10 ways to improve your sleep–part I
Sleep. Most of us dont get enough of it. And we know it. Between work, family, and social events, there is just too much pressure on our hectic, modern lives and sleep is usually the first casualty. In competitive school or professional environments, being busy is viewed as a badge of honor. The mantra is “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” I’m certainly guilty of uttering those very words during my time in college and medical school.
But this is complete nonsense. We do a lot of posts about diet on this blog, but if we’re being honest about our overall health, sleep is king. Just think about it from an ancestral perspective: we spend a few hours per day eating and acquiring food, a few hours moving and exercising, but upwards of 8 hours sleeping. The need for adequate sleep is preserved in every other species–we are the only animal that voluntarily deprives itself of sleep! Anyone who’s ever had an overly demanding job (or been the parent of a newborn) know this fundamental fact: prolonged sleep deprivation is awful for all aspects of health. Everyone knows that sleep deprivation impairs brain function, but did you know that it impacts metabolic function as well? That’s right, inadequate sleep requires the adrenal glands to produce stress hormones to keep you going. This system evolved to allow early humans to stay sharp and avoid peril/predators, but wasn’t designed to be constantly activated. The end result is adrenal fatigue and downstream problems with mood, energy, insulin sensitivity, and fat storage.
But there’s hope! Fortunately many of the ways to get better sleep are quite simple, but may require modification to your bedroom environment, schedule, and diet. In part I of this post, we’ll tackle the top 5 ways you can improve your sleep starting today. Next time, we’ll look at #6-10. Don’t sleep through post!
- Habits/routine: you’ve probably heard about this one before, often referred to in medical circles as “sleep hygiene.” It sounds lame, but there is certainly a lot of evidence to support the fact that habits surrounding your bedtime routine strongly affect sleep quality. Some practical tips regarding sleep hygiene: keep the same bedtime every night, or as close as possible. Remember that the bed is for sleep–don’t read in bed or hold conversations with your partner just before trying to dose off. If you’re restless, get out of bed and read in a chair until you feel tired (and mind your light exposure–see #3 below). Think for a minute about your own experience: Do you keep bedtime habits or routine? Perhaps these simple low-hanging fruits are the key to your problem.
- Environment. The science is pretty clear: cool temperatures are best for sleep. While keeping you thermostat at 76-78 degrees may work for you in the day, but try it a bit cooler at night if you’re having trouble sleeping. The experts say 68-72 degrees, but I like it closer to 74-76 degrees. Whatever it is, just make sure that you bump the thermostat down at bedtime, so that your body notices the change. The optimal sleep environment doesn’t stop there. Make sure the room is dark and quiet too. Consider a “white noise” machine if sounds keep you awake. Invest in blackout curtains or wear mask if needed to keep it dark in your bedroom. Consider placing tape over those annoying LED lights that are on all your electronic devices or clocks, especially when traveling and your hotel has the huge bright LED clock on the bed stand. If keeping the whole house cool is impractical or too expensive, consider changing your mattress and/or sheets to models that allow better air circulation. Sometimes its the little things that make a big difference.
- Lighting. There’s a lot about this issue in the news lately, but with good reason. With the ubiquity of smartphones, tablets, and TV screens in our homes, we are exposed to excessive amounts of blue light in the evenings. Its bad enough to get your mind racing about various things on TV or the internet before trying to sleep, but the blue light itself can be harmful. Blue light exposure prior to sleep has been shown in scientific studies to reduce melatonin levels, shorten sleep time, and contribute to restless sleep. Blue light isn’t all bad–in fact, it may be very important to get good exposure to this early in the morning to set a good circadian rhythm. At a minimum, it makes sense to avoid or greatly diminish your blue light (ie, screen time) in the few hours before bed. Some people even wear blue blocking glasses or switch their electronics into a a low-blue wave mode (go ahead and try it on your iPhone: its called “night shift”). Personally, I haven’t gone so far as to wear the crazy-looking glasses yet, but I do try to avoid the screen immediately before bed and we keep the house lit with dim, incandescent-type lights in the evenings.
- Meditation / prayer. If you read or listen to self-improvement books or podcasts, there is a lot of enthusiasm for meditation these days. From the hundreds of interviews I’ve read and listened to over the years with top performing athletes, entrepreneurs, and artists, it seems that 9 out of 10 do some type of meditative practice. When asked “what is your single most important habit or routine?” most say it is meditation. Although commonly done in the morning hours, some type of “centering”, meditation, or prayer is beneficial in many phases of life, including sleep in addition to athletic and professional endeavors. If you’ve already “tried it all” and still have trouble sleeping, I would encourage you to try some type of meditative practice before you turn to medications, supplements, or chemical sleep aids. Speaking of which…
- Substances / drugs: The leading culprits are caffeine and alcohol, but many other medications fall in this category as well as food in general (stay tuned for part 2 of this post). Lets start with caffeine, which is the most ubiquitous stimulant drug used in our society. While individuals certainly vary in their sensitivity to this drug, it probably effects your sleep more than you realize. If you’re having trouble sleeping, the first thing to do is cut out caffeine after noon. You may be able to tolerate it much later into the day, but you can slowly work up to that. Personally, I enjoy a small shot of espresso after lunch or mid way through my afternoon, but not much later than that. Moving on to the second most commonly abused drug in our society: alcohol. There’s a lot of misconceptions about alcohol and sleep. Some consider it to be the oldest sleep aid, owing to its properties as a CNS depressant drug. No doubt, it helps you wind down and even fall asleep. But that’s where the “benefits” end. Drinking alcohol may help you fall asleep, but it wont help you to stay asleep. You’ll find yourself waking in the second half of the night or having a more restless sleep pattern. From personal experience I have seen a big difference in sleep quality since I started paying close attention to my own alcohol consumption. We dont have the time in this post to tackle the myriad other substances people put into their bodies and the endless effects they may have on sleep, but suffice it to say that most “sleep aids” are CNS depressants and will have similar downsides to alcohol and may be addictive.
That’s all for this week. In Part II of this post, we’ll tackle supplements, work schedules, and even alarm clocks that help you sleep (and wake) better.
~Brendan
