Sleep and your health

Your sleep may improve if you get lots of light during the day and dim the lighting in the lead-up to sleep.

Reduce the amount of caffeine you drink from cola, tea, coffee and chocolate. Try caffeine-free herbal teas instead.

Avoid eating heavy meals late at night. Give your body about 2 hours to digest your dinner before going to bed.

Alcohol can help you fall asleep faster, but it may also wake you up during the night.

Limit alcohol to a maximum of 2 standard drinks each day and stop drinking 3 to 4 hours before sleep.

Have at least 2 alcohol-free days per week.

Learn more about alcohol and your health.

Get regular physical activity during the day. It’s best to do light exercise within 4 hours of going to bed.

Try to have consistent daily and evening routines. For example, consistent:

• mealtimes
• exercise
• bedtimes
• waking times.

If you feel stressed or wide awake, don’t get into bed until you feel more relaxed.

Find relaxation techniques that work for you. Try:

• breathing exercises – deep, focused breathing can slow your heart rate and ease anxiety or depression
• progressive muscle relaxation – this involves tensing and relaxing muscle groups and can be paired with breathing exercises
• meditation – helps you focus your attention, reduce stress and anxiety
• mindfulness – a type of meditation that helps you stay calm and focused on the present moment
• listening to relaxing music.

The more you practise these techniques, the more effective they’ll be.

You may also find it relaxing to read in bed before you go to sleep. This can be a healthy sleep aid, as long as it’s only for a short time.

Save bed for sleep and sex. When in bed, try not to:

• watch TV
• use your phone
• work
• worry.

Only get into bed (under the covers) when you feel tired and ready for sleep.

Turn any clocks away from view so you don’t clock-watch during the night.

If you can’t sleep, get out of bed and do a quiet, relaxing task in another room (with dim light) until you feel tired. This may reduce your stress and frustration about not being able to sleep.

CBT-I is a short, structured approach to treating insomnia. If focuses on your thoughts, behaviours and how you feel about sleep. Health professionals trained in CBT-I can work with you to improve your sleep.

Sleep apnoea is a common sleep disorder. It’s when your breathing stops and starts many times while you’re asleep. Most of the time, you won’t know this is happening.

The risk of sleep apnoea increases with age. While it’s more common in men, it is underdiagnosed in women. This may be because some women believe poor sleep is a hormonal problem related to their periods, pregnancy or menopause.

Once a woman reaches menopausal age, the risk of sleep apnoea is similar to that of men.

The most common symptom of sleep apnoea is feeling very sleepy when you want to be awake. It might mean you nod off when you don’t expect to.

Women with sleep apnoea experience different symptoms to men. Men usually snore or stop breathing at night. Whereas women may have:

• insomnia
• nightmares
• fatigue
• low energy
• morning headaches
• mood changes.

Sleep apnoea can have a serious impact on your health. It’s associated with:

• heart disease
• obesity
• stroke
• type 2 diabetes
• problems with attention, learning and memory
• depression.

Treatments for sleep apnoea include losing weight, mouth splints and a mask known as a CPAP, which is worn during sleep to prevent breathing interruptions.

Talk to your doctor if you think you might have sleep apnoea.

Insomnia is when you find it hard to get to sleep or stay asleep. You may also regularly wake too early.

Insomnia is more common in older people and women.

It can be caused by different things. For example:

• stress
• anxiety
• chronic pain
• illness
• other sleep problems
• some medicines.

Treatment for insomnia will depend on its cause.

Learn more about insomnia on the Sleep Health Foundation website.

It’s normal to feel anxious sometimes. But if you’re often worried about things like health, work, money or family problems, you may find it hard to fall asleep and stay asleep. Poor sleep can also make anxiety worse.

You can break this cycle by trying not to worry about sleep, and by developing good sleep habits.

The most helpful and healthy sleep habits are simple, but not always easy. For example, try to have:

• consistent sleep and wake times
• morning light in your eyes once you’re awake
• a consistent daytime routine
• regular exercise during the day
• enough time and space in your life for sleep.

If you have a bad night’s sleep, try to let it go and avoid thinking that the day ahead will be worse. Remind yourself that you’re doing the best you can, your body knows what to do and you’re likely to have a good sleep soon.

If anxiety or stress is keeping you up at night, talk to your doctor.

Learn more about anxiety.

It’s common for your sleep patterns to change during perimenopause and after menopause. About one in 4 of women aged 50 to 64 years have sleep problems.

Menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes can make it hard to get a good night’s sleep.

This can be a challenging time, especially if you have dependent children, elderly parents and work to juggle. This increased stress is associated with increased sleep problems.

Women who experience premature or early menopause are more likely to have severe symptoms that impact their sleep.

Learn more about menopause.

There is a strong link between persistent pelvic pain (PPP) and sleep problems. PPP can affect the quality and length of your sleep, and poor sleep can increase your sensitivity to pain. This can be a vicious cycle.

People with PPP may also have anxiety, which can cause sleep problems.

When you manage sleep problems, it can improve your mood, pain and quality of life.

If your sleep or pain is not improving, talk to your doctor. They can help with practical ideas and may refer you to a specialist, such as a psychologist or sleep specialist.

Learn more about persistent pelvic pain.