortality than individuals of the same age
who napped infrequently. Another study showed that individuals who
napped for less than 30 min three or more time per week had a 84% decrease the chance
of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The person can train the body and mind to
take short naps. A short afternoon nap can improve memory and
learning. What is the best time to take a nap? Some say it is around 3 pm. Albert Einstein and Winston Churchill were
strong advocates of a short afternoon nap. Sleep hygiene tip Number 6) Regular sleep
routine, same time to go to bed and to get out of bed
Practice makes it perfect. If you train your body to fall asleep and
wake up every day at the same time, you will notice that after a few months you will not
need an alarm anymore. The body follows a circadian rhythm that aligns
itself with sunrise and sunset. Having a regular sleep patters, including
weekends and holidays can lead to high sleep efficiency and sleep quality. Sleep hygiene tip Number 7) Reduce the noise,
temperature and distractions in the bedroom Most studies show that room temperature around
20 Celsius or 70 Farenheit is a comfortable temperature for most people. But of course, it also depends on the clothing,
bedding and personal preferences. Bedroom noise is very important. Night-time exposure to traffic noise or low
frequency noise affects the levels of cortisol response. Cortisol is the stress hormone, and it peaks
in our body around 30 minutes after we wake up. People with poor sleep quality have higher
levels of cortisol in the morning. We don’t know if higher cortisol leads to
poor sleep or if it is poor sleep that leads to higher cortisol. Anyways, practicing the sleep hygiene tips
in this video will help to keep low levels of cortisol
It is also important to keep distractions out of your bedroom, and use the bedroom only
for sex and sleep. Sleep hygiene tip Number 8) Relax your mind
and body before bedtime Mind-body therapies have been shown to improve
sleep efficiency and insomnia. There are various types of therapies including
music, reading a book, mindfulness meditation, breathing, Yoga, visualizations and self-hypnosis. In a study with 90 post-menopausal women,
the sleep quality was improved in 50 to 77% with self-hypnosis. In another study with 46 patients with fibromyalgia
who participated in weekly in-person sessions of Yoga for 6 weeks, there was an improvement
in sleep efficiency only among the patients who also had some psychological symptoms. I recently came across some preliminary studies
showing that binaural auditory beats help to improve sleep and reduce pain. Binaural bets happen when two tones of slightly
different frequencies are presented separately to the left and right ears. The brain will interpret this as a single
tone that varies in amplitude at a frequency equal to the frequency difference between
the two tones. This is something like optical illusion, but
it is an auditory illusion. The other names for this phenomenon are brainwave
entrainment and frequency following response. If you want to try this, just get your stereo
headphones and find some binaural music on your phone or the internet. Let me know in the comments below if this
improves your sleep efficiency and sleep quality. Sleep hygiene tip number 9) Think about natural
medicines, like melatonin and Magnesium In a French study with adults older than 55
years of age, they gave 2 miligrams of prolonged-release melatonin before bedtime during 3 weeks. T
he quality of sleep improved 34%. In another study of elderly patients with
insomnia, the group that received 2 miligrams prolonged-release melatonin fell asleep 9
minutes sooner than the comparison group. And this is similar to the effects of zolpidem,
that is able to shorten the time to fall asleep at about 8 minutes. The main benefits of melatonin is when people
are jet-lagged or when they work in different shifts. When they need to adjust to a new bedtime
routine, melatonin is very helpful to tell the brain that it is time to sleep. However, when the person takes melatonin for
3 or more weeks, the effects are less noticeable. So, it is recommended not to take for prolonged
periods of time. Take some vacation of melatonin, so it will
be effective when you need it. Magnesium supplements, has a calming effect
and improve sleep quality. There are various studies showing that taking
Magnesium at night help to improve quality of sleep and reducing insomnia. It seems that Magnesium glycinate has the
additional benefit of glycine, which is an amino acid that has calming effects too. I have another video that I talk about Magnesium
for chronic pain. Number 10) Talk to your doctor about your
poor quality sleep If you are practicing all of these habits
above and you still don’t have a good quality sleep, then talk to your doctor. A sleep study might be necessary. There are sleep disorders that affect the
quality of sleep and need to be treated. Sleep apnea affects 6% of Canadians, and it
is associated with various health problems like stroke and high blood pressure. Well, those are the 10 sleep hygiene tips
that I have for you today. Oh, and before I forget, this is the Smartphone
App that I use to measure my sleep efficiency. There is a free version that you can download. I prepared a summary of all these 10 proven
tips to improve your sleep efficiency. Go to the description of this video below
and download the document. Please remember that this video is for educational
purposes only. If you think you have a sleep disorder, please
talk to your doctor. In case of emergency, go to the nearest emergency
department. Don’t forget to like this video, subscribe
to this channel and leave your comments in the box below. You may write down which sleep hygiene habit
you are going to change first. You can also contact me in Twitter, Facebook
and Instagram. Bye for now.
