A Description of a Good Night's Sleep: Did You Sleep Well?

A good night's sleep is incredibly important for our health. In fact, it’s just as important as eating healthy and exercising. Getting enough quality sleep can help protect mental health, physical health, quality of life, and safety. NHBLI

But what does a good night's sleep mean?

It probably means something different to each person depending on your own definition and circumstances. I was surprised to find there are specific descriptions of a good night's sleep from the Sleep Foundation, Health Line and Thrive. They are summarized below.

Description Of A Good Night's Sleep

• You fall asleep within 15-20 minutes of lying down to sleep.

• You regularly sleep a total of seven to nine hours in a 24-hour period.

• While in your bed, your sleep is continuous—you don’t have long periods of lying awake when you wish to be sleeping.

• Your partner or family members do not notice any disturbing or out of the ordinary behavior from you while you sleep, such as snoring, pauses in breathing, restlessness, or otherwise nighttime behaviors.  SleepFoundation

• You wake up feeling refreshed, alert and energized.  HealthLine

• Your mood is generally good, and you feel no need for a nap. Thrive

You are probably aware of the most common ways to improve the quality of your sleep:  go to bed at the same time every night, relax before sleeping, and get plenty of activity during the day. HealthLine

However, there are some sneaky foods and drinks that can prevent a good night's sleep.  For example alcohol won’t help you sleep. Even small amounts make it harder to stay asleep. NIA  Also, for some people sugar and caffeine can increase heart rate and prevent relaxing sleep. EveryDayHealth, LiveStrong  Some medications, including those for high blood pressure and asthma, can keep you up all night.  SleepFoundation If your multivitamin pill has vitamin B12 in it, take it in the morning or early afternoon rather than before bed. The nutrient offers a quick energy boost, which can keep you up.  Shape

If you are lying in bed at night and can't fall asleep try focusing on relaxing your body.  Imagine your toes are completely relaxed, then your feet, and then your ankles.  Work your way up the rest of your body, section by section. By the time you get to your head you should be be completely relaxed.  

Interesting Facts About Sleep

• People can take cat naps with their eyes open without even knowing it. SleepEducation

• If it takes you less than five minutes to fall asleep, it’s likely that you’re sleep deprived. TheGoodBody

• Creative people sleep more but less well.  TheGoodBody

• Those who fly regularly for work could be more at risk of sleep deprivation. Flying at high altitudes leads to disturbed sleep due to the lack of oxygen.  TheGoodBody

• People who don’t get enough sleep are more likely to have bigger appetites due to the fact that their leptin levels (leptin is an appetite-regulating hormone) fall, promoting appetite increase.  SleepFoundation

• Our dreams don’t create faces – we dream about what we’ve already seen (if only for a second). Restonic

• The reason drinking milk before bed helps you sleep is because milk contains the sleep-inducing chemical tryptophan.  WebMD