Sleep is one of the most important aspects of your wellbeing, yet it is also one of the areas that many people struggle with the most. If you’re lucky, you fall asleep quickly and wake up feeling refreshed and rested.

On the flip side, getting a poor night’s sleep can leave you feeling irritable and lead to an unproductive day.

This is manageable once in a while, but if you’re regularly suffering from sleep deprivation, it can lead to a host of health issues.

Read on to find out what constitutes a “good” night’s sleep and discover some useful breathing exercises that can improve sleep quality.

Poor sleep can lead to physical and mental health issues, affecting your overall quality of life

Struggling to fall asleep can be frustrating. Even if you can drop off quickly, you may find you wake several times during the night, or are wide awake long before your alarm goes off.

If this sounds like you, and it’s happening regularly, you could have insomnia. This is one of the most common sleep disorders, with research from Hillarys showing that 1 in 6 UK adults have suffered from the condition for over 10 years.

The research also found that around 1.5 million people are believed to suffer from obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), a condition that causes your breathing to stop and start during sleep.

Regular poor sleep can affect almost every aspect of your physical and mental health. You may find it more difficult to concentrate or make decisions, and find that you’re more irritable and impatient.

According to Healthline, sleep deprivation can also prevent your immune system from functioning effectively, and increase your risk of chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.

Additionally, hormone disruption caused by poor sleep can contribute to weight gain, as it causes your brain to release an appetite-stimulating hormone, ghrelin. You may find you’re too tired to exercise the day after a bad night, too.

The 4 stages of the sleep cycle each have their own important function

Your body undergoes several important processes when you sleep, making it a key part of your wellbeing.

Sleep operates in cycles regulated by your circadian rhythm, or your internal body clock. Each cycle comprises four stages.

1. Light sleep

This occurs just after you fall asleep, when your muscles slowly relax and your heart rate starts to slow down. You can easily be woken during this phase, but if you’re left uninterrupted, you’ll quickly move on to the next stage.

2. Deeper sleep

During this stage, your body temperature drops, your heartbeat, brain activity, and breathing slow, and your eyes stop moving.

3. Deep sleep

This is the stage when your body focuses on intense repair and recovery. Your heart rate, breathing, and brain activity are all at their lowest levels, and it’s difficult to wake someone during this phase.

4. Rapid eye movement (REM)

In this phase, your brain activity increases, your eyes flicker rapidly, and vivid dreams can occur. Cognitive functions such as memory and creativity are also believed to be strengthened.

These stages are all important, and you’ll cycle through them several times during the night.

Breathing exercises can calm your body and mind to promote a better night’s sleep

If you do struggle to get a restful night’s sleep, the good news is that research has shown that breathing exercises could help you improve the quality of your sleep.

The Guardian reports on an interesting study during which OSA sufferers inhaled deeply and then exhaled into a conch shell. After six months of practice, they were found to have higher blood oxygen levels during the night, as well as up to five fewer OSA incidents an hour.

If you don’t have a conch shell, there are other breathing exercises you could try. These promote a feeling of relaxation and calm, soothing your mind and releasing tension from your stomach.

1. The 4-7-8 technique

Open your mouth slightly and fully exhale, making a whooshing noise. Then, close your mouth, inhale through your nose for four seconds, and hold your breath for seven seconds.

Finally, exhale for eight seconds, again making a whooshing noise. Try doing between four and eight repetitions.

2. 3-part breathing

This one is really simple. Inhale deeply, then exhale fully, focusing on how your body feels as you do so. After a few breaths, slow your breathing so your exhale lasts twice as long as your inhale.

3. Box breathing

Sitting upright, breathe in deeply and then exhale fully, pushing all the air out of your lungs. Then, inhale slowly through your nose to a count of four, hold for four, and exhale slowly through your mouth.

4. Alternate nasal breathing

Sitting cross-legged, breathe deeply. Close your right nostril with your right thumb, breathing in through your left nostril. Then, close your left nostril and breathe out through your right.

Try doing rotations of this exercise for five minutes.

5. Diaphragmatic breathing

Lie flat, with pillows under your knees. Placing one hand flat on your chest and the other on your stomach, breathe deeply through your nose. Keep your hand on your chest while your stomach rises and falls. Then, breathe slowly through pursed lips for five minutes. The goal of this exercise is to move only your stomach with each breath.

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Please note

This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.

All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.