Sleeping well these summer days might just be the best revenge

Good health starts with a good night's sleep.

That might sound simple enough, but judging from the calls that sleep expert Dr. Charles Samuels fielded Friday on Alberta at Noon, there's plenty of  droopy-eyed Albertans who struggle to get sufficient shut eye.

Partly, it's latitude. We live in a part of the planet where dawn breaks around 5 a.m. four months a year during spring and summer, causing light sleepers to wake up way earlier than they ever intended to.

Partly, it's circadian rhythms, which is just a sleep doctor's way of saying "night owl."

For others, there are any number of life stresses, or poor pre-bedtime habits — many of which involve digital devices —that keep people awake, irritated, and wondering what it will take to get them back into a dream state.

The #1 tip

Dr. Samuels said the secret to getting a good night's sleep isn't complicated.

"The number one thing I will tell people when they ask me what's the most important thing about having good sleep: routine," he said. "100 per cent."

Another key ingredient: darkness.

"It's really important in general sleep health advice that people sleep in a pitch dark room — and most people don't," he said.

"They don't really pay attention to the amount of light that's in their room."

Samuels said the indifference some patients show toward light exposure is shocking.

"It's important because the brain doesn't like light at night — and that's in the normal setting.

"In our setting here [in southern Alberta], where our exposure to light is pretty high, here in the summer months, and most people complain when they come in [to see me] about the 5 o'clock light waking them up and not being able to get to seven."

Two duvets

Another problem for many people is finding the right sleep temperature, particularly during the summer months, when it can stay hot for nights at a time.

"Some people will go into basements," Samuels said.

"And I'll say to people who can't afford air conditioning … fans or sleeping in their basement if they have them is quite reasonable — making a comfortable bed in the basement and going down there when it's super hot."

He emphasized that there's no ideal temperature for getting a good night's sleep.

"Whatever's comfortable," he said.

"The biggest problem is not what temperature [the room is]," he added. "It's mediating the temperature between the partners [which] is the biggest issue.

"So keeping each partner comfortable [is the secret]."

His tip?

"Separate duvets is actually a good way to go."

Getting back to sleep

For people who fall asleep, but then wake up and can't get back to sleep, or people who just generally have a difficult time getting to sleep, Samuels said to get out of bed — but don't get too busy, either.

The night time is not the time to be cleaning out closets, or doing laundry.

"Your mind is active, but your brain wants to sleep," he said.

"So if you just go and relax, you will go and get sleepy again."

Digital devices

One of the major sleep saboteurs are our digital devices, he said.

"One to two hours before bed, you need to wind down, and the major issue is technology," he said.

"The bottom line is [at the Centre for Sleep and Human Performance] we now have two full-time behavioural sleep specialists, in an attempt to treat sleep issues without drugs.

"So we focus on that. And one of the uphill battles is exposure to technology."

Between the light of the screen, and the interactive nature of digital technology, it all adds up to a state Samuels describes as hyper-arousal — which is the wrong way to prepare for a good, long night's sleep.

"We institute all kinds of ways of blocking out light, but that does not change the interaction with the device. The more you interact, the more hyper-aroused you get, the more it affects your sleep," he said.

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With files from Alberta at Noon