How’s Your Sleep Quality? 4 Steps to Sound Sleeping & Better Health

Neely Frederick, FNP, is a family nurse practitioner. She loves caring for people from all walks of life and helping them make healthier lifestyle choices.

Experts recommend getting at least seven hours of sleep daily to maintain good health. But just getting the right amount of sleep might not be enough.

When the shut-eye you get isn’t good quality, you may feel groggy, sluggish or cranky in the morning. But if you dismiss those feelings as the morning grumps or chalk it up to not being a morning person, you might jeopardize your health and wellness.

Take these steps to assess your sleep quality and set yourself up for successful slumber:

1. Understand the Importance of Sleeping for Wellness

Sleep is vital for your body. It gives your body time to maintain physical health and rejuvenate the mind.

Sleep plays a vital role in your:

• Heart health
• Hormone production
• Immune function
• Memory and cognition (thinking abilities)
• Metabolism

When your body doesn’t get needed sleep, the impact is immediate. But when sleep is consistently disrupted or poor sleep becomes a chronic condition, it can also affect your health and well-being over time in other ways.

Short-term effects of poor sleep

Restorative sleep makes a big difference in how well you function mentally and physically the next day. It can also affect the next day’s health decisions — whether you exercise and what you eat — resulting in a domino effect that impacts your wellness.

During the day following a poor night of sleep, you may notice:

• Difficulty thinking, especially with focus and memory
• Drowsiness that can lead to accidents
• Mental health flare-ups, such as feeling anxious or depressed
• Poor health decisions related to exercise or eating
• Trouble managing emotions and an inability to handle stress

How bad sleep affects your long-term health

Repeatedly not getting enough restful sleep can have a cumulative effect. Over time, the accumulated sleep loss can take a toll on the body’s systems.

Sleep deprivation is linked to higher risks of:

• Alzheimer’s disease
• Cancer and accelerated tumor growth
• Diabetes
• Heart issues, including high blood pressure (hypertension) and cholesterol levels
• Obesity and other metabolic disorders
• Premature aging (wrinkled skin)

2. Recognize the Signs of Poor Sleep

The amount of sleep we need to feel our best varies from person to person. But poor sleep, no matter how much sleep you get, is simply sleep that isn’t restful. And when you don’t feel rested, you may notice the impact immediately — and throughout the entire next day.

You may not be getting quality sleep if:

• You lie in bed for more than 30 minutes before falling asleep
• You regularly find yourself awake more than once in the night
• You’re awake for at least 20 minutes when you wake during the night

• You feel tired first thing in the morning
• You’re not in control of your emotions or eating
• Your eyes are red, puffy or have dark circles or bags under them

3. Look for What Might Be Affecting Your Sleep Quality

There are many reasons and underlying conditions that could be causing restless sleep. Sometimes the cause is a simple lifestyle choice, such as drinking caffeine or eating too late. But that one night of insufficient sleep can start a vicious cycle if being tired the next day causes you to reach for more caffeine and sugar late in the day.

If you have good sleep hygiene and still aren’t sleeping well, you may have an underlying condition. Medical issues that affect sleep quality include:

• Acid reflux
• Asthma and other chronic lung conditions
• Chronic pain
• Mental health issues, especially stress and anxiety
• Sleep apnea (temporary breathing pauses while sleeping)
• Sleep disorders, such as narcolepsy, insomnia or restless legs syndrome (RLS)
• Other chronic conditions, including cancer or benign prostatic hyperplasia (enlarged prostate)

4. Take Steps Toward Better Sleep Hygiene

The first step to sleeping soundly is consulting your primary care provider (PCP) to ensure there’s no underlying condition interfering with your sleep.

Once you’ve ruled out a medical condition or have health issues under control, focus on your sleep hygiene — the things you do to support healthy sleep. Make sure you:

• Create a healthy sleep environment: The place where you sleep should be cool, dark, comfortable and without distractions.
• Follow a nightly sleep routine: Power down electronics 30 minutes before bed and find a way to relax, such as bathing or reading. Wash your face and brush your teeth. Every step of your routine is telling your body that sleep is coming.
• Wake up well: Try not to hit the snooze button. Get out of bed as soon as you wake and expose yourself to sunlight soon after waking to keep your body’s clock on schedule.
• Don’t sabotage your sleep: Avoid caffeine, heavy food, too many beverages and electronics (especially your phone and computer) too close to bedtime.

Schedule an Appointment

Inova PCPs offer appointments in the office and virtually. To talk with your doctor about sleep and wellness, schedule an appointment through your MyChart patient portal, or call your doctor’s office directly.

If you think you may have a sleep disorder, take our sleep apnea risk assessment, learn more about the Inova Sleep Disorders Program, or call 571-472-4200 for an appointment.