The quality of our life is more dependent on good sleep than we realize. It is a valuable indicator of wellness. How well you sleep can inform you about the status of your health, happiness, and even efficiency at work. I have worked on my sleep for a few years now and have been fairly successful. Here is what I found ...
Having a Nighttime routine is important:
How we spend the hour before bed is crucial.
When I was a new mother, I was often told to have the same routine every night for the baby. A bath, dim lights and singing lullabies, etc when done at the same time and in the same order helps the baby get the sense that bedtime is coming up. I think it is the same for our adult brains too.
We cannot switch off our minds quickly. It helps to have the same routine every night. Starting with bedtime. When we stick to a bedtime, our mind is already primed for sleep. Watching TV or looking at the phone till the last minute does the opposite.
My Husband would argue that watching Netflix at night primes his brain to sleep. I am sure it works that way for him because he can always fall asleep in less than 2 minutes.
But this blog is not for such people. It is for those who find it hard to either fall asleep or stay asleep, as I did for years. Even when I got more than 8 hours of sleep, I rarely felt refreshed. But the more I read about sleep, the more I understood why, and how to fix it.
Get a normal alarm clock and leave the phone outside the room or at least far from the bed.
Even if you can just devote 15 min of your time ( at least to begin with) to a routine, it helps. Mine is simple: dim lights, brush, read, and sleep.
Another source of sleep problems is anxiety and ruminations. I Have a small go-to list of happy thoughts and Ideas that I would rather ruminate about. This is my version of counting sheep. I have been doing this for as long as I can remember. It's much better than thinking of work, planning the next day's work, world news, neighbors' new car, or the plot of the latest show on Netflix.
If you suffer from anxiety, it is not uncommon to be ruminating about the next day's work before sleep. Preparing a little for the next day like picking the outfit, setting up what is needed for breakfast, making a short to-do list for work, etc take less than 5 minutes and can become part of the nighttime routine. It saves a lot of time in the morning. It also saves you from decision fatigue. And more importantly, it helps in stopping your brain from planning the next day in your head. This brings me to the next part.
A morning routine can help with nighttime sleep.
I read that getting direct sunlight on your eyes helps regulate the circadian rhythm and releases the right hormones which help in setting the mental clock to be alert and sleepy at the right time apart from resetting the digestive systems in our body.
I try and walk outside for at least 15 minutes once the sun is out. This is not for exercise. Any kind of forward motion and sunlight in my eyes helps my brain to understand its time to be alert. This even helps with Jet lag. Check the reference section at the end of the blog for links about this topic.
It's really helpful to step outside even if you live in a house which lets in a lot of sunlight. More direct the better. But if you live in a place that doesn't get enough sun in the winter or if you wake up much before sunlight it helps to turn on bright overhead lights. As many as you can.
If you are used to your morning cup of coffee, please delay it by an hour or two after waking up. This helps to avoid the late afternoon caffeine slump,
Spending a few minutes at night prepping for the morning will give us much-needed free time. Use that time to be in sunlight.
It is also most helpful to have a fixed wake-up and bedtime every day, as much as possible. Even if you have a late-night, it's better to still wake up at the normal time.
What we drink and eat throughout the day affects the quality of sleep.
let's start with beverages.
Water: Drink more throughout the day so you are not dehydrated at night time. Drinking a warm herbal tea before sleep was my routine. But I try to do that at least 2 hours before bedtime now. This helps me avoid a lot of tossing and turning in my sleep or even waking up in the middle to use the restroom. I try to avoid drinking anything right before sleep. Just a few sips of water. But I try to get my 8 cups of water much ahead of my sleep time. Please check the reference section at the end for the study on the condition called Nocturnia.
Coffee: Caffeinated drinks and tea in the late afternoon can affect the quality of sleep. I have heard a lot of people say that they can easily fall asleep even after a double shot of espresso. Even if you have developed enough tolerance to sleep after coffee, it harms the quality of sleep. Studies have shown that caffeine intake even 6 hours before bedtime disrupts the length and quality of sleep, especially deep sleep that's necessary to feel refreshed and satisfied in the morning. So avoid caffeine at least 6 hours before your bedtime.
Sugary sodas are loaded with sugar and caffeine. Having too much sugar can affect your ability to stay asleep at night. It is best to avoid them at least post 3 pm.
Alcohol: Alcohol is again dreadfully bad for our sleep. Our normal sleep cycles involve many cycles of REM ( Rapid Eye Movement ) or dream sleep followed by deep sleep. And both are equally important. Alcohol affects REM sleep which is considered restorative for our brain. Alcohol tricks you into believing it aids your sleep because it helps you fall asleep faster and get deep sleep. But this benefit is offset by affecting your REM sleep, especially in the second half of the night.
Even if it is not possible to avoid it completely, we must at least be aware of the consequences it has on our sleep. Awareness is the first step to making changes. So the next time you wonder why you don't feel fresh even after many hours of sleep, you can make the necessary changes and reduce the frequency of consumption, avoid it right before sleep or even give it up totally.
Dinner: It is also better to avoid eating dinner right before sleep. Giving your body a couple of hours to digest food before sleep is ideal. This is something we can train our bodies to do over time. Try not to snack after dinner. But if required, it's better to stick with light snacks that do not interfere with sleep. Banana with nut butter, popcorn, a handful of almonds, roasted chickpeas or hummus, etc. apparently doesn't affect sleep. I have not tried them as I stopped snacking after dinner completely. I prefer fasting for at least 12 hours.
Naptime and Exercise:
I try to avoid naps to improve my nighttime sleep. Even a 20-minute nap in the afternoon pushes my sleep cycle by a few hours.
But if you have a long day ahead and would like to do some focused work in the evening a short nap certainly helps you recharge. But it will affect the way we sleep at night. So it depends on your daily routines and work requirements.
It is better to nap than be sleep-deprived. But a full 8 hours of quality nighttime sleep will do more good in the long run than multiple naps. Of course, this is just my experience and suits my daily routine. I try to finish the tasks that require more focus in the morning.
Exercise and physical activity improve the quality of night sleep. I try to get a lot of physical movement during the day. It does not necessarily mean a proper workout session. Gardening, Walking, and generally, a very active day is good.
Look for active sports or hobbies like hiking, rock climbing, Zumba, or yoga. It is different for everyone. What you like doing is sustainable for the next 5 years or even a lifetime.
Not everyone has the luxury of time to be able to go to the gym or for spinning classes every day. For many like me, it's not even priority enough to commit to, every day. But an active lifestyle should be a priority.
Taking the stairs instead of elevators, sitting down on the floor often, doing a wall sit or push-ups when you are waiting for something, walking while talking on the phone, gardening, carrying groceries in the hand instead of carts, etc. are small changes but become part of an active lifestyle.
The famous Blue zone study where they observed the lifestyle of people living in regions of the world with the longest lifespans, revealed that people in these zones do not hit the gym every day but Movement is part of their everyday life. Challenge yourself to find ways of adding movement to your life. Sleep is just a healthy by-product of that.
Other ways of improving sleep:
There are plenty of other changes that can be made to improve sleep quality.
Weighted Blankets have proven effects on the quality of sleep.
Wearing glasses with blue light filters while looking at screens at night time reduces the effect significantly.
Any type of mindfulness routine like meditation, doodling, journaling, or breathing exercises helps in reducing anxieties and aids in falling asleep faster.
Although I don't meditate at night time, breathing exercises help me reduce anxieties and clear my head.
I do the 4-7-8 breathing technique. With your eyes closed, Inhale for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 7 seconds and then exhale for 8 seconds. It is impossible to hold any ruminating thoughts in your head while doing this exercise. I try to do 10 repetitions of this. Usually, I am fast asleep by the time I get to 10.
Finally, I feel the biggest enemy of sleep is FOMO ( Fear of Missing Out). We have to work the hardest to make sleep a priority. With so many distractions waiting to entertain us it is very hard to say goodnight. We come up with plenty of excuses to delay sleep.
Many people claim to need much less than 8 hours of sleep. They say they are fully functional with just 4 to 6 hours and do not need more. It might be true for a tiny percentage. According to research, less than 3% of the population fall in this category. The rest are just dangerously creating a heavy sleep debt.
I would like to suggest a 2-week sleep challenge. Try to get 8 hours of bedtime for just 2 weeks. Please observe to see if it makes any difference to the quality of your day. It certainly helped me to be more productive, less irritable, to have more energy and more contentment.
It is just 2 weeks. Parties, streaming shows, news, social media, etc. are going nowhere. Give it a try and get back to your old ways if you find it is overrated to sleep 8 hours a day. I bet you won't.
Many agree with me about the importance of sleep but are unable to change their lifestyle to accommodate more sleep. For them, I would suggest becoming more aware of its benefits by tracking sleep. Invest in a Fitbit, Oura ring, or use smartwatches to help you track your sleep and get curious about the quality of your sleep. The graphs are quite fascinating.
It is not even necessary to invest in a gadget. You can track your sleep in a journal. Track your sleep time and make notes about how tired, irritable or happy you were the next day and see if you can observe a difference through a period of at least 2 weeks to a month. I made my own graph last month correlating the sleep hours with my mood and stress levels. The result was interesting enough for me to continue this as a part of my regular journaling.
Try and do more research on this topic as well. You don't have to take my word for it
Why we sleep by Mathew Walker is a great book that really helped me understand Sleep. There are many other resources dedicated to this topic. Check the reference section for more suggestions.
Try the challenge, read the book, research and most of all observe the benefits of good sleep.
I surely hope I have convinced you to sleep your way to a better life.
Disclaimer: I am not a healthcare professional or from the wellness industry, this is purely based on my personal experience. People with chronic sleep problems, insomnia or sleep apnea, etc can benefit by consulting a healthcare provider.
Reference:
Why We Sleep by Mathew Walker
Coffee affects sleep study
Optimizing Sleep Dr. Andrew Huberman
Blue Zones
40 Winks
Alcohol affects sleep
Breathing to sleep better.
Eating before Sleep
Nocturnia
A lot of takeaways from this post. Thanks for sharing.
Good one anu. I agree with all you said , except coffee 😊 . One thing I learnt recently is the first half of your sleep should be really of high quality. That sets your harmones for your next day. If you go to bed with all negative thoughts and news, even a sound early morning sleep won’t help. Mindfulness is a great way to distract from distractions. It’s about managing your type 1 and type 2 harmones and sleep is a key foundation to it.