28 | July⢠2018
SLEEP BETTER EVERY NIGHT
HOWTOPRESCRIBE
YOURSELF SLEEP
Convenient or not itâs a biological
fact:adultsneedtosleepbetween
sevenandninehourseachnight.A
colossal66percentofusfailtodo
soonaregularbasis.Itâsnotjusta
matter of feeling tired the next day;
over t he long run sleep deprivation
cancontributetodepressionobesity
diabetes stroke and heart attacks
andincreaseyourriskofAlzheimerâs
disease and cancer.
âhesilentsleep-lossepidemicis
thegreatestpublichealthchallenge
wefaceinthe21stcenturyindevel-
oped nationsâ argues Dr Matthew
WalkeroftheUniversityofCalifor-
nia Berkeley in his recent bookWhy
We Sleep. âScientists like me have
evenstartedlobbyingdoctorstostart
âprescribingâ sleep.â
Walkerâstoptipforasuccessful
âprescriptionâ is sticking to a sched-
ule.Thebodynaturallythriveson
aregularsleep-wakerhythmand
asetbedtimewillremovesomeof
the temptation to spend your time
in other ways.
He also recommends avoiding if
atallpossiblemedicinesthatcould
âconlictâwiththesleepprescription
such as certain heart blood pres-
sure or asthma medications plus
some remedies for colds coughs
and allergies. here are alternatives
available for many of these drugs so
iftheyârecostingyoushut-eyespeak
with your doctor or pharmacist.
HOWTOSLEEP
AWAY FROM HOME
Ifyouâveevertossedandturnedina
hotel room you may have experience
with ânight-watch brainâ.
Cerebral imaging has revealed
thatsimilarlytodolphinspigeons
and other animals humans rest
onehalfofthebrainlessthanthe
other when weâre in an unfamiliar
setting. his adaptation would have
been advantageous for our ances-
tors who were at risk of predators in
thewildbutitâsfarlessusefulfor
todayâstraveller.Youcanminimise
it by staying at the same hotel for
aslongasyouremaininacityand
by booking similar rooms from the
same chain wherever you go.
Fewthingsareascovetedasgoodsleep:
studiesshowthatitaddsyearstoyourlife
and over time increases happiness as
much as winning the lottery. Drawing upon
recent scientiic research these tips will help
guarantee you wakeful days and blissful nights.