Be better in bed: Hacks and gadgets to improve your sleep

Australians top a list of world’s best sleepers but recent global events have impacted quality. See list of ways to get the most out of your sleep time.

Australians are among the world’s best sleepers, getting more shut-eye than our counterparts in Japan, South Korea and Singapore, according to new analysis of Fitbit wearer data, with women, and people who exercise regularly, claiming the crown.

During the past two years, we’ve added 25 minutes to the average repose, thanks to the pandemic’s push towards working from home.

“People’s sleep went up in the working-age population because they didn’t have to commute,” says Fitbit lead sleep research scientist Dr Conor Heneghan.

Weekday sleep-ins: ditching the daily commute has enabled more hybrid workers to hit the snooze button. Picture: istock

The trend is echoed in a new survey commissioned by HCF, which found more than 40 per cent of Australian workers plan to spend extra time in bed on the days they work from home.

However, we can’t rest on our resting laurels. While more time in bed is a positive Covid spin-off, tumultuous global events, from the pandemic to war and floods, have had an overall negative effect on sleep.

“We’ve had over two years of chronic stress, uncertainty and changes to routine — all factors that can impact on sleep,” says Mary Spillane, clinical psychologist and Headspace app mental health expert.

“As we return to being busy, we’re facing other stresses and disrupters.”

Sleep apnoea is among the common sleep disorders, affecting about 25 per cent of men and nine per cent of women, according to Sleep Disorders Australia figures.

Around 40 per cent of Australians experience inadequate sleep and the impacts on wellbeing, safety and productivity are wide-ranging, and cost the nation more than $66 billion annually, according to a Deloitte study, commissioned by the Sleep Health Foundation.

Today’s World Sleep Day highlights the importance of quality sleep as a pillar of human health.

On the flip side, the pursuit of blissful snoozing has fuelled a booming sleep-health economy, with many of us prepared to spend up big on everything from weighted blankets to meditation apps. Here are some tips and tools for those chasing the dream of a good night’s sleep.

Tests

A spoon, tray and stopwatch could provide the first steps towards uncovering a sleep disorder. Melissa Webster, founder of Sleepfit, suggests a simple sleep latency test, which involves lying on your back, between 2 and 3pm in the afternoon — a time when people typically go into a lull.

Start a timer, and let your hand hang over the edge, holding a spoon, to see how long it takes for the spoon to clatter onto the metal tray beneath.

“If it drops in five minutes or less, you may have severe sleep deprivation,” Webster says.

“If it falls in around 10 minutes, you could be sleep-deprived, but it’s probably more likely to be behavioural – things like sitting up late watching Netflix.”

Apps and wearables can help detect some sleep disorders, while a partner’s feedback on your snoring, or gasping for air, also suggest a problem. If this sounds like you, speak to your doctor about doing a clinical sleep study.

Excessive screen time is among the lifestyle factors linked to insufficient sleep.

Weighted blankets

Up there with air fryers, weighted blankets are among the retail obsessions of the moment. But do they work? A recent survey found sleep improved for almost 70 per cent of users, although this was commissioned by a weighted blanket retailer, Calming Blankets. Spillane says they “provide a sense of security, and the weight can help to slow the nervous system”.

Mattress and pillow

We spend a third of our lives sleeping, which is sufficient reason to invest in comfortable bedding, according to Dr Carmel Harrington, sleep expert for A.H Beard.

“It is advisable to renew your mattress every seven to 10 years, and pillows every two to three years,” she says.

Spillane agrees, but says you can’t buy your way out of poor sleep: “Our behaviour is more important than fancy pillows, blankets and mattresses”.

Therapy weighted blanket: clinical research on the efficacy of weighted blankets is limited, but many users claim to have positive results.

Ambience

Around 18 degrees is an optimal bedroom temperature, and Harrington suggests using eye pads and ear plugs where necessary. White noise or soothing podcasts can also mitigate against disruptive noise, and can become a sleep cue in themselves.

Devices

Switch off devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime, as the blue light they emit can delay the secretion of sleep hormone melatonin. “It’s very much about the content too,” Spillane says. “Distressing news, or even scrolling on social media can get your mind ticking over.”

Thought-stoppers

A notepad or worry jar beside the bed can help get concerns and to-do-lists out of your head.

Webster says another hack is finding something for your brain to do that’s boring enough to bring on sleep, but interesting enough to block out other thoughts.
“Try counting backwards from 10,000 by threes, or do a breathing exercise, in for four seconds, hold for seven and breathe out for eight.”
If you haven’t drifted off after 20 minutes, get up for a glass of water, a stretch or some light reading, before trying again.

SLEEP GADGETS

Gadgets have gone from counting how many steps you take each day to knowing when you’re sleeping, when you’re awake, if you’ve been snoring, and whether you enjoyed vivid dreams.

Sleep-tracking devices also come in a variety of forms, from sensor-packed mats that slip under your mattress to bedside devices that promise to lull you off to sleep.

These are five of the best, most snooze-inspiring gadgets on the market that can help you drift off or tell you what happened while you were sleeping.

Morphee ($149): It might look like a wind-up toy but this French creation can play up to 200 different meditations, soundscapes and songs to lull you to sleep. Users can choose their favourite style of soothing bedside sounds, a male or female narrator, and whether they’d like an eight tor 20-minute session. It can even speak French.

ResMed Onesleeptest($149): This fingertip-sized gadget is very different to its peers. The Onesleeptest is a sensor-packed device you sleep with, strapped to a finger, for just three nights. After that test, you dispose of it and receive a comprehensive report on your sleep quality and a phone call from a sleep physician to talk through the results.

Withings Sleep Analyser ($200): Rather than sit on a wrist or finger, this sleep-tracking device slips underneath your mattress. Despite its remote location, this sensor-packed mat can determine how much deep, light and REM sleep you have each night, and can even track your breathing disturbances and snoring.

Bose Sleepbuds II($380): These earbuds won’t play your favourite podcast or let you talk to a friend; instead they are designed just to block outside noise and play soothing sounds to help you fall asleep. The second Bose Sleepbuds have a smaller, more comfortable form, better battery life, and users have more calming tracks from which to choose.

Fitbit Charge 5($270): The fifth version of Fitbit’s top tracker comes with extra sensors that can help you understand more about your sleep. This device will give you a sleep score, tell you how many hours you slept and spent in deep, REM and light sleep, and it can also chart your breathing rate, which can flag other issues like snoring or sleep apnoea.