Why sleep is your body’s superpower and how we’re getting it all wrong.

WORDS HAYLEY BARNETT

When I speak to Dr Patryk Szulakowski he’s recovering from a virus, one of many going around Tauranga Hospital where he works in internal and respiratory medicine.

“If you’d called me yesterday, I’d be coughing through the whole interview,” he laughs.

Despite feeling under the weather, his passion for sleep medicine is crystal clear. Patryk recently opened SleepMedik, a private clinic in Tauranga, after years of watching patients struggle through long public waitlists.

“The system is mostly focused on sleep apnea,” he says. “But thousands suffer from insomnia, parasomnias, circadian rhythm disorders, all sorts of challenges, and they’re not getting help.”

Originally from Poland, Patryk earned his PhD in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, but pivoted toward sleep after realising the impact treatment could have.

“When you treat sleep problems, you often see people transform. Their low mood, memory problems, exhaustion all improve. That kind of change is rare in medicine.”

More than snoring

Psychologist Dr Amber McAllister sees the link between sleep and mental health daily in her clinic.

“Sleep issues are a common symptom of stress and mood disorders,” she explains. “And being exhausted makes everything feel harder, which worsens anxiety. It becomes a vicious cycle.”

Mental strain compounds physical tiredness. When that happens we often turn to stress relievers to compensate, like food.

Nutritionist Jess Thorns agrees. “What we eat and when we eat can have a big impact on sleep quality,” she says. “A common pattern I see is people under-eating early in the day, then getting ‘afternoon hanger’ and overeating late. This, especially with low protein intake, can interfere

with both falling asleep and staying asleep.”

The myth of the bad sleeper

Many of Amber’s patients come in believing they’re just naturally terrible sleepers, but often, it’s a learned pattern, not a lifelong sentence.

“It’s not a case of being biologically broken,” says Amber. “Chronic poor sleep leads to frustration, and that creates beliefs and behaviours that reinforce the problem. But it’s usually very treatable.”

The first-line treatment, both Patryk and Amber agree, is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). “CBT-I is one of the most evidence-based interventions we have,” says Patryk. “But most people don’t get access to it. They’re offered medications instead.”

Amber says CBT-I involves more than sleep hygiene tips. “It helps people understand their sleep patterns, track them, challenge their beliefs around sleep and improve routines. It’s not always easy. Sleep can even get worse before it gets better, but it works.”

Sleeping pills aren’t the answer

Patryk is deeply concerned by the long-term use of sleeping pills. In New Zealand, nearly 680,000 sleeping‐pill prescriptions were issued over one financial year, with over 36,000 dispensed in the Bay of Plenty alone.

“They should be short-term, for things like grief or acute stress, but we see people on them for years.”

Amber acknowledges that medication can provide temporary relief. “Sometimes people just need rest. But if you don’t address the root causes, the problem doesn’t go away. It just gets masked.”

Nutritionist Jess adds that certain foods and drinks are often overlooked culprits. “Caffeine, chocolate and alcohol can all interfere with sleep. Even morning coffee can disrupt deep sleep hours later, depending on your sensitivity.”

Screens, teens and sleep disruptors

One of the most common enemies of modern sleep is screens. Blue light from phones, TVs and tablets suppresses melatonin, the hormone that tells your brain it’s time for bed.

“We’re designed to respond to darkness,” says Patryk. “When the sun sets, melatonin rises. Now we’ve flooded our homes with light, especially blue light, and it’s confusing our biology. Many families see this up close with teenagers, who naturally prefer later bedtimes and often want to stay on their phones late into the night. Even with apps and parental controls to limit screen time, it can become a constant struggle against biology and technology combined.”

A consistent bedtime routine is one of the most powerful tools for better sleep. “Going to bed and waking at the same time, even after a bad night, helps regulate your body clock,” says Amber. “Sleeping in or napping throws it off.”

Jess agrees: “Dinner should be balanced with protein and complex carbs to help you feel satisfied and regulate blood sugar through the night. Magnesium-rich foods, like leafy greens or avocado, help relax the body, and teas like chamomile can signal it’s time to wind down.”

What happens while you sleep

Behind closed eyes, your brain and body are busy. During deep sleep, the brain’s glymphatic system leaps into action, clearing away metabolic waste like beta‐amyloid, which is linked to Alzheimer’s risk. REM sleep, by contrast, helps cement memories and regulate emotion through intense neural activity and selective neural pruning. This nightly “brain reboot” underpins everything from mood stability to learning.

“Sleep is when the brain cleans itself,” says Patryk. “It’s like overnight housekeeping.”

Health and hidden risks

Sleep isn’t just about energy levels. It’s basically a pillar of physical health. Chronic sleep deprivation has been linked to obesity, cardiovascular disease, weakened immunity, diabetes and even cancer.

“In the Netherlands, women with breast cancer who worked long-term night shifts can apply for compensation,” Patryk says. “That’s how strong the link is. Disrupted circadian rhythms and melatonin suppression are major risk factors.”

Sleep also plays a powerful role in metabolism, and that’s where nutrition matters again. “Eating sugary or high-carb foods at night is like giving your body a burst of energy at the wrong time,” Jess explains. “It disrupts your ability to wind down.”

Unstable blood sugar can even lead to night waking. “Especially when combined with hormonal fluctuations, like in perimenopause, where you can get stuck in a cycle of poor sleep and next-day cravings.”

And poor sleep impacts food choices, too. “You’re hungrier, less satisfied and more likely to snack,” Jess says. “It also reduces insulin sensitivity, leading to energy crashes and more sugar cravings.”

Gut health also plays a role. Good gut health supports sleep by boosting serotonin and melatonin production, reducing inflammation and keeping the body’s circadian rhythm in balance. “If your gut is out of balance, it can affect your ability to relax and fall asleep,” explains Jess.

How much sleep do we really need?

“There’s no one-size-fits-all number,” says Patryk. “Most adults need seven to nine hours. Teenagers need more. Sleep becomes lighter and more fragmented with age, though the restorative need for sleep remains.”

If you’re consistently waking at 3am, Amber says the cause may be psychological. “Often it starts with stress, but over time, people begin to feel anxious about sleep itself. The bed becomes associated with frustration.”

If sleep is a struggle, Jess’ advice is simple. “Start by stabilising blood sugar. Eat enough protein, especially in the morning. Limit caffeine to before midday, reduce alcohol and include sleep-supporting foods like eggs, leafy greens and kiwi fruit throughout the day. A small protein-carb snack before bed can help, too.”

The bottom line

For a long time, sleep was treated as a passive process. It was less important than diet or exercise. But that’s changing. Experts now agree that sleep is the foundation.

“Good sleep lifts the weight of exhaustion,” says Amber. “When people finally sleep well, everything becomes easier.”

Or, as Patryk puts it: “It’s not wasted time. It’s essential for memory, mood, immunity and even longevity.”

So tonight, dim the lights. Put the phone away. Give your body what it’s really been asking for, which is deep, restorative sleep.

The truth about sleep