ARE YOU GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP?

by David Hynes

SquareOne Sleep

Can counting sheep help you get to the land of nod? Does warm milk before bedtime let you catch some extra zees?

To find out the truth about getting a good night's kip, I met Dr Sleep himself, Dr Chris Idzikowski of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre. He busted the myths to give us some top tips on getting a truly refreshing slumber.

I wanted to ask Dr Sleep (as Chris has become known since becoming recognised as the leading authority on all matters snooze-related), about the link between lifestyle and sleeping patterns. Like most people, I don't think I get anything like enough sleep. I snore, I'm a napoholic and I'm always tired.

Sleeping is a serious business, poor quality sleep has been linked with high stress levels, depression, poor mental concentration and even physical damage. I asked Chris whether some people, like me, were just plain bad at it, and what hope there was of improving our nocturnal habits?

Dr Sleep explains: "although some people do seem to naturally get better sleep than others, we can all improve our sleeping habits by making a few simple changes to our lifestyle."

"The problem is, when people can't sleep they tend to smoke more, drink more alcohol or caffeine during the day just to stay awake. These decisions can affect the following night's sleep and often just postpones the fatigue to later in the day."

If that sounds depressingly familiar, what's the best way to change our sleeping patterns for the better?

"You should get up when it's light and sleep in a dark environment. Going to bed at about the same time each night will help; it's all about establishing a routine which tells the body what time sleep is needed. Irregular sleeping patterns and heavy nights out all distort this inner body chronology" says Dr Sleep.

Still, he insists that naps are our body's way of telling us we aren't getting enough sleep during night-time. But naps may not be the long-term solution to playing catch-up on our sleep levels during the day.

"Sleeping in a darkened, quiet room at a good temperature and relaxing into a sleeping routine all help tell the body it's time to recharge the batteries. Also getting a decent bed is important." And speaking of beds, March is National Bed Month. So how important is a good bed to getting a decent kip?

Dr Sleep: "it's more a case of finding a bed that's comfortable for you, there are no definite rules as to whether it should be extra hard or extra soft but you spend a lot of your life on a bed so investing in a good one is a must."

So there you have it, pearls of wisdom from the best expert in the field. Dr Sleep has a radio show and a newspaper column called 'pillow talk' in the Sunday Herald and has podcasts on the web via VideoJug.com.

Must dash, I'm starting to nod off…………..