Many of our world's cities are thriving. They exude creativity and constant motion and more than half of the world's population now lives in cities. Technology and innovation provide modern city folk with ever increasing access to activity virtually twenty-four hours a day, 7 days a week. While these features of cities feed our need for stimulation, how does the constant bustle of city life affect our sleep? While the modern city is commonly blamed for intruding on our rest, is the city really the culprit or are we to blame?
The Sleep Matters helpline, a nurse-run telephone information line operated by the charity Medical Advisory Service, conducts around 5,000 sleep consultations per year. Information gathered during these phone consultations indicate that there is a slight trend towards city sleep problems.
City noise is likely a large component of this. Additionally, problem sleep is moving away from nocturnal insomnia to daytime tiredness, a modern syndrome fuelled by alternating grabbed sleep and stimulant intake, caffeine and energy drinks. These habits are often associated with a busy urban life.
But cities are not solely responsible for poor sleep. Despite the downside of noise and pollution, many negative factors can be positively addressed in cities. Appropriate outdoor lighting that discourages crime allows people to feel safer and more secure in their own home, which can improve the quality of sleep. A healthy diet and exercise also does much to aid quality sleep.
In the end, sleep is our responsibility. Granted, sleep is a skill that is learned in early life, and there is good evidence that children who sleep poorly become adults who sleep poorly. But lifelong poor sleepers must work to refresh their sleep skills and establish a healthy sleep routine.
Ways to combat difficulty sleeping include implementing a routine for bed time, not eating or drinking too close to going to bed, ensuring the safety and comfort in your home and creating a sleep "haven" by selecting the right bed and room temperature.
Sleep is a lifestyle choice and unfortunately, there is a general lack of understanding of the health benefits of restorative sleep. Poor sleeping habits are linked to chronic disease, including heart disease, obesity, diabetes, stroke and mental illness.
The consequences of poor sleep are moving healthcare providers to better training of healthcare professionals to identify sleep deprived patients and to advise and treat accordingly. In addition, funds are now being allocated to incorporate sleep training as part of medical school curricula.
Regardless of where we live, we have a personal responsibility to prioritize and benefit from adequate restorative sleep. Additionally, healthcare professionals must become more aware of the signs of sleep deprivation so appropriate intervention can become the gold standard of the future.
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