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We all need sleep but it is easy to have this natural process disrupted by travel or an unfamiliar bed. To get the very best from your sleep, the sleep specialist Dr Chris Idzikowski has created a series of exclusive podcasts for Crowne Plaza. By following these simple tips you'll understand how to enjoy the good night's sleep you need - and ensure you wake up refreshed and revitalised.
Dr Chris Idzikowski, a world-renowned expert on sleep and its disorders, has served on the boards of the Sleep Medicine Research Foundation, the European Sleep Research Society and the US Sleep Research Society and is currently Director of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre.
| | To copy these podcasts to your iPod simply follow these instructions:
- Open the podcast in Windows Media Player.
- Click on 'File' > 'Save as' and save to your desktop.
- Open iTunes and then drag the podcast file from your desktop to your iTunes library.
| Podcast 1 – Introducing the Sleep Doctor:
In this short introductory podcast, writer and journalist Marcel Theroux introduces us to sleep specialist Dr. Chris Idzikowski and looks at a few of the issues surrounding sleep for business travel.
|  | | Podcast 2 – Sleep & the Hotel Environment:
The physical environment of the hotel room, and how this can have an impact on sleep for business travellers – looking at how light, noise, smell, temperature, comfort and security can all have a big impact on our sleep comfort, and also how we can work, rest and play in the same place.
|  | | Podcast 3 – The Body & Sleep:
How big an impact what we eat, and when we eat it can have on our sleep health when we are travelling and how the hotel gym and exercise can play a part in ensuring we get a good night’s sleep. |  | | Podcast 4 – The Mind & Sleep:
How we can prepare our minds for sleep, and also about what’s happening to our minds as we go through the various stages of sleep. The effects a good nights sleep has on our waking performance – dispelling once and for all the notion that sleep is for wimps.
|  | | Podcast 5 – Crisis Management:
What we can do when it all goes wrong. We look at the impact that jetlag has on our sleep, what we can do to combat it’s effects, and what we can do to survive a bad nights sleep when we need to be at our best.
|  | | - Napping is good but allow yourself time to recover. Aim for either a short nap or 90 minutes’ sleep. An hour’s sleep may leave you feeling groggy, so allow an extra 20 – 30 minutes to wake up.
- Turn off all distractions, including your phone. Focus on slowing your breathing as this reduces your heart rate, lowers blood pressure and tells the brain to relax.
- Sleep is affected by the timing of your 24 hour biological clock. You will feel sleepiest when your body believes it is 4.00am and mid-afternoon.
- Exercise has a beneficial effect on sleep and helps set the internal clock to sleep time.Don’t over-exercise as this can be stressful and if you do not habitually exercise then seek the advice of your physician first.
- Be aware of your surroundings so that when you wake up, it doesn’t come as a surprise. Don’t forget to put out your ‘Do not disturb’ sign.
- A hot bath or shower opens up the pores and promotes heat loss – a vital component of sleep as the body temperature falls when we sleep.
- You room should be warm and cosy prior to sleep, but turn down the thermostat as your internal body clock tries to reduce your temperature as you sleep.
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