There is more to sleep than just landing in bed and falling asleep. Health and Wellness hosted Dr Katinka Botha, who shared with UFS staff the correct processes to follow in order to get the best out of our time of rest.

Botha began by explaining that sleep is actually an active process, as one’s sleep centre is activated. One goes through four sleep cycles in one night, or at least should. The best known phases are that of slow sleep and deep sleep. She further explained that one is only diagnosed with insomnia when you have been experiencing three nights of sleeplessness for a period of three months.

“Your brain relaxes as soon as you don’t have the fear of sleeping,” Botha explained. Along with clock-watching, electronics, and irregular sleeping patterns, this fear keeps one awake.

Stimulus control, sleep hygiene and leaving work at the workplace, are some of the approaches Botha suggested to better one’s sleep cycle(s).

-Hatsu Mphatsoe