Good quality sleep is crucial to our health, but how do we know if we’re really getting enough? And what happens if we don’t?

At Tontine, we know the value of a good night’s sleep, and along with offering a wide range of products to support it, we want to equip you with the knowledge to integrate good sleep hygiene into your general health regime.

The Importance of Sleep

Understanding why we need sleep can be a motivating factor in trying to implement it. So, why is sleep so important?

Think of sleep like a car service - something that needs to be done to keep every part in good working order. When you sleep, you allow your body to enter a state of rest, giving it time to focus on healing, recovery, and growth. Overall, sleep is essential to both physical and mental well-being. The benefits of sleep come in the form of heart and cardiovascular health, weight management, memory and attention span improvements, as well as emotional regulation, immune system strengthening, and more.

Sleep deprivation or a lack of sleep has grave implications, which is why it’s essential to make sleep a priority in your daily life. There are a number of reasons you may not be sleeping well, so if you’re struggling to sleep and can’t work out why, we recommend taking a look into any of these that may apply to you.

Sleep Quality and Sleep Quantity

There are four stages of sleep: NREM Stage N1, NREM Stage 2, NREM Stage 3 (the deepest sleep stage), and REM Stage R. As we go through each stage, we move from a slowed heart rate and light sleeping to full body relaxation, before our heart rates increase and we begin to wake up again.

A lot of people think that these stages are spread out over the total length of time we sleep, but this entire sleep cycle actually only takes 90 minutes to complete. For the majority of people, going through this 90-minute sleep cycle five to six times makes for the ideal amount of sleep.

Anyone with a mind for quick maths will notice that five cycles equals around 7.5 hours, and 6 cycles comes to 9 hours of sleep. This is a good guideline of how much sleep adults need, with teenagers requiring a couple more hours to be fully rested. If you’re wondering how much sleep kids need, then bear in mind that they should be sleeping for considerably more hours during the day and night. Check out the table below for a more detailed breakdown of the hours of the minimum and maximum amount of sleep needed by each age group.

Feeling Good

The exact amount of sleep needed will vary from person to person, and can depend on numerous factors, too, including daily activity levels, general health, and menstrual cycles. The best way to know if you’re getting enough sleep is to self-assess during the day. Do you feel rested? Can you concentrate? Can you get through the day without relying on caffeine or sugar highs? If the answer to these is ‘yes’, that’s a pretty good sign. Otherwise, it might be time to reconsider your sleep schedule.

How to Sleep Better

If you’re not hitting the hours of sleep your body needs and you’re not quite sure why, you might want to give some consideration to improving your sleep quality and quantity. We’ve got plenty of tips to help you sleep better, along with pillows, doonas, and other top-quality bedding products to boost your sleep hygiene. As experts in bedding, Tontine is here to support you in seeing and feeling the benefits of a good night’s sleep.

_______________________________________________________________

Tontine are a proud supporter of the Sleep Health Foundation, whose mission is to improve people’s lives through better sleep. The Sleep Health Foundation is a not for profit health promotion charity that aims to raise community awareness about the value of sleep and its common disorders, and to improve public health and safety. We strive to deepen community understanding of the importance of sleep for health and performance; why sleep disorders need professional diagnosis and treatment; and to provide information about common sleep difficulties and how to address them. The Foundation receives no government funding. Support is provided by membership fees, corporate sponsorship, partnership programs, donations, brokering research grants and fees for expert speakers. The Foundation is endorsed to receive charity tax concessions and as a deductible gift recipient. All of the educational resources produced by the Foundation are developed and/or reviewed by independent experts selected for their knowledge of a particular subject. For more information on the foundation visit www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au.