About one-third of the world’s population suffers from sleep deprivation. Sleep specialists are now concerned not only with traditional factors that lead to poor and insufficient sleep but also with those that have emerged as threats to humanity in recent decades.
Dr. Mike Dilks, a London-based consultant and otolaryngologist, is well-versed in this topic. He believes that one of the reasons for unsatisfactory nighttime rest is the chaos in the bedroom.
The Bedroom is for Sleeping!
What does this mean? Many people today turn their bedrooms into the central hub of their lives. They eat, read, watch TV, listen to music, work from bed, and, of course, sleep there. But getting a good night’s sleep in a room and lifestyle like that is not always possible.
The main reason is clutter — piles of gadgets and other items leave little breathing room in the bedroom. When someone loses valuable hours of rest each night, it’s no surprise their sleep suffers.
How can this problem be solved? Dr. Mike Dilks suggests removing everything from the bedroom that isn’t related to sleep.
“If a person tries to fall asleep in a room filled with TVs, coffee machines, and other devices, they won’t sleep as well as they would in an otherwise empty bedroom with just a bed,” he said.
Dilks says this is mainly due to the blue light emitted by many devices, which disrupts the production of melatonin, the hormone that promotes sleep. This external stimulus can also interfere with the body’s internal clock, the Daily Mail reported.
The flickering lights and sounds from devices often cause people to wake up during the night. That is especially true for those who overload themselves with information from gadgets before bedtime, which can lead to shallow sleep.
“Don’t live half your life in the bedroom — use it exclusively for sleep,” Dr. Dilks added.
How Modern ENT Medicine Tackles Sleep Problems
The expert also shared tips on combating snoring and sleep apnea (pauses in breathing during sleep). Dr. Dilks, who specializes in surgery to address these issues, advises paying attention to the position in which we sleep.
“Almost everyone snores when sleeping on their back.” Sleeping on your side is the simplest and most cost-effective way to avoid snoring.
To stay on your side throughout the night, sew a tennis ball into the chest pocket of your pajamas and wear them backward. If you roll onto your back, the tennis ball will make you uncomfortable and prompt you to return to your original position.
Dr. Dilks recommends that patients use a sleep-tracking app for a month before and after trying the tennis-ball trick. By comparing those metrics, patients can assess whether their sleep has improved.
Other steps to fight sleep deprivation include losing excess weight and cutting down on nighttime alcohol — or better yet, quitting alcohol altogether.
To combat snoring, modern medicine offers several effective surgical methods, including laser surgery on the soft palate or tonsils. However, Dr. Dilks reserves those interventions for extreme cases when other attempts have not produced effective results.
