How do you cope on a broken night's sleep?

Last night, the fire alarm went off in my kid’s room at 2.30am for no reason. The kids didn’t wake up, but we did with a jolt of adrenaline and hearts racing.

My attempts to get back to sleep with a dull podcast were stifled an hour later by a child calling out. I could feel myself getting more annoyed for not falling asleep and dreading what the next day would be like.

So, I’m writing this story fresh off some personal experience.

Research increasingly supports the important role that quality sleep plays in our physical and mental health. It can strengthen our immune system and lower our risk of heart disease and diabetes. Sleep also activates our “brain cleaning” system, so a restful night can reduce toxins and our risk of dementia.

These new findings have in part spurred a trend on social media known as sleep maxxing, where users fuss over a host of hacks - some scientifically proven and some wacky - to optimise sleep.

But what happens when you get a bad night's sleep or perhaps a few in a row?

To start, let’s draw a line.

About 25% of New Zealanders have a sleep disorder, such as insomnia, sleep apnea, and restless legs syndrome. This story is geared towards those who have typical sleep patterns.

Advice will be different for those who have a sleep disorder versus those who have the odd rubbish sleep here and there, said Dan Ford, a psychologist and founder of The Better Sleep Clinic in Auckland.

“I mean, having a disrupted night is normal, right? It's part of life....

“The main thing is, don't panic. You read all this stuff online, all these terrible things that will happen if you have a bad night of sleep. What they don't tell you is, everything recovers afterwards, so it doesn't really matter.”

For those concerned about a potential sleep disorder, the diagnosis criteria are typically three nights of poor sleep per week for three months, but Ford recommends reaching out to a GP or sleep professional after one month of broken sleep.

If you do have a bad night's sleep, here’s how to make the following day bearable without messing up your next night of slumber.

Like babies, adults thrive on a consistent sleep routine and schedule. So even if you have a bad sleep, get up at your usual time, said Ford.

“Don’t sort of react by trying to sleep in or anything like that. Your body clock likes regularity...

Changing your awake time can “actually cause more fatigue for people, so we’re always suggesting if it’s just a one-off night, then you just get up at the same time and push through.”

Going to sleep earlier the next night is similarly disruptive.

“Physiologically, with the sleep wake system is that you'll typically get a, not necessarily a longer night the next night, but you'll get a deeper and more intense deep sleep as your body sort of catches up.”

“If you have the opportunity to have a bit of a power nap during the day, and I appreciate that not everyone does, that can help boost alertness, and help you sort of get through the day,” said Dr Karyn O'Keeffe from the Sleep/Wake Research Centre at Massey University.

By power nap, O'Keeffe means a daytime nap of less than 30 minutes. A long nap can lead to “sleep inertia,” she said, which is characterised by incoordination, a lag in decision making, and feelings of grogginess. A long nap can also interfere with the following night's sleep.

A nap in the mid to late afternoon typically works with our circadian rhythm, when humans experience a natural dip in alertness, said O'Keeffe.

Leigh Signal, a professor of fatigue management and sleep health at Massey University, advised those surviving on a rough night of sleep to consider their following day’s activities because their alertness will be impacted.

“It can also mean that you're functioning and your ability to do tasks, particularly tasks that are a little bit monotonous or require you to monitor or be vigilant, they can be affected after you've had a poor night's sleep.”

Signal recommends thinking twice before going on a long drive and avoiding doing tasks at work that could be dangerous if you make an error.

Thoughtful amounts of caffeine at the right time can be helpful, said Signal.

“Remember that it is not a fix, and it’s not going to get rid of the sleep loss. It’s just going to help you be a little more alert, but what we want to do is avoid caffeine later in the day.”

She typically doesn’t have caffeine after 10.30, so the majority of the caffeine will likely be out of her system when bedtime arrives.

Your body will likely metabolise half the amount of caffeine within four to six hours of consumption, meaning the remaining caffeine can be in your body much longer.

And that will depend on how fast individuals metabolise caffeine, she said.

You might be tempted to conserve energy by ditching a morning exercise routine. Don’t, said Ford.

“Exercise is good, so getting outside, getting exposed to the morning light, the morning air, and getting your system up and going with exercise is good...”

Research suggests that it can offset a lot of the downsides of a bad night's sleep, upping alertness and mental sharpness, said Ford.

Your body slows its urine production system down at night. If you’re awake a lot during the night, then it is likely that you lost more water, “so you might not realise that some of the fatigue is actually coming from dehydration,” said Ford.

By Serena Solomon of rnz.co.nz