Frequently Asked Questions

Did you know that…

  • 43% of the Belgian population sleep badly, but only 15% are aware of the fact.
  • 46% feel sleepy during the day, which clearly affects their quality of life.
  • 17% recognise that they risk dozing or even falling asleep in front of the wheel, putting their safety and that of others in danger!
  • 75% of Belgians experiencing sleeping problems do nothing to find a solution.
  • 25% of those with sleeping problems take sleeping pills to get to sleep. Of these 25%, one in eight takes medication on their own initiative or on recommendation from friends or relatives. These alarming figures show that we are faced with a matter of public health.
  • The average length of a night’s sleep in Belgium is 7hours 23 minutes for men and 7 hours 41 minutes for women. On average, we sleep 50 minutes longer on a day off than when we have to work.

The importance of a good night’s rest

A good night’s sleep is one of the essential elements of a healthy and active life. Despite the fact that we spend about 1/3 of our lives in bed, the importance of sleep is far too often underestimated. Because sleeping well in a comfortable bed that offers good support allows you to charge your batteries, both mentally and physically. 


What is sleep ?

Sleeping is just like eating and drinking. You can’t go without. Without sleep, we would end up collapsing with exhaustion.

We spend a large part of our life sleeping, on average one third, which is the equivalent of 24 years! This activity seems so banal to us, that we don’t even question it. But if you ask anyone about the meaning of sleep, it is often difficult to get a reply. Even scientists struggle with this problem.

There are two theories:

  • Sleep is like a maintenance procedure for our body and brain. Brain cells can develop extremely well during sleep. This is why babies sleep so much. And sleep is also excellent for growth and development.
  • The other theory states that memory develops during our sleep. 

How does sleep work ?

Normal sleep is broken down into several phases, and we repeat this cycle five times during a normal night’s sleep of 8 hours. In addition, each cycle is divided into 4 stages – the sleep phases- which become progressively deeper and deeper.

Phase 1: State of wakefulness

This is the moment just before you fall asleep. You feel very relaxed, your eyes begin to shut, your thoughts start to wander and your perceptions are slower. The brain’s activity slows down. The waking threshold is very low, you can wake up very quickly and stubbornly maintain that you didn’t fall asleep. During this phase, you sometimes feel a sort of shock -a contraction of the muscles– which just means you are relaxing and getting ready to go to sleep.

Phase 2: Normal sleep or Non-REM sleep

Normal sleep is subdivided into 4 stages:

Stage1: Falling asleep
After several minutes in a state of wakefulness, your breathing starts to slow down, your muscles relax and then you actually fall asleep. This is a transition phase from wakefulness to sleep, which is also known as “dozing off”. Here the waking threshold is also very low. This phase only lasts a few minutes.

Stage 2: light sleep
This is a light sleep during which you sometimes open your eyes, but without seeing anything. This sleep makes you feel a bit like you are floating. You sink into a deeper and deeper sleep.

Stage 3: deeper sleep
This phase is a sort of transition phase to deepest sleep. The muscles relax even more, the heartbeat slows down, body temperature slowly falls, blood pressure drops and breathing becomes more regular.

Stage 4: deepest sleep
In this phase you are the most isolated from the outside world. You may dream, but you remember nothing
If you wake up during this stage, you will feel disorientated for a few minutes. You don’t understand what is happening and you have trouble remembering where you are.

Phase 3: Dream sleep or REM sleep

REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement. In this phase, rapid eye movements will occur. Your body is relaxed but your breathing and heartbeat become quicker and less regular, your blood pressure increases and you start to turn in your bed. This is when we dream, and we assume that this cleans up our psychological and emotional lives.

If you wake up or are woken up, you can usually describe your dreams in great detail.
These 3 phases (wakefulness, normal sleep and dream sleep) follow each other in cycles of around 90 minutes from stage 1 to the REM phase and then in the other direction until stage 1. These cycles occur 4 to 5 times per night. REM sleep or dream sleep reaches its maximum length during the last part of the night.

rem

 

 

How much sleep do we need?

How much sleep a person needs depends on the individual but it also varies from one culture to another. On average, 7 hours per night seems to be the healthiest length of time.

Everyone has their own sleeping rhythm, and trying to sleep less is just like wearing shoes that are one size too small. It’s possible, but rather uncomfortable. Contrary to popular belief, not everyone needs 8 hours sleep: our needs depend more on how efficient our sleep is. So people who sleep longer will have longer sleep cycles than shorter sleepers, and the latter will have more concentrated sleep.

The number of hours sleep is also linked to age. So a newborn will sleep about 17-18 hours a day, which will quickly decrease to 10-12 hours in infancy. During puberty the quantity of sleep diminishes to 9-10 hours. A young adult has enough with 6 to 9 hours sleep and an older person will sleep even less.

Older people also need less REM sleep, and wake up much more often.
Other than the link between age and duration of sleep, the number of hours of sleep is different for each individual. Some people feel rested after 4 hours sleep, whereas others need more than 10 hours.
Someone who is in good health will need less sleep than someone who isn’t. When we are very active, we also need less sleep than when we carry out passive activities. We also know that we need more sleep in the winter than in the summer: this is because sunlight and the energy it radiates have a stimulating effect on our organism.

The myth that the hours before midnight count double has not been scientifically proven. But it is true that the first hours of sleep are the most precious as deep, refreshing sleep mostly occurs during the first part of the night.

You cannot immediately compensate for a lack of sleep. The following nights, you will have more deep sleep, but your body clock will wake you at the usual time. So your sleep will be shorter and will be interrupted more often. This transition can easily be felt over the course of several days.

What is healthy sleep?

  • Falling asleep within 15 minutes.
  • Not (or rarely) waking up during sleep.
  • A good quantity of deep sleep during the first two sleep phases.
  • Regular breathing and heartbeat.
  • No agitated movements.
  • Body temperature is low in the morning.
  • Falling asleep again quickly after having, for example, gone to the toilet.

 What factors can disturb our sleep?

  • Failure to respect our sleeping and waking times.
  • Stress during the day.
  • Physical illnesses and pain.
  • Low blood pressure, iron deficiency and disorders of the thyroid gland will make you feel tired during the day, even after a good night’s rest.
  • Bad eating habits: eating too much or too little, not enough variation.
  • Excessive alcohol consumption: you will fall asleep easily, but sleep will be interrupted and you will not feel in great shape the next day.
  • Doing sport before going to bed: physical exercise is essential to keep healthy and fit, but it is better not to practice sports just before going to sleep.
  • Emotional problems and depression.
  • Winter tiredness.
  • Fear of not sleeping or sleeping badly.

 What are the consequences of bad sleep?

  • Sleepiness during the day.
  • Strong mood swings, irritation and depression.
  • Loss of sense of humour.
  • Tension and stress.
  • Social life suffers.
  • Weight gain.
  • Weakening of the immune system.
  • Shivers.