Night sweats involve extreme hot flushes during sleep that cause the bed and its occupant to become drenched. While often harmless, they can cause discomfort in the person sleeping and can be symptomatic of more serious issues.

The value of sleep continues to be underestimated, despite most people knowing better. Though we don’t fully understand everything about sleeping, we do know it is essential for optimal function. There are a multitude of consequences of varying degrees that can be linked to poor sleep habits.

Have you ever been dreaming and become aware that you are in a dream? This is called lucid dreaming, and more than half of adults have experienced this at least once before.

There are many reasons for sleep deprivation. Interestingly, lots of these can be countered through optimising your sleeping environment. Some of the most important actions to take are:

The body goes through various stages in the sleep cycle. Sleep paralysis is caused by irregularity in this cycle, specifically, in an individual’s REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. REM sleep is where one dreams most intensely. Unlike the NREM (non-rapid eye movement) stages of the sleep cycle, the muscles are temporarily paralyzed so that you cannot move. The purpose of this is to prevent you from physically acting out your dreams.

Everyone experiences the visions, scenes and other simulated sensory information that occurs during sleep. What we call dreams occur mostly in the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of our sleep. Some can be extremely intense and vivid, whilst others can be ambiguous, hard to remember and puzzling. There are many ideas on what purposes dreams serve, the roles they play and the possible meanings behind the phenomena.

Sleep hygiene refers to the habits and practises that help you to have a better night’s rest. Implementing these habits are necessary to increase your sleep quality and will keep you alert throughout the day.

Many of us swear by a warm cup of tea before bed for a good night’s sleep. But not every type of tea is meant to provide you with that magical effect. There are certain caffeinated teas that can have unfavourable impacts on our sleep quality. Particularly, black tea and white tea both contain large doses of caffeine which may lead to a decrease in tiredness and an increase in alertness; both effects unsuitable for a good night’s sleep.

Many of us are sleep deprived. Not because we do not want to sleep, but simply because we cannot sleep. Meditation is one way you can train your mind to ensure you have an optimum night’s rest. We will review 4 simple steps you can use to use to enhance your quality of sleep through mindfulness meditation.

If you are a shift worker concerned about your quality of sleep, don’t worry as you are not alone. By understanding the implications of shift work on your sleep quality, you will be better equipped to cope with any resulting issues you may be facing.

A good night’s sleep is vital to our mental and physical health, overall wellbeing and our quality of living. The way you feel when you wake up comes down to how you’ve slept the night before. When you’re well rested you become more alert, energetic and are able to perform daily tasks easier.