#SoG33 — 10 things you can do to sleep better.

Source: https://blog.bulletproof.com/benefits-of-sleep/

I had a bad night’s sleep last night. I think it was all that coffee I had when I dint have anything to eat. And I had to get up early because I had a meeting that I could not miss.

So when I left at 730ish, I plugged in the latest episode of Tim Ferriss’ podcast. In the episode he is talking to Lebron James (who is apparently amongst THE greatest basketball players of ALL time) and his coach. What makes LeBron special is not all the awards and accolades and titles and all that that he’s won for himself and his teams but also the sheer length of his career. He has been at it for 15 years now (and apparently other professional players taper after 10 years or so).

In the podcast, the fitness coach and LeBron spend a considerable time talking about how recovery after a game is more important than the actual training itself. And the most important of them all, how sleep plays THE most important part in helping the body recover!

And that ladies and gents is the thing for the day. Sleep.

Everyone knows that we need 8–9 hours of sleep everyday, depending on who we are. And how important a good nights sleep is! Its been scientifically proven to help the body recover, aide learning, creating connections in the brain, making long-term memory stronger, general happiness and fitness.

Sleep, ladies and gents is probably a few billion dollar (if not trillion) industry and probably infinite lines have been written on it. And this is a list of my takeaway from whatever lines I’ve read.

So, tangibles. How to make you better. Lemme talk of a few #lifeHacks that I think can be helpful for you if you want to sleep better. Even in the podcast Tim and LeBron talk about creating an environment that helps you sleep better!

Here are a few things. Oh, I do most of these. Honest. Pinky Promise.

1. Cold room. Most of us dont know this but you sleep better when the room is little cold. I put my AC at 22.
2. Dark room. No fancy lamp. Maybe a bit of yellow / amber. I make it as dark as I can. No night lamps. Nothing.
3. No blue lights. The kinds that our devices (phones, laptops, iPads) emit. You need to put away any devices at least 30 minutes before you want to sleep. Pro tip? Get Flux. I havent been able to implement this. But someday.
4. Hydration. Have enough water before you sleep. Yeah, you’d probably have to pee but thats ok.
5. Sleep patterns. Get a sleep tracker to start knowing your patterns. If you dont want to invest, use some app. But do put your phone in the, well, sleep mode! I use Sleep Cycle.
6. Invest in a good mattress. I dont use a bed. The mattress has been plonked on the floor and I like it like that. Funny. But thats how it is. Point is, get a good mattress. Apparently memory foams are awesome. I am yet to do this. Next big income I get, I am buying a mattress.
7. App. Use an app to help you get to sleep. I recently purchase a subscription to Headspace. Before that I used Calm (which LeBron also recommends!).
8. Use a sleep journal. Write on it before you sleep. Write on it when you wake up. Use an app if you cant leave your phone alone. I like a pen and a paper. Pencil actually.
9. Food. Try to eat at least 3 hours before you have to sleep. In fact I am going to stop having my dinner altogether and try to reach a 18–6 IF regime. Right now, I dont follow this. Try not to have any caffeine etc. People say hot chocolate and a glass of milk helps you sleep. I am not sure. Will have to read more. Oh, as of today, I am quitting all coffee and artificial beverages. Only water and green tea. Lets see how the experiment goes. Today is Day 1.
10. Try to get afternoon naps. I know its tough with work but see if you can find a way. I intend to.

Phew.

Here are some other thoughts that I couldnt sort of structure well. See if you can make some meaning from these.

• That quote that is attributed to AJP Kalam? That your dreams dont let you sleep? Trust me its BS. You will get to your dream is you actually sleep, wake up better and get some work done! Just staying up wont take you closer.
• Sleep has been positioned as wasteful thing. But it is not. All those statements that promise to make you rich while you sleep? They imply that sleep is unproductive.
• Families can bond stronger over sleep. You know, bed time stories for kids, sex for couples, heart to heart talk when the room is dark. So on and so forth.

Thats it! Time to get some sleep. See you on the other side.

Thanks for reading.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS NOT TO BE TAKEN AS MEDICAL ADVICE.

Comments from readers

a. Dr. Ashima Nath says (and not medical advice): “Tripod of fitness — Rest (sleep), Exercise and a good Diet. Need to get all three right to get optimum results. And after all this, you need good genes to excel. :)”

b. BR says that too much water before sleep could be bad. And apparently Chamomile Tea helps to help you sleep!

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