Sleep special: How to protect your brain health and get a good night’s sleep

As the clocks spring forward on 30th March for British Summer Time, many of us will lose an hour of sleep. Although losing only one hour, this small shift can have a surprisingly big impact on our well-being and brain health. 

Sleep is essential for cognitive function, mood regulation and overall health. Even a slight disruption to our routine can lead to fatigue, reduced concentration and increased stress. Have you ever wondered why you might feel negative and irritable the following day after a bad night’s sleep? Professor James Goodwin explains. 

“Sleep deprivation has severed the connection between your cortex – which exercises restraint – and the amygdala, deep in the brain, where fear, hatefulness and anger arise. This disconnect is made worse by interference with mood-changing neurotransmitters, like serotonin and dopamine, the ‘happy hormones’.”

As we adjust to the time change, prioritising good sleep habits becomes crucial to maintaining energy levels and ensuring a smooth transition into the longer, brighter days ahead. 

Here are 10 tips to help ensure a good night’s sleep, while protecting your brain health. 

1. Get sunlight during the day
   Exposure to natural light, especially in the morning, also helps to regulate your circadian rhythm. It suppresses the sleep hormone melatonin, helping you to wake up, which in turn helps to regulate your sleep-wake cycle.
2. Eat a sleep friendly supper
   Make sure you eat 2-3 hours before going to bed. This will give your body plenty of time to digest the last food you eat so your sleep won’t be disrupted. Ensure your last meal before bed is packed with magnesium, complex carbohydrates, omega-3s and L’Theanine, all of which stabilise blood sugar levels to help promote a good night’s sleep.
3. Avoid caffeine after 2pm
   Most of us will get our caffeine fix from a good cup of coffee. But did you know to avoid caffeine after 2pm to ensure a restful night’s sleep? Caffeine is a stimulant that blocks adenosine, a neurotransmitter that promotes sleepiness. Try to avoid caffeine 4-6 hours before bedtime.
4. Exercise regularly
   Exercise improves sleep by regulating the sleep-wake cycle and even just 10 minutes of gentle exercise or stretching before bed has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety, promoting a better night’s sleep. Before jumping into bed try a few yoga stretches.  Including a cat/cow, a gentle roll up from crouching to standing to ease the spine and a chest opener by interlacing the fingers behind the back and pressing the palms away from you.
5. Stick to a sleep schedule
   Make sure you stick to the same sleep schedule. This means waking up at the same time on the Sunday morning despite losing an hour as the clocks spring forward at midnight. This will help to regulate your internal body clock so you adjust to British Summer Time straight away.
6. Have a cup of Chamomile tea before bed
   Chamomile tea is renowned for its calming and soothing effects. It further contains apigenin, a naturally occurring antioxidant, that is thought to help reduce anxiety and promote sleep.
7. Keep your bedroom cool, dark and quiet.
   A cool bedroom between 16-19 degrees is considered optimal. A cooler room temperature signals to your body that it’s time for sleep, triggering melatonin production. A dark room also stimulates the pineal gland to further release melatonin, encouraging sleep.
8. Limit screen time before bed
   As tempting as it may be to check your emails, scroll through social media or or watch a late night TV program, be strong and resist. Blue light from phones and televisions can disrupt melatonin production – the hormone that plays a vital role in managing your sleep-wake cycle and circadian rhythm.
9. Have a magnesium salts bath
   Magnesium salts are a great addition to a hot bath in the evening. Physical relaxation will lower arousal levels in the brain and help you to sleep.
10. Sleep on your side
    One of the best ways to ensure a good night’s sleep and what is considered to be the best position for preventing cognitive decline, is to sleep on your side. This helps stimulate the glymphatic system which facilitates the waste clearance process, potentially helping to reduce the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s, dementia and Parkinson’s.

Not only are these 10 tips ideal for regulating your body clock come this month’s clock change, but they are based on evidence which will help to improve your brain health and reduce the risk of cognitive decline in later life. 

For more information on sleep, visit brain health’s sleep pillar and have a read of our more in depth articles:

Why is sleep the best brain health booster?

The importance of sleep: why less than 6 hours of sleep may raise your risk of dementia

Can sleeping on your side help the brain clear built up toxins?