Quality Sleep, Healthy living Q & A

Here are some questions and concerns readers have expressed, you could benefit from them

Question:

I do have difficulty with my sleep. Firstly, it takes me a long time at times rolling on the bed before sleep comes to my eyes, any remedy for that? At times when I woke up in the mid night to urinate, after coming back to sleep, I find it difficult to sleep back, any remedy for that.

Response:

The difficulty in falling asleep either at the beginning of sleep time or after a disturbance during sleep is one of the common sleep problems.
For sleep to kick off, a regulatory sleep switch in the brain is activated in response to night-dark time, fatigue and exhaustion. The activated in-built brain sleep switch initiates the sleep mode which temporarily shuts down the brain and body activities.
The difficulty in falling asleep usually results from poor function of the in-built brain regulatory sleep switch with inadequate activation.
The brain sleep switch functions well when the brain is in good state of health, physically, mentally and socially. And also when other things around the person are sleep-inducing.
So, to correct the poor function of the brain switch and improve the activation when necessary;
Firstly, do the following to ensure brain’s good state of health:

• Drink adequate water at least 4.5L – 5.0L over the day, until your urine turns colourless, the colour of water.
• Eat just enough quantity of balanced diet regularly two or three times daily.
• Do some SAFE exercises like fast walking along the streets or around your home, push-up sets, etc. – graded duration starting from any duration you can tolerate targeting 30mins – daily or at least five times in a week

• Avoid smoking, excess alcohol and stimulants like caffeine.
• Practice good stress management by avoiding avoidable stressors and handling the avoidable stresses positively with acceptance of the reality, adequate rest and leisure
• Adopt a regular sleep schedule as much as possible, maintaining especially same range of time to go to bed.
• Do not use sleeping drugs, unless well trained medical practitioner has checked you with laboratory tests and prescribed sleeping drugs as needed.

Secondly, ensure sleeping-inducing surrounding by:

• Sleep in calming and relaxing environment that is noiseless, dark, smelling nicely with cool temperature
• Sleep on quality mattress and pillow that are conducive sleeping surfaces for supportive posture

If the sleep problem persists after applying the above for three days, consult the doctor for further appropriate assessment including checking your blood level for its ability to supply oxygen and other nutrients to the brain.

Question:

Can you recommend one of your Vitafoam that will prevent body pains in the mornings. I know my mattress is the reason, because when I sleep in my children’s room, with a much sturdy foam, I don’t experience the same feeling

Response:

Your observation is very correct. In addition to when, where, how you sleep, what you sleep on contributes to the quality of sleep. The sleeping period can really cause or worsen body pains depending on the sleeping mattress, pillow or sleeping positions.

It is advisable to sleep on quality mattress and pillow which will support different good sleeping position, prevent and relieve body pains. Such mattress and pillow should have right firmness and thickness for excellent body support. The density will not be too hard and will not be soft according to your weight, shape and height – that is Posture-fit Mattress and Pillow.

I recommend that you visit any of the Vitafoam Comfort Centre. Let Vitafoam Team match your body shape, weight and height with mattress firmness and pillow thickness right for you. We would seek comfortable and supportive mattress best-fit for you, depending on your weight, shape and height. You will have opportunity to consult sleep experts for professional advice about sleep position and sleeping surfaces best-fit for you and your body!

Question:

I find it difficult to sleep early even though I go to bed by 10.30pm. My sleep come between 12.30 am & 1am every day, hence, reducing my sleep hours during the week ’cause I need to wake up early.
I don’t know if this is responsible for the body severe weakness experience when trying to get out of bed at dawn.
I need to inform that I hadn’t use a pillow in the past 5 yrs. due to neck pain experienced whenever my head is slightly raised above my body but recently I began experiencing bearable pains when lying on my mattress without a pillow.

Kindly advice on what to do to attract early sleep, eliminate body weakness and pains.

Response:

Quality sleep time lasting enough time for age (7 – 9 hours for young adults) is regenerative time. It is usually rejuvenating and refreshing. It gets the person recharged and reset. The person becomes ready, set and prepared for the day’s activities.
Anything short of quality sleep, leaves the person unrefreshed, tired and unready for the day’s activities. So, your severe body weakness is likely to be the result of poor sleep quality.

The difficulty in falling asleep immediately one goes to bed for sleep especially at night sleep time is one of the common sleep problems.
For sleep to kick off, a regulatory sleep switch in the brain is activated in response to night-dark time, fatigue and exhaustion. The activated in-built brain sleep switch initiates the sleep mode which temporarily shuts down the brain and body activities.
The difficulty in falling asleep usually results from poor function of the in-built brain regulatory sleep switch with inadequate activation.
The brain sleep switch functions well when the brain is in good state of health, physically, mentally and socially. And also when other things around the person are sleep-inducing.

So, to correct the poor function of the brain switch and improve the activation when necessary;
Firstly, do the following to ensure brain’s good state of health:

• Drink adequate water at least 4.5L – 5.0L over the day, until your urine turns colourless, the colour of water.
• Eat just enough quantity of balanced diet regularly two or three times daily.
• Do some SAFE exercises like fast walking along the streets or around your home, push-up sets, etc. – graded duration starting from any duration you can tolerate targeting 30mins – daily or at least five times in a week.
• Avoid smoking, excess alcohol and stimulants like caffeine.
• Practice good stress management by avoiding avoidable stressors and handling the avoidable stresses positively with acceptance of the reality, adequate rest and leisure
• Adopt a regular sleep schedule as much as possible, maintaining especially same range of time to go to bed.
• Do not use sleeping drugs, unless well trained medical practitioner has checked you with laboratory tests and prescribed sleeping drugs as needed.

Secondly, ensure sleeping-inducing surrounding by:

• Sleep in calming and relaxing environment that is noiseless, dark, smelling nicely with cool temperature
• Sleep on quality mattress and pillow that are conducive sleeping surfaces for supportive posture

If the sleep problem persists after applying the above for three days, consult the doctor for further appropriate assessment including checking your blood level for its ability to supply oxygen and other nutrients to the brain.

Additionally, sleeping surfaces should include mattress and pillow for appropriate body support and alignment. The pillow has different sizes, shapes, thickness and firmness.
It should be placed under the head & neck, and not under the shoulders. The pillow should fill the natural hollow under the neck, between the head and shoulders. While lying on the side the lower hand should not be on the pillow, it can be under, in front of or away from the pillow. All of these arrangement ensure that the head, neck and the back (spine) maintain natural curve and are in alignment. This prevents and relieves neck pain. The pillow can even be full length from head and neck to the in-between the knee joints

Question:

How much does a 70 kilo teenager sweat in bed as compared to a 70 kilo 90 years old?
What does sweat do to a polyurethane mattress?

Response:

Sweating is the production of water-rich liquid from sweat stores in the skin. The functions include control of body temperature, removal of waste products from the body, lubrication of body surfaces, etc. As a result, it is caused and increased by heat, exercise, stress, sicknesses, etc. The extent of sweating varies among persons, and depends on person’s age, nature, lifestyle, health status, etc.

Polyurethane mattresses are durable and easily moldable, but they poorly allow liquid to pass through it. The poor allowance of liquid to pass through it prevents the sweat from soaking the mattress, and causes wetness between the person and the sleeping surface

Question:

May I know what causes sleep-talking and loud snoring during sleep?
Any remedy to snoring while sleeping?

Response:

Sleep-talking is one of the manifestations of shallow sleep during poor quality sleep.
During sleep both the body and the mind are expectedly shut down from their usually routine activities and random actions. At this time, the body goes inactive and the mind becomes unconscious. The muscles of the body do less or near nothing and relax more; at the same time, voluntary or conscious body movements are temporarily absent.

In this altered state of consciousness – sleep, the reception and responses to messages from the surrounding is demonstrably reduced and sometimes absent. The person loses the usual observation and communication with things in the surrounding, the good, the bad and the ugly things that call up brain reactions and activities like beauty, ugliness, aroma, and sweet or sour melody. Any body movement or communication with the surroundings that occurs is usually uncoordinated and in unguided direction. This is due to inadequate shut down of the brain and body activities occurring during poor sleep quality. Other examples are when we toss and turn in bed while deep asleep hitting the next person lying beside us, or getting up to walk to room corner to pee instead of doing that in the toilet.

Snoring during sleep is noisy breathing during sleep. It is caused by the narrowing of the upper part of the airway at the back of the mouth (throat). The narrowing results from one or a combination of these factors: thickened fleshes around the back of the mouth, deforming or bulging shapes of the fleshes, or excessive relaxation of the muscles in the tongue and the back part of the mouth. Any or a combination of these factors can occur in abnormal sleeping neck position, obesity, alcohol consumption, nasal blockage, swollen tongue, swollen back of mouth (throat), abnormal neck structures, and so on.

Adjust your sleeping neck position by using a pillow of size, shape, thickness and firmness.
It should be placed under your head & neck, and not under shoulders. The pillow should fill the natural hollow under the neck, between the head and shoulders. While lying on the side the lower hand should not be on the pillow, it can be under, in front of or away from the pillow. All of these arrangement ensure that the head, neck and the back (spine) maintain natural curve and are in alignment. This prevents and relieves snoring. The pillow can even be full length from head and neck to the in-between the knee joints.
It the snoring persists despite use of appropriate pillow, please consult well trained doctor for further appropriate evaluation and solution.

Question:

May we know the effects of not sleeping on time and how can one improve his sleep habit?

Response:

Quality sleep time lasting enough time for age (7 – 9 hours for young adults) is regenerative time. It is usually rejuvenating and refreshing. It gets the person recharged and reset. The person becomes ready, set and prepared for the day’s activities.
Anything short of quality sleep, leaves the person unrefreshed, tired and unready for the day’s activities. So, this is what would be expected from not sleeping on time as it will deprive one quality sleep time of appropriate duration.

The difficulty in falling asleep immediately one goes to bed for sleep especially at night sleep time is one of the common sleep problems.
For sleep to kick off, a regulatory sleep switch in the brain is activated in response to night-dark time, fatigue and exhaustion. The activated in-built brain sleep switch initiates the sleep mode which temporarily shuts down the brain and body activities.
The difficulty in falling asleep usually results from poor function of the in-built brain regulatory sleep switch with inadequate activation.
The brain sleep switch functions well when the brain is in good state of health, physically, mentally and socially. And also when other things around the person are sleep-inducing.
So, to improve sleep habit and correct the poor function of the brain switch and improve the activation when necessary;
Firstly, do the following to ensure brain’s good state of health:

• Drink adequate water at least 4.5L – 5.0L over the day, until your urine turns colourless, the colour of water.
• Eat just enough quantity of balanced diet regularly two or three times daily.
• Do some SAFE exercises like fast walking along the streets or around your home, push-up sets, etc. – graded duration starting from any duration you can tolerate targeting 30mins – daily or at least five times in a week.
• Avoid smoking, excess alcohol and stimulants like caffeine.
• Practice good stress management by avoiding avoidable stressors and handling the avoidable stresses positively with acceptance of the reality, adequate rest and leisure
• Adopt a regular sleep schedule as much as possible, maintaining especially same range of time to go to bed.
• Do not use sleeping drugs, unless well trained medical practitioner has checked you with laboratory tests and prescribed sleeping drugs as needed.

Secondly, ensure sleeping-inducing surrounding by:

• Sleep in calming and relaxing environment that is noiseless, dark, smelling nicely with cool temperature
• Sleep on quality mattress and pillow that are conducive sleeping surfaces for supportive posture

If the sleep problem persists after applying the above for three days, consult the doctor for further appropriate assessment including checking your blood level for its ability to supply oxygen and other nutrients to the brain.

Do you want to contact the Orthopaedic Sleep Consultant, Dr Charles Uzodimma, kindly send in your sleep related questions, concerns and request to sleepinfo@vitafoam.com.ng

You can also join the Facebook and Instagram live interaction this Saturday 27th August 2022 from 9:00AM – 11:00AM, where the sleep expert will talk more on Practical Ways to Achieve Quality Sleep and Healthy Living