Sleep and Its Importance
A good night’s sleep will benefit everything in your life
Recently I have been contemplating my sleep much more. It began with me having a hard time sleeping for a period. The Covid-19 virus had just started spreading around the world and society was starting to shut down. In school we were going to get our lectures via Zoom and all our finals would be completed from home. During this time I started feeling lethargic and tired even during the middle of the day. I was probably not the only one going through this during these weeks, all my routines were uprooted and I was forced to make new ones, and staying up late and sleeping in during the mornings maybe was not the best one. After getting a few comments about my energy levels from friends and family I decided to look into sleep more.
This led me to learn more about Matthew Walker, a professor in neuroscience and psychology at UC Berkeley. Matthew wrote the best-selling book “Why We Sleep” which I had heard about but not read. So what I did is that I immediately reserved the book at my local library and then I started looking for interviews with Matthew and then I found his three-part podcast series on The Peter Attia Drive. Peter is a medical doctor who has spent big parts of his career focusing on the science of longevity where sleep plays a big part. The interview is close to 6 hours long and contains some incredibly interesting tips and anecdotes. If you don’t enjoy reading or just want to see what Matthew and his research are about this is a great place to start.
Sleep is the Foundation
For most people sleep will make up around a third of the time they are alive, that means for most it will be the single activity you spend the most time on in your life. Yet many view sleep as a chore, a necessary evil if you will. Most people will admit that diet and exercise are crucial parts of a healthy life but sleep is often left out. People who can forgo sleep are idolized and only sleeping 5 hours is more associated with being tough and having great will-power than being sleep deprived and living an unhealthy lifestyle. But what Matthew Walker has found in his research as well as in others’ research is that sleep is the foundation on which the pillars of diet and exercise stand. Without proper sleep, you are making it much harder for yourself to be healthy in other parts of life. Furthermore, sleep deprivation also leads to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s and a lowered response from your immune system which can lead to other complications.
Actionable Steps
In both the podcast and the book Matthew lays out several ways we can improve our sleep, for me there has been three that have been the most effective:
- Having an ordered sleep schedule, going to bed around the same time, and getting up at a specific time in the morning. This can be hard, especially on the weekends but I feel it truly helps and makes a difference for my sleep
- Avoiding blue lights such as phones for an hour or so before bed. I used to always check my phone right before going to bed, and I still sometimes find myself doing it. But if possible I have found it very beneficial to avoid the phone for the last hour or so and even putting it outside my bedroom so it can’t disturb my sleep.
- Getting enough sunshine during the day and especially during the morning. This is an underrated one, especially during the quarantine. It will help your circadian rhythm and as such will help wake you up in the morning and the body can adjust its body clock so that you will be tired when you want to fall asleep.
Make sure you get enough sleep it is crucial for a happy and successful life. Getting your sleep in order will not only make you a healthier human being it will also allow for increased creativity and productivity. The benefits of getting good sleep are plentiful. So get your sleeping habits in order!
