"Sleep is a serious issue that needs to be taken lightly." This is Clinical Hypnotherapist Fiona Brennan's motto for improving your sleeping habits. Fiona joined Ray D’Arcy to talk about her new book, Sleep Well: 8 Habits to Help You Fall Asleep, Stay Asleep and Wake Up Refreshed.
Getting to sleep is, according to Fiona, a little bit like letting go:
"You want to take the effort out of it. You want to take the anxiety out of it. And that is – to be honest, the overactive mind is probably the greatest block to a really good solid night’s sleep. It’s known as somniphobia."
Ray got down to basics and asked Fiona what sleep actually is. A question that sounds odd on the face of it, but presumably the more we understand about something, the easier it becomes to deal with it and all its foibles. This is what Fiona gave him:
"Sleep is integral. It is the elixir of health. It is what helps our system to restore, to replenish. It keeps us alive, it gives us longevity, its cell-restoration, its immune function, its memory consolidation. The benefits of sleep are so bountiful and so plenty and it’s something that we all, as you say, we all do it."
We all do it, but some of us do it better than others. And of all the creatures that roam the Earth, we’re probably the only ones who suffer from self-inflicted difficulties sleeping:
"Humans... are the only mammals who deprive themselves, who actually choose to deprive ourselves, not just of sleep, but also of rest. And there’s a very strong connection between sleep and rest. Our ability to rest is actually our ability to sleep."
There has been much said and written about sleep and how much we need to function properly, but if there is a one-size-fits-all number of the hours of sleep that we need as a species, what is it? According to Fiona it’s more than most of us are probably getting:
"I would say you need to give yourself an eight hour window of opportunity for sleep. Now, seven would be the minimum and nine is probably, most likely the maximum that you would want to be going for."
So if most of us are not getting enough sleep, what does that mean for our mental and physical health? What happens if we deprive ourselves of sleep? Fiona has an answer, but it’s a scary one:
"We lose our minds, quite literally. It’s no joke at all in terms of the effect it has on us. I would say predominantly emotionally. Our ability to regulate our emotions is so impaired. I think when someone is sleep deprived, it’s like – and most people are, it’s 62% of the world globally are actually not getting the sleep that they need. So, it’s a sense, I think, of looking at the world through a glass wall: you’re there, but you’re not really there."
Fiona reckons she’s hit on a novel way to help people with their sleep problems, the details of which, presumably, are in her book. She gave Ray the executive summary of what she’s come up with:
"It’s actually a tangible way to help people to not just get to sleep, but to stay asleep because that’s actually where a lot of people will run into problems."
Fiona’s book is a guide to better sleep in eight weeks that includes audio of Fiona herself – something she says will train the subconscious into better sleep habits:
"I think when people are struggling with sleep, they need someone to take their hand, they need guidance. You need something tangible to hold onto. And that’s what this book has."
As well as the audio, the book has eight lifestyle habits to follow for good sleep hygiene and one of the main habits is routine:
"Waking up and going to bed at roughly – and I love the word roughly – at the same time each and every day, 365 days of the year."
Taking the time to prepare for going to sleep is very important, Fiona insists. An hour before bedtime we should be setting our sights on getting to sleep. It’s a time Fiona calls the blissful hour:
"Basically, it’s about not mistaking bedtime for sleep time, OK? So there’s a difference. So, for example, if you want to be asleep by 11pm, let’s say, you say at five to eleven, 'Right, bed!’ You’re not going to be asleep at 11 o’clock. You need to give yourself a 60-minute unwind session, essentially."
By "session", what Fiona means is you give yourself an hour to slow down, put down the screens, maybe try some mindfulness, if that’s your bag, or read something that won’t get you too stimulated. Generally, just wind down in preparation for going to bed. It makes complete sense.
There are other habits like exercise, light exposure, and taking time to rest in the middle of the day – and you can hear more about all of them from the full chat between Ray and Fiona by clicking above.
Sleep Well: 8 Habits to Help You Fall Asleep, Stay Asleep and Wake Up Refreshed by Fiona Brennan is published by Gill Books.
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