How to Gear Yourself for Excellent Sleep (No Bullshit)

Source: Headspace

Sleep is something usually taken for granted in today’s busy world, as there a lot of things around us that influence the way our body’s natural clock (circadian rhythm) winds the body down for a restful night’s sleep.

Insomnia is defined as the difficulty falling asleep, and staying asleep, and it affects millions of people worldwide. An insomniac would usually enter bed restless and tired, but unable to fall asleep. In other words “tired but wired”. Now, the problem with this is that it creates an unhealthy habit where the insomniac goes to bed even if he/she isn’t sleepy at all. Following a night of bad sleep, the insomniac would feel the need to sleep earlier than normal (instead of going to bed at 11pm and waking at 7am, they go to bed at 9pm in the hope of getting more sleep). This habit further worsens insomnia and can make it detrimental to your life and the people around you.

Now with that said, let us go over the…

Things to consider before going to bed.

Source: Headspace

What You Consume Plays a Big Role in Your Sleep Quality

For better sleep, try your best to avoid the following:

1. Alcohol — Despite being a depressant, it can keep you hyper and your mind stimulated. This is why at parties, you feel more relaxed but at the same time excited and loose. Consuming alcohol late at night can delay your sleep by 5 hours or more.
2. Coffee — It is best consumed no later than 11am in the morning. Caffene has a half-life of around 5 hours which means it takes your body awhile to process it. Drinking coffee later than 3pm can keep you awake well until 3am the next day. Believe me, this happens to a lot of people. Personally, I recommend a cup of coffee after breakfast.
3. Sweets — Deserts after dinner is fine, but avoid snacking on cookies, sweet drinks, sodas and other high-sugar or sweet foods because they can pump you up and keep your mind stimulated.

The Room You Sleep in Must Be Kept Like a Paradise

Everything from the room layout, cleanliness, sounds, temperature and amount of light in your bedroom can affect how well you sleep. Here are some important things to keep in mind:

1. Temperature — Prior to sleep, the body will naturally cool itself down. To aid this process, it is best to keep your room between 16℃ to 23℃. A warm room is a common cause for waking up in the middle of the night.
2. Light — Keeping your room as dark as possible is ideal to help tell your body that it is time to wind down. If there are bright lights outside, consider buying shades to block them out.
3. Sound — If there are a lot of tiny annoying noises or maybe even noisy neighbors or a snoring partner, you may want to consider buying a white noise machine like this:

it is a small electronic device that makes “white noise” that cancels out annoying noise around the room. They are relatively cheap and some models offer many choices of sound effects to choose from.

Naps: Good or Bad?

Source: National Nap Day

Naps are excellent for staying alert and replenishing energy in the day. It also boosts mood and productivity. But you have to be aware that napping can interfere with sleep if it is done too close to bedtime. For adults, If you sleep at around 9 pm, avoid napping later than 1 pm. If you sleep at 11 pm, you can nap until around 3 pm in the afternoon. Children and teens can nap at longer periods since their bodies require more sleep.

Important Note on Difficulty Falling Asleep

You have to remember that you will never be in control of your sleep. The circadian rhythm is a bodily process that will allow sleep to happen naturally. You cannot force it to happen. Likewise, if you are having trouble falling asleep, you are not alone. Here are some things you MUST do when you are having trouble sleeping:

1. If You Can’t Fall Asleep within 30–45 mins, Leave Your Bed — This is where most people go wrong and self-caused insomnia on themselves. The bed is for sleeping, sex, and resting only. If you build the habit of overthinking in bed while waiting to fall asleep, going to bed will only feel harder and harder each time. If you cannot sleep instantly, get up, put on some dim lights, and do a boring activity until you do feel sleepy. Activities that I recommend include reading a boring book, drawing, and thought-dumping your racing thoughts on a scratch paper or journal. Sometimes this gets hard and you may do this up to 4 times before finally falling asleep, but rest assured, it will only get easier. This technique also applies upon waking up in the middle of the night.
2. Avoid Breathing Techniques — Most people say this helps, but in reality, they only stress you out, so do yourself a favor and avoid it.
3. Try A Counting Technique Instead— If you are starting to feel sleepy but still feel wired, try counting VERY SLOWLY from 9999 all the way to 0. If you notice your brain drifting off, entertain it and go to your dreamland. If you suddenly start thinking about sleep and insomnia again, go back to the counting. Rest assured you will never reach zero.
4. Avoid Electronics— Try avoiding using your cellphone or TV, as these can stimulate you and wake you up even more

Final Tip: EXERCISE IN THE MORNING

Source: Headspace

Exercising doesn’t just improve your performance and physique, but it also gives your body the boost it needs to fulfill the day. This boost of energy is due to the endorphins in your body signaling more fat burning and calorie conversion, thus perking you up. Exercise is best done the moment you wake up so that you have the energy to last the whole day. If you exercise at noon, that is fine too. It is best to avoid exercise about 8 hours before your bedtime, as it can stimulate your body and increase its temperature, making it harder for you to fall asleep.

Research shows that people with jet lag often cope faster when they do regular exercise in the morning of the correct timezone.

If you suffer from insomnia, jet lag or are just being a plain night owl, try exercising heavily during the morning to help kick your circadian rhythm back to normal.

References and Scientific Data in this Article:

1. Ferri R., Manconi M., Plazzi G., Bruni O., Vandi S., Montagna P., Zucconi M. (2008). “A quantitative statistical analysis of the submentalis muscle EMG amplitude during sleep in normal controls and patients with REM sleep behavior disorder”. Journal of Sleep Research. 17 (1): 89–100. doi:10.1111/j.1365–2869.2008.00631.x. PMID 18275559.
2. ^ “Sleep-wake cycle: its physiology and impact on health” (PDF). National Sleep Foundation. 2006. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
3. ^ Bingham, Roger; Sejnowski, Terrence; Siegel, Jerry; Dyken, Mark Eric; Czeisler, Charles (February 2007). “Waking Up To Sleep” (Several conference videos). The Science Network. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 25 January2008.
4. ^ Joiner, William J. (October 2016). “Unraveling the Evolutionary Determinants of Sleep”. Current Biology. 26 (20): R1073–R1087. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2016.08.068. PMC 5120870. PMID 27780049.
5. ^ Randall, David K. (19 September 2012). “Book excerpt: How the lightbulb disrupted our sleeping patterns and changed the world”. National Post. Archived from the original on 7 April 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2016. “… the sudden introduction of bright nights during hours when it should be dark threw a wrench into a finely choreographed system of life.

This was Antz, and have a good night!