3 | How To Sleep Like A Baby
I am sure you’ve experienced those days where only after an hour of being awake you find your jaw dropping, eyebrows rising, and the inevitable yawns ensuing…sounds familiar doesn’t it? Indeed, those are the very signs of a lack of quality in your sleep. And there are days when you’ve only had 4-5 hours of sleep, but you wake up feeling refreshed, as if by accident, and ready to take on the day…rare, I know.
What is sleep? 🛌
The oxford dictionary defines sleep as, ‘the natural state of rest in which your eyes are closed, your body is not active, and your mind is not conscious’…pretty straight forward if you ask me, but here is a million-dollar question (ok, maybe not), what is the best time to sleep and wake up? I am no sleep expert, but I have been reading quite a lot about it (*yawn) recently and may have some valuable things to share. But I suppose the best person to answer this question is none other than yourself. You need to experiment and find your ideal time to go to bed and wake up. For me, it is being in bed by 22:00 and waking up at 04:15am. That being said, it isn’t just about the number of hours, but more importantly, the quality of sleep.
As mentioned earlier, I am not an expert on sleep, so most of what I am going to talk about is just based on personal experience. What works for me may or may not work for you. Everyone’s sleep quality is different and if you’re a person who suffers from sleep related issues then I highly encourage you to seek medical guidance or see a sleep expert (if that’s a thing). And with that out of the way, let’s move onto things that you can do to improve the quality of your sleep.
Don’t eat or drink!
Whilst the evidence is somewhat inconclusive, I am personally convinced that the number one obstruction to a goodnight sleep is food. That’s right. Having a feast before sleep is not going to do you any good. A lot of studies have shown that you should stop eating 3-4 hours before bed. Try it out. Don’t eat anything 3 hours before bed and you’ll see the benefits for yourself. Also, stop the caffeine at least 6 hours prior to sleep for obvious reasons we all know of.Same time, every night
Make an effort to go to bed at the same time every night. There will obviously be times and occasions when you can’t do this and that’s fine, but these should be rare exceptions. Your bedtime needs to be strict and its down to you to guard it – the earlier you start doing this the better it’ll be in the long term.Wind down
Do something to wind down 30 minutes before bed and do it every day. This is going to be your cue to get ready for sleep. I have the habit of reading for instance, so, when the book comes out at 22:00pm, it sends a message to my brain saying, “get ready, you might as well just sleep now.” This is essentially helping your body to get into sleep mode.Lights out
If you’re also a person who reads before bed, then I implore you not to read from a screen, but I make the exception for kindles as they don’t emit near as much light. And whilst on the topic of light, do not have any electronic devices such as phones, laptops or TV’s in your bedroom, this is to minimise the temptation to use them but also to get used to associating the bedroom with sleep, not with surfing the net or watching films. I highly recommend you download the f.luxapp on all compatible devices. This app basically makes your screen look like the room you’re in, by adjusting the light intensity. You can also make use of the blue light filter on your mobile device. Pay particular attention to the chief culprit, your phone; put that thing on flight mode at least half an hour before you sleep. Keep your bedroom dark. If you can see rays of light through your drapes, then you need to change them! Solution? Blackout curtains.Melatonin
We all have a biological clock known as the circadian rhythm which essentially monitors your sleep-wake periods in a 24-hour cycle. And there is an important hormone, melatonin, sometimes called the sleep hormone, and for good reason because it plays a crucial role in one’s sleep-wake cycle. The pineal gland secrets melatonin in response to darkness and it usually peaks between 11pm and 3am. In other words, the whole system is very sensitive to light and as light exposure increases, the release of melatonin decreases, which can seriously affect your ability to fall asleep. And this is precisely why it’s so important to avoid using electronic devices and being exposed to bright lights just before bed.Cool down
Set the room temperature to what works for you, for most people this is generally somewhere in region of 18-20°C. You body temperature naturally decreases during sleep so having the room slightly on the cool side can help you have a better night sleep. This is probably why most of us struggle to sleep well in the summer.Mattress/Duvet/Pillow
Consider investing in a good mattress! This is quite serious, really, you’ll be amazed at how the right mattress (soft, medium and firm) can totally transform the quality of your sleep. When buying THE mattress, also consider your sleeping position (side sleeper, stomach sleeper, back sleeper), your weight (ouch) and any shoulder, hip or back pains, etc. Click here to find out more. Pillows, duvets and blankets are also just as important. Apparently weighted duvets are a game changer but I’ve yet to test it out.Wake up!
So, what is the ideal time to wake up? This is quite difficult to answer but consider this: falling asleep is a bit like diving deep underwater. If you dive very deep (i.e. deep sleep) then resurface too suddenly, you may experience what is called decompression sickness. Waking up abruptly from deep sleep is kind of the same thing in my opinion; you wake up feeling like you’ve been run over by a bus. Instead, swim up gently and only begin to open your eyes when you’re near the surface; that way you are less likely to experience fatigue or decompression sickness.Sleep cycle
Considering that most people’s sleep cycles are reset every 90 minutes, you should aim to wake up at start of the next cycle and not halfway through. So, if you go to bed at 11 o’clock, and assuming that it takes you 15 minutes to fall asleep, then, waking up at 4:15 would be a bad idea. Instead, aim for 5:15 as this would give you 4 cycles of sleep and you’ll be waking up just as the 5th cycle starts – nice! The recommendation for most people is to have 7 to 8 hours of sleep. I personally aim for 6 hours which equates to four sleep cycles, and if I’ve had a particularly tiring day, I may throw in an extra cycle, giving me grand total of 7.5 hours of sleep- bliss!Now then, finding out what is perfect for you requires you to take matters into your own hands and do some experimenting. Luckily, there are lots of fantastic apps that can help you with this – I’ve listed some of my favourite ones below:
Sleep Cycle
Available: iOS and Android
Cost: Free
Sleep Time
Available: iOS and Android
Cost: Free
Sleep Monitor
Available: Android
Cost: Free
The Power of Power naps ⚡
For the chosen ones amongst us, if you can afford to take a mid-day day nap, make sure you do. A short nap is like putting your phone on fast charge, where you go from 30% to 70% in just 20 minutes…no wonder why they call it ‘power nap’. A power nap should not be longer than 30 minutes, you just want to dip into the cycle and resurface before going deep. If you struggle to fall asleep for 20-30 minutes, that’s fine, because just keeping your eyes closed for 20 minutes will also give you a boost, maybe not to 70% but perhaps 50%, which is much better than 30%, right?
O sleep, O gentle sleep, Nature’s soft nurse, how have I frightened thee. (Shakespeare)
You should only take power naps in the afternoon (typically between 1-3pm) and I think you should definitely avoid evening naps as this would make it much more difficult to fall asleep at night. It’s unfortunate that many of us can’t take naps due to work but things may change, who knows. There are actually places of work, like google and facebook that allow their employees to take naps, and even have designated napping stations called ‘energy pods’ or ‘nap pods’. It’s great, because studies have shown that not only do naps boost productivity, they can also reduce chances of stroke, heart failure, heart attacks and so much more. The fact that it can lift that lethargic feeling you get in the afternoon is enough of a reason to nap more often.
To summarise:
Stop eating at least three hours prior to sleeping
No caffeine at least 6 hours before bed
Have a bedtime routine
Avoid using any electronic devices at least half an hour before bed
Avoid exposure to bright lights at least 30 minutes before bed
Aim to be in bed at the same time, every night
Think of relaxing things
Keep your bedroom dark and between 18-20°C
Invest in a good mattress, pillow and duvet
Find out how long your sleep cycle is
Get at least 4 sleep cycles per night giving yourself 15 minutes (as is the case for most people) to fall asleep.
Wake up at the start of a sleep cycle.
The main takeaway message is that you should take your sleep seriously; experiment with it and find out what is optimal for you. Be proactive, perhaps for the next forty days, write down how many hours of sleep you get each night and record how you feel during the day. Learn to be at harmony with your biological clock.
P.S. How have you changed your approach to sleep? What has worked for you?
Goodnight,
Enes.