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TIRED & TESTED
I tested 8 different insomnia ‘cures’ over 8 weeks – there were 2 clear winners and 1 that just left me feeling grumpy
From watches to oils and bedtime drinks
IT affects 16million people in the UK, with 200,000 work days a year lost because of it.
Insomnia is a very real and costly problem, with 12million prescriptions written for it on the NHS every year costing £72million.
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Self confessed insomniac Lana Watson, 40 from Chichester, West Sussex, has struggled by on a few hours sleep a night for the last 11 years.
The environmental health practitioner says: "It can range from passing out through sheer exhaustion to literally walking around the house until it’s time to start work having had no sleep.
"I’ve been prescribed sleeping tablets from the GP for short term attempts to get me back to a normal sleeping pattern, and I've self-medicated with wine and holistic alternatives.
"It’s affected jobs as I’ve not been able to perform as expected consistently due to tiredness and I’ve lost friends from them perceiving my no shows are personal, when in reality, I’ve not been safe to drive through no sleep or being too exhausted to honour commitments.
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"Relationships have ended as when I’m awake I can’t sleep once they start snoring and we have been totally out of sync."
Having tried countless remedies over the years, Lana agreed to test some of the most popular devices, gadgets, and apps on the market to try and improve her sleep.
WEEK 1: Withings Sleep Analyzer (Pad), £129.95
- Average sleep: 3.3 hours a night
- Time to fall asleep: 3 hours
- Score: 2/5
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"The pad is very easy to use and non-invasive," Lana says.
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"You don’t know it’s there, but it is reliant on you being in the bed throughout the night to track and monitor sleep.
"This isn’t always possible for me as when I have insomnia, I move between beds and often get up when my partner has started snoring as I don’t stand a chance of sleep.
The 5 surprising reasons you might not be sleeping - and all are lurking in your home
"I took between three and four hours to fall asleep with the pad and managed around four hours a night, which is OK but not great.
"I also found that having such an in-depth insight into the quality of my sleep and its flaws left me feeling frustrated and anxious because I could see my sleep was bad but I felt powerless to change it.
"I did think keeping a diary of what I’ve eaten and drank and cross referencing it with my sleep might give me an insight into my insomnia, but I currently don’t have one.
"I can see it’s a handy piece of kit, but it didn’t help me get to sleep or stay asleep."
WEEK 2: I Love Wellness – Sleep Pillow Mist, £6.99
- Average sleep: 5 hours a night
- Time to fall asleep: 1.3 hours
- Score: 4/5
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"I’ve used a number of these products on the market and have found them a bit hit and miss, but this one helped provide a lovely calming fragrance in the bedroom which instantly felt relaxing," Lana says.
"I felt calmer and although sleep didn’t come quickly, it did have a noticeable effect on my anxiety and willingness to try and nod off.
"If you don’t like lavender though, this is not the product for you.
"I’d definitely use this again but would let it dry onto my pillow first."
WEEK 3: Grass & Co. Ease CBD Body Oil, £29.50
- Average sleep: 5 hours a night
- Time to fall asleep: 2 hours
- Score: 3/5
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"This made my skin greasy, which I didn’t like at all," Lana says.
"The smell was really unusual too.
"It took me a while to fall asleep, but I did get a good quality of sleep with it.
"Unfortunately, it transferred onto the sheets and stained them, which wasn’t mentioned on the packaging.
"I didn’t like the greasy oiliness so I wouldn’t use it again either.
"I’m glad I didn’t use it on my best sheets."
The best sleep routine and environment
Thomas Høegh Reisenhus, TEMPUR® sleep specialist & sleep counsellor, reveals the key components of a good bedtime routine and environment...
A sure-fire way to facilitate a better night’s sleep is to practice good sleep hygiene.
Establish a sleep routine that works for you and stick to it.
This will help your body establish a consistent, natural sleep-wake cycle which can do wonders for your overall sleep quality.
As such, try to avoid making up for lost sleep with a lie-in.
Instead of sleeping in, spend your morning reading a book in bed or having a leisurely coffee in the kitchen.
Ensure that your bedroom, bedding, and sleepwear are fit for purpose too.
The ideal sleep environment is dark, quiet, and cool – much like a cave.
If you find unwelcome sources of light are keeping you up, consider investing in an eye mask or black-out curtains.
Adding soft furnishings can be a great way to reduce noise, with the surfaces having an absorptive quality, but if this doesn’t work, consider embracing a soothing soundtrack to block it out.
In terms of temperature, try to keep your bedroom at 18°C. You can further reduce the risk of waking up due to overheating by ensuring that all your bedding and sleepwear is made with natural, breathable materials such as cotton and linen.
Bear in mind that everyone is different; what might work for most, may not work for you!
Whilst knowing how much sleep you should get, how to overcome common barriers, and practicing good sleep hygiene can facilitate a great night’s sleep, if you continue to struggle with sleep or fatigue persistently, do not hesitate to visit a doctor or health professional for support.
WEEK 4: BetterYou Lights Out Daily Oral Spray, £19.95
- Average sleep: 4 hours a night
- Time to fall asleep: 3 hours
- Score: 1/5
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"This product has no effect on my ability to sleep," Lana says.
"It tasted really synthetic and was pretty unpleasant. It left me feeling grumpy.
"I didn’t see any improvement in sleep or help in getting me to sleep, it just agitated me at bedtime as it tasted so bad.
"Having said that, it didn’t work for my palate but if you liked the taste of it, the thought of a quick spritz and then falling asleep would be quite attractive."
WEEK 5: Calm app, £0
- Average sleep: 5 hours a night
- Time to fall asleep: 2 hours
- Score: 5/5
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"The app is set up very well and has loads of sounds, music, meditation and sleep stories, with some famous faces Harry Styles and Idris Elba doing the narrating to help you drift off," Lana says.
"The fact it’s connectable through my phone means I can use wireless earbuds and use it without disrupting my partner.
"I found the stories, which are about everything from waterfalls to the desert, really helped me relax and doze off to soothing sounds.
"I really liked this and have used it lots since the test."
WEEK 6: Withings Watch, £279.95
- Average sleep: 2 hours a night
- Time to fall asleep: 6 hours
- Score: 2/5
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"I didn’t like the watch at all," Lana says.
"It looks lovely and I loved wearing it during the day but I found it uncomfortable to wear at night.
"The monitoring is brilliant though and the app is really easy to navigate and use.
"I can understand it’d be useful for insomniacs who want to track their overall health – it can do ECGs and blood oxygen saturation - but I found the strap a bit sweaty and not great to sleep in.
"It didn’t help me fall asleep and knowing I’d see how badly I’d slept on the app the next day made me feel more anxious about falling asleep than I normally would."
WEEK 7: Warm milk, 95p
- Average sleep: 4 hours a night
- Time to fall asleep: 3 hours
- Score: 2/5
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"In all my years of insomnia, warm milk isn’t something I had ever tried," Lana says.
"I liked it and it was lovely and relaxing towards bedtime, but unfortunately, it meant I needed to visit the bathroom twice in the night, which disrupted my sleep.
"I don’t think it made me anymore sleepy or improved my length and quality of sleep, but it was a nice bed time routine to have a warm glass of milk before climbing into bed."
WEEK 8: Morphee, £74.95
- Average sleep: 5 hours a night
- Time to fall asleep: 1 hour
- Score: 4/5
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"This looks lovely on the bedside table and the content of the Morphee is very good, with the meditations and sleep sounds and music all very useful," Lana says.
"The practicality of the Morphee is its only downfall.
"You have to plug headphones into it and can’t use them on Bluetooth, so unless your partner wants to listen too, you can’t move as freely while you’re falling asleep.
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"Unfortunately, form over function means I didn’t use it again after the test week.
"I loved it but unless you sleep alone or your partner doesn’t mind hearing it too, it’s not the best."
How bad sleep affects weight
Previously in The Sun, experts explained how sleep is closely linked with weight.
Disrupts hunger hormones
Ghrelin is a hormone released after the brain signals the stomach is empty, while leptin is released from fat cells to suppress hunger - and tell the brain it's full.
Studies have shown that when you don't get enough shut-eye, the body makes more ghrelin and less leptin - leaving you more hungry.
One study of 12 men led by University of Chicago showed two days of sleep deprivation drove leptin levels in the blood down by 18 per cent, while increasing ghrelin by 28 per cent.
The men reported a 24 per cent increase in their hunger and appetite compared to when they were given two restful nights.
More time to eat
The less you are asleep, the more you are awake. This gives more of an opportunity to eat.
In the modern day world, people are awake for up to 17 hours at a time - 7am till 12pm. It leaves a huge window for being awake and eating.
If you're struggling with both your weight and sleep, try finishing your meals three to four hours before bed time. That might mean limiting your eating window from 9am until 6pm.
Reach for takeaways
If you have a weird sleeping pattern, chances are your eating schedule is also off-whack.
Struggling to sleep can see us turn to convenience - takeaways, ready meals, oven foods and more, whi;e being energised gives us more motivation to cook healthily.
Eat more calories than normal
Studies suggest that the less sleep you get, the more calorie-dense food you choose to eat.
One study in Chicago found that men ate more food at a buffet after four consecutive night’s of rough sleep compared with when they were rested.
They consumed around 340 calories more, mostly because they ate more snacks and carbohydrate-rich food.
Researchers from King’s College London also found that adults consumed an additional 385 calories – the equivalent of one and a half Mars Bars – on days after they were deprived of kip by combining the results of 11 previous studies.
More desire for food
Foods, especially those high in calories, are more appetising when we are sleep deprived because we subconsciously know they will boost our energy.
A German study showed the lengths sleepy people would go to for calorific snacks using 32 healthy men.
After a normal dinner and either a restful or restless night’s sleep, the men were given three Euros to spend on snacks and told to bid the maximum amount they were willing to spend on each item.
When sleep deprived. participants were willing to pay extra for the junk food items - which they were allowed to eat afterwards - suggesting a stronger desire.
Fat storage more likely
Scientists have warned that not getting enough sleep changes how the body deals with food, which could then lead to weight gain.
One study showed that men who ate a large bowl of chilli mac and cheese after four nights of bad sleep reacted differently to the food than those who were well-rested.
Researchers at Pennsylvania State University said blood tests showed lipids (fats) from foods were cleared faster, suggesting they were being stored almost instantly.
The process did not spring back to its normal rate even after the men were given a long night’s sleep.
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