Niki Bezzant: Eyes wide shut - are you getting enough sleep?

People who don't get enough sleep are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease. Photo / Getty Images

Sleep studies are revealing how crucial getting good shut-eye is for our health, writes Niki Bezzant.

Everyone's talking about sleep in health and wellness circles. It's starting to be acknowledged as one of the pillars of health: one of the things we really need to get enough of for optimal health and wellbeing. As sleep is studied more and more, we are learning that adequate sleep is critical not just to feeling alert, but to many, many aspects of our health, from our risk of many diseases to our mental health to how likely we are to gain weight.

Here are some of the ways it's been discovered that poor or not enough sleep can affect our health:

• People who don't get enough sleep are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease.

• Sleep deprivation is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes.

• People who sleep fewer than five hours a night are significantly more likely to consume sugary and caffeinated drinks.

• Teens who get insufficient sleep are more likely to engage in risk-taking behaviour.

• People who are deprived of sleep are more likely to eat unhealthy snack foods.

• Both children and adults who sleep less than five hours a night are more likely to develop obesity.

There are links between what and how we eat and how well we sleep, so – once we have the logistics of sleep sorted - being aware of these can help set us up for a better night's kip.

As sleep is studied more, we are learning that sleep is critical not just to feeling alert, but to many aspects of our health. Photo / Getty Images

Most of us know it's not ideal to have coffee or other caffeinated drinks right before bed. But you may not know that your lunchtime or afternoon coffee might also be interfering with your sleep. That's because caffeine has a long half-life; six hours after you've had it, half the caffeine in your coffee will still be in your system. Caffeine can interfere with the deep-restorative sleep we need to feel truly rested. So even if you feel you're sleeping, if you're still waking up feeling tired, it might be worth having a look at your caffeine intake.

Alcohol is the other false friend of sleep. A little bit – a very little; say a small glass of wine – might be relaxing and make us feel sleepy. But more than that and, again, our sleep quality is shot, as our bodies have to work hard to break down the alcohol, and we stay in the light phase of sleep for longer, compromising restorative deep and REM sleep.

How much you eat can also affect sleep. Being over-full is not great – we've all had the experience of lying awake after a big dinner, feeling uncomfortable. Being hungry is not good, either. It's hard to get to sleep and stay asleep if you're plagued by hunger pangs.

Being hydrated is good – but don't drink too much before bed, or your sleep will be disturbed by the need to get up for the loo.

There are some foods that may help us get a better sleep. There's a little bit of evidence to suggest that the old folk remedy of a warm, milky drink before bed might help us sleep due to the calcium it contains.

Having carbohydrates with dinner might help, too; one Australian study found that when people ate jasmine rice for their evening meal, they fell asleep more quickly. You could also try potato, kumara, wholegrain pasta or couscous.

Selenium is an interesting mineral, which has been studied in relation to sleep apnoea. There's also evidence that when we're low in selenium, we may experience sleep problems. Having a couple of brazil nuts a day will keep selenium levels topped up nicely.

Selenium and magnesium are two important minerals that can help with sleep. Brazil nuts are a good source of both. Photo / Getty Images

Magnesium is another important mineral – we need it to produce energy and it's a component of hundreds of enzymes in our bodies. If we're low in magnesium, we may experience sleep problems, and there's research to show taking magnesium may improve insomnia and sleep quality. We can get magnesium from seeds and nuts (brazil nuts, again, are a good source), as well as peas, chickpeas, potatoes and leafy greens.

Food is not a cure-all when it comes to sleep. There are other things that are really important - the logistics I mentioned earlier – and that sleep experts say make a huge difference to the quality and duration of our sleep. Regular exercise; dealing with stress; limiting screen time before bed; having a regular sleep routine.

And it's also important that if you're finding – despite addressing all of these things – that you're still feeling exhausted and unrested, to get checked out by your doctor. Conditions such as sleep apnoea are on the rise and the symptoms, especially in women, are not always obvious. Addressing that, for sufferers, can be a real life-changer.

* Niki Bezzant is a food and nutrition writer and speaker, and editor-at-large for Healthy Food Guide. Follow her on Facebook or Instagram @nikibezzant