If you have poor habitual sleep efficiency, you may spend a lot of time in bed not sleeping. The consequences of this range from poor mental health to high blood pressure and decreased quality of life. Fortunately, there are things you can do to improve your sleep efficiency.

About Sleep Efficiency

Sleep experts use many different measurements and factors to describe how well a person sleeps, or how poorly. Sleep efficiency is the ratio between how much time you’re actually asleep and the time you spend in bed.

As an example, imagine you go to bed and get up at sensible times, spending eight hours total in bed trying to sleep. If you struggle with insomnia and only spend four of those hours asleep, your sleep efficiency is at 50%.

A higher number indicates a person is sleep efficient. They go to bed and spend most of the time asleep. If you are sleep inefficient, you try to sleep but often don’t succeed. Poor sleep efficiency is typical of insomnia, whether you struggle to fall asleep, stay asleep, or both.

Habitual Sleep Efficiency

A night here or there with poor sleep efficiency isn’t a serious problem. Most people struggle to sleep through the night from time to time. Habitual sleep efficiency is more important. It describes your sleep efficiency on a regular basis.

If you spend most nights with low sleep efficiency, your habitual efficiency is low, and that can be a problem. It can lead to sleep deprivation and resulting mental and physical health problems.

Consequences of Poor Habitual Sleep Efficiency

Poor habitual sleep is bad for your health. A study that tracked sleep and stress in men found that those with low habitual sleep efficiency reacted more to stress. The researchers measured cortisol and blood pressure in the participants before, during, and after an applied stress.

People who sleep poorly most often had higher cortisol levels and higher blood pressure. In other words, they reacted more to stress than those who slept better. The effects persisted even after a stressor was removed. Other proven ways that poor sleep affects your health include:

• Memory deficits
• Difficulty thinking and concentrating
• Negative changes in mood
• Lower immunity
• Increased risk of heart disease

How to Improve Your Sleep Efficiency

Improving your sleep hygiene and habits will help you sleep more efficiently. Consistency is important. Stick with these habits and go to bed and wake up at the same time every day for the best results.

• Make your bedroom and bed comfortable, quiet, and dark. Keep screens out of the bedroom, lower the temperature, and replace bedding or your mattress if necessary.
• When you find it difficult to fall asleep, get up and do something else for 15 or 20 minutes and then try again.
• Spend the hour or two before bed doing something relaxing, not stimulating. Reading and meditating are good options.
• Be active during the day. Exercise, get outside, and get some light exposure to signal to your mind that it’s time to sleep at night.

Habitual sleep efficiency is something you can work on. Use tools like those on the BetterSleep app to help you wind down at night. With consistency and patients, you should be able to sleep more of the time you’re actually in bed.