The Three Pillars of Great Sleep
Working the night shift often means spending many mornings trying to battle insomnia and tossing and turning in order to fall asleep. Many night shift workers suffer from shift work sleep disorder and other sleep related issues.
While this is unfortunately the norm for people who maintain nontraditional sleep schedules, the good news is that there are steps you can take to improve your quality of sleep. Learning the main factors that contribute to great sleep can help you get great sleep each day, even when you’re working nights.
If you want to take your sleep to the next level, consider these three pillars that influence sleep health:
Environment
Your sleep environment can make or break your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep after your shift. If you’re trying to fall asleep in a warm room after spending an hour scrolling through your newsfeed, you are likely going to have a lot of trouble getting to sleep.
To improve your sleep health, it’s critical that you create an environment that is conducive to sleeping.
Here are a few ways to step up your sleep environment so that you are able to fall asleep quickly and easily:
- Block out light. Bright lights will disrupt your circadian rhythm and signal to your body that it is time for you to be awake. Make sure that you turn off your lights, close curtains, and avoid using screens or anything that emits bright light before bed. Working the night shift means that daylight is often creeping through your window when you’re trying to sleep. Try investing in blackout curtains so that you block out any excess light.
- Keep it cool. Your body will need to drop in temperature in order for you to fall asleep. Making sure your room is cool will aid this process and lead to more restful sleep. Try keeping your bedroom at a temperature around 65℉ to fall asleep faster.
- Avoid screens. Screens emit a blue light which can make it near impossible for people to fall asleep. Blue light can be as much as 5,000 Kelvin, which means it will disrupt your circadian rhythm and keep you awake when you’re trying to go to bed. If you cannot avoid using screens entirely before bed, activate night mode on your devices so that you block some of this blue light.
With the right environment, it will be easier for you to fight insomnia and get great rest every day.
Consistency
Humans are notorious creatures of habit, and our sleep patterns are no different. If we have an unpredictable sleep schedule, it is difficult for our bodies to adjust so that we get a good day’s sleep.
When you work nights, it is important for you to be as consistent as possible when it comes to your sleep schedule.
Set a specific bedtime and try to go to bed at this time every day, even on days when you’re not working. Before you know it, you will start to feel tired around this time, and you will have far less trouble getting to sleep.
It will also help to come up with a set bedtime routine to follow right before your bedtime. If you always brush your teeth and read right before bed, your body will start to associate these activities with bedtime, causing you to feel sleepy at the right time.
When you are consistent with the time you go to sleep and the steps you take before you get into bed, your mind will start to recognize a pattern and tell your body when it is time to go to sleep each day.
Diet
When it comes to improving your sleep, what you eat and when you eat are key.
As a rule of thumb, you should avoid spicy foods as well as foods that are high in salt or sugar before bed if you want to be able to sleep soundly. These foods can cause indigestion and heartburn, which can cause you to wake up with gastrointestinal or chest discomfort. Studies have shown that people with diets high in sugar experience more restlessness and don’t experience deep sleep as frequently as those who consume less sugar.
In addition to interrupting your sleep, these types of foods can also make it difficult for you to fall asleep at all. It’s best to avoid eating spicy foods and high calorie meals for a few hours before bedtime and to make sure that you monitor your general sugar intake to improve your sleep health.
Caffeine is another substance that you want to limit when you’re trying to sleep. While this might seem like a no-brainer, many people do not realize just how long caffeine stays in their systems. It can take as long as five hours for caffeine to fully leave the body, so people who stop drinking caffeinated beverages only an hour or two before bedtime will still experience its effects when they’re trying to fall asleep.
If you want to improve the quality of your sleep, it’s important for you to not only know which foods to avoid, but also which times are not best for eating. If you eat a heavy meal right before it’s time for you to go to sleep, you are going to have a lot more trouble falling asleep than if you were to eat your last meal of the evening three to four hours before bed.
While it’s important to know the eating and drinking habits you should steer clear of to improve your sleep health, it is also good to know which foods and supplements will have a positive impact on your quality of sleep.
Here are a few supplements you should consider adding to your diet:
- Magnesium. Magnesium supplements and magnesium rich foods like fresh greens and seeds have myriad health benefits. Magnesium has been shown to help people experience deeper, more restful sleep, and this mineral plays a major role in promoting healthy sleep regulation.
- L-theanine. L-theanine is an amino acid that helps decrease sleep latency and increases sleep duration. It has been shown to promote relaxation and help people fall asleep more quickly, making it a great supplement for people who are tired of tossing and turning before falling asleep.
- Zinc. Taking zinc supplements or eating foods with zinc can help people wake up less frequently when they are trying to sleep. Foods like oysters, beef, and certain cheeses have high levels of zinc which can help improve rest.
Adjusting your diet with these factors in mind can lead to longer, more satisfactory sleep each day.
When you understand the key factors that influence sleep, you can make adjustments that will lead to better, higher quality rest.
Night Shift Nutrition is a community focused on living your best life, while working nights. We do this by sharing our experiences and science based educations. The point is to not only survive working nights but to thrive! If this sounds like something you’d like to be a part of you can apply to join our facebook group or subscribe to our email list.
