Maintain Good Sleeping Habits

Approximately one-quarter of Australians struggle to meet sleep recommendations and experience poor quality of sleep due to lifestyle factors (1).

The festive season can be full of uncertainty and worry, a change in schedules and festivities, all of which are lifestyle factors and can affect your sleep and sleep quality. 

SA Health recommends anywhere from 7 to 9 hours of quality sleep each night to ensure you are functioning and feeling your best (2).

Sleep Brings Joy and Good Health: Getting enough sleep provides energy for everyday activities and physical movement, regulates appetite and hormones, improves focus and mood, helps the body recover, improves responses to stress and decreases the risk of chronic conditions. 

You may already understand that sleep is important, but struggle with getting quality sleep, the first thing to do would be to recognise the causes of a poor night’s sleep. 

A good way to start would be to keep a sleep diary and note your sleep habits and how you are feeling during the day. You could consider some of the things below.
  • Are you stressed about social interactions due to financial troubles?
  • Are you feeling lonely or isolated. Could it be a family relationship?
  • Are you trying to juggle work with a busy season and still have a social life.
  • Has your routine changed this Christmas? Are you using technology close to bedtime?
  • Are you drinking alcohol and caffeine late in the day?
  • How is your diet? Do you have a poor diet, or eat close to bedtime?
  • Does your family, kids or friends have expectations around the time you spend with them?
  • Has your physical activity throughout the day dropped off?
Signs and symptoms of poor sleep over Christmas.
  • Tiredness and fatigue.
  • Less energy and poor focus.
  • Eating more junk food.
  • A poor immune system; getting sick often, feeling run down, getting infections.
  • Being agitated and frustrated easily.

Don’t let the festive season steal your sleep. Check out these tips on good sleep habits  from the Sleep Health Foundation.      

If you find these tips are not helping and you have constant symptoms from getting poor for more than a month it is best to get in contact with a professional such as your GP.

Elevate your health and wellbeing this festive season by recognising your poor sleep and by taking the step towards to improvement.

References:

1. Adams, R. J., Appleton, S. L., Taylor, A. W., Gill, T. K., Lang, C., McEvoy, R. D., & Antic, N. A. (2017). Sleep health of Australian adults in 2016: results of the 2016 Sleep Health Foundation national survey. Sleep health, 3(1), 35–42. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2016.11.005.
2. SA Health (2023). Getting enough sleep: SA Health. [online] Available at: https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/public+content/sa+health+internet/healthy+living/healthy+sleep/getting+enough+sleep. [Accessed 4 Oct. 2023].