6 Ways to Improve Your Sleep
You spend a two-thirds of your life not caring enough about the other third: sleep.
We spend a lot of time stressing about our nutrition, about how we exercise and how much.
But if you eat right and train hard for 100 years, you’ll still spend 30 of those years asleep. And yet, we don’t give sleep much attention: We sleep when we’re tired, postpone it when our favorite show is on, or skip it altogether for projects and long drives.
All because we don’t value rest like we should. Sleep is important! If you’re dieting, getting better sleep can help you lose more fat and keep more muscle [1]. It might be protective against metabolic disease like diabetes [2]. And that doesn’t even cover the psychology, where better rest can help avoid the mood-disturbing effects of poor sleep [3].
Many people struggle with controlling or improving their shut-eye. That’s why we put together these six simple tips you can use to sleep more, sleep better, and wake up refreshed every day!
#1: Get Out in the Sun
Our brains use sunlight as a cue for our “internal clock,” which controls our cycles of waking and sleeping. Melatonin — the hormone that controls sleepiness — is suppressed during the day and climbs up again as night falls. This distinct pattern of light and dark makes setting that clock easy, and our bodies can fall asleep happily and on-time.
But if you work inside all day, at home or in an office, your exposure to sunlight can be limited. With little to no sunlight, your brain doesn’t know when its supposed to be alert, and when to be tired. Luckily, as little as 30 minutes of direct sunlight per day can fix this [4]! Getting out of the office for a quick walk in the sun a couple times per day will help your brain regulate melatonin. Setting yourself up for success is the first step to getting better sleep!
#2: Avoid Caffeine Late in the Day
And as you step out for your afternoon stroll — ditch the cup of coffee.
Caffeine is the most widely used drug in the world. It helps you wake up, keeps you alert, and powers you through tough workouts. But it’s also a strong sleep-disturber. Studies have shown that drinking coffee throughout the day can interfere with both the quality and quantity of sleep [5].
You might be tempted to say that, even though you have that afternoon coffee or after-dinner cappuccino, you have no trouble knocking out when you hit the pillow. And that might be true, but even 6 hours after drinking that caffeine, half of it is still active in your body [6]. That means you could be soundly asleep and that cup of coffee is still throwing off your sleep patterns. So, especially if you have poor sleep quality, you should consider avoiding caffeinated drinks late in the day [5].
#3: Limit Your Screen Time
Remember how sunlight during the day suppresses melatonin and regulates your sleep cycle? Getting sun exposure in early is a great idea — but getting it at night isn’t.
The trouble is, our LED monitors and phone screens emit lots of a blue-wavelength light that tricks our brain into thinking it’s staring at the sun. Just like actual sunlight, this kind of light suppresses melatonin and makes us feel and act less tired [7]. Scrolling through Instagram or chilling with Netflix might seem like a good way to wind down, but they’re actually fighting your body’s sleep pattern.
That’s why it’s a good idea to put down your tablet, close your laptop, and keep your pre-bed routine as screen-free as you can. Opt instead for dimmer entertainment: read a book, listen to quiet music, take a bath… anything that calms you down instead of waking you up!
#4: Use Blue-Light Filters
Some of you probably read that last section and started printing this article to burn it. “Put down my phone? While I’m awake?!” I know, I know.
If you simply can’t avoid screens — maybe you have to work late into the evening or night, or you live a barren, YouTube-centered existence — there are ways to limit the bad effects of blue light on sleep:
- Try wearing blue-light filtered glasses, which cancel out the sun-mimicking wavelengths that confuse your brain [8]. Bonus: You’ll look space-chic in amber-tinted goggles.
- Use blue-light filter apps on your screened devices. Apps like Twilight and F.lux can change your screen settings at certain times of day to follow the natural shift from day to night. As night falls, the screen dims slightly, and blue-light is filtered out, leaving room for sleepiness and good-quality rest.
#5: Stay On (Sleep) Schedule
Go to sleep and wake up at the same times every day.
For some, this one might be the easiest to plan but the hardest to implement. Everything from watching that extra episode to snoozing your alarm 8 times can make things confusing for your brain. And your circadian rhythm is trying to be just that: a rhythm. Whether it’s going to bed or waking up, if your sleep schedule shifts constantly, it will be hard for that rhythm to ever sync up.
Research agrees: Inconsistent sleep times correlate with less total sleep and possibly lower sleep quality [9]. There are times in life when it’s hard or impossible to avoid weird sleep schedules — like having a kid, cramming for finals, or international travel. But the rest of us don’t have great excuses. Nailing down a schedule for sleep is investing in — again — a full third of our quality of life.
#6: Earn It with Exercise
It’s hard to lay down and feel tired if you’ve been sitting all day. And while it helps to get up and walk (in the sun!), you can take it to the next level with full-on exercise.
This one isn’t a mind-blower, so we’ll keep it short: People who get moving and go to the gym feel more rested and get better sleep than non-exercisers [10]. If you want to sleep better and for longer, you have to get sleepy. Go figure!
The Bottom Line
All of these tips are easy to implement and could have an immediate benefit on how well you sleep. But sleeping smarter — just like diet and exercise — isn’t all-or-nothing. Try one or two of these out this month, and if you can stick to it, add in a couple more. That way, you can make it even easier to turn your sleeping life around, and you can find out what works best for you!
Get out there, make some tweaks, and take control of that other third of your life! Sleep well.
References
- Nedeltcheva AV, Kilkus JM, Imperial J, et al. Insufficient sleep undermines dietary efforts to reduce adiposity. Ann Intern Med (2011). 153: I28.
- Knutson KL, Ryden AM, Mander BA, et al. Role of sleep duration and quality in the risk and severity of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Arch Intern Med (2006). 166(16): 1768–1774.
- Dinges DF, Pack F, Williams K, et al. Cumulative sleepiness, mood disturbance, and psychomotor vigilance performance decrements during a week of sleep restricted to 4–5 hours per night. Sleep (1997). 20(4): 267–277.
- Lee H, Kim S, Kim D. Effects of exercise with or without light exposure on sleep quality and hormone responses. J Exerc Nutrition Biochem (2014). 18(3): 293–299.
- Shilo L, Sabbah H, Hadari R, et al. The effects of coffee consumption on sleep and melatonin secretion. Sleep Medicine (2002). 3(3): 271–273.
- Statland BE, Demas TJ. Serum caffeine half-lives: healthy subjects vs. patients having alcoholic hepatic disease. American Journal of Clinical Pathology (1980). 73(3): 390–393.
- Cajochen C, Fey S, Anders D, et al. Evening exposure to a light-emitting diodes (LED)-backlit computer screen affects circadian physiology and cognitive performance. Journal of Applied Physiology (2011). 110(5): 1432–1438.
- Burkhart K, Phelps JR. Amber lenses to block blue light and improve sleep: a randomized trial. Journal of Biological and Medical Rhythm Research (2009). 26(8): 1602–1612.
- Kang JH, Chen SC. Effects of an irregular bedtime schedule on sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, and fatigue among university students in Taiwan. BMC Public Health (2009). 9: 248.
- Singh NA, Clements KM, Fiatarone MA. A randomized controlled trial of the effect of exercise on sleep. Sleep (1997). 20(2): 95–101.
