Sleep Better at Night, Naturally
Tired of feeling tired? Here’s 10 tips to change that.
More often than not, you find yourself waking up feeling like April from Parks & Rec, or Stanley from the Office, or Squidward from Sponge Bob, or Severus Snape from Hogwarts, or — on special days, a complex combination of all those folks — grumpy.
Restless nights and weary mornings can become more frequent as we get older and our sleep patterns change. There are also some changes in the way the body regulates circadian rhythms, or your body’s internal clock. This internal clock helps your body respond to changes in light and dark. When it undergoes a shift with age, it can be harder to fall asleep and stay asleep through the night.
To the twenty-somethings reading this thinking “oh, la-dee-da I’m young and invincible” — yes, you probably are but watch out! Insomnia creeps up on the healthiest of us and it may be harder to fix it if you don’t keep your eyes open. Ha! That’s almost a pun and I accept that it’s sending out a confusing message.
Anyway, what’s a simple, economic, and highly effective way to consistently perform at peak performance levels? Just start sleeping better.
As felt by anyone who has tried to pull an all-nighter before a big test, sleep deprivation shuts down your “memory inbox” — thereby keeping you from performing your best. Or you may be regularly suffering from headaches, colds, fatigue even while you ensure that you sleep the required 8 hours every night.
Are you doing something wrong? Probably, yes.
Improper sleep threatens not just learning but life itself. Compromised sleep means a compromised immune system. Without being dramatic about it: the shorter your sleep, the shorter your life.
At Masterlife, we focus on helping people acquire and develop life-skills for the mind and it is imperative that one is “healthy” enough to effectively absorb all positive learning in order to become “wise”.
To that end, we joined hands with Duroflex’s MD Mathew Chandy and Senior Brand Manager Arha Padman to create the course Unlock Your Superpowers by Sleeping Better.
A course that takes us through the science of sleep, it solves for why it’s crucial to get not just 8 hours — but a GREAT 8 hours of sleep and most importantly — how you can successfully unlock the superpowers within you (they’re really there) by following simple habits that can be inculcated into your daily life.
I’ve shared a video below for reference — this course opened my eyes to looking at sleep in a whole new light! That’s an inside pun. You’ll get it if you do the course or can find some references in the pointers below.
Now, the benefits of adequate sleep range from better heart health and less stress to improved memory and weight loss.
At some point in time, we all have trouble sleeping well, but when insomnia persists day after day, it’s a massive red flag. Beyond making us tired and moody, a lack of sleep can have serious effects on our health, increasing our propensity for obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.
For a more details look at how are bodies function, the role that sleep plays in it all, the daily habits, and the do’s & don’ts that are involved — check out our course on sleeping better.
For a quick list of tips, keep reading.
#1: MORE BRIGHT LIGHT DURING THE DAY
As discussed earlier, your body has a natural time-keeping clock known as your circadian rhythm. It affects your brain, body, and hormones, helping you stay awake and telling your body when it’s time to sleep.
Natural sunlight or bright light during the day helps keep your circadian rhythm healthy. This improves day-time energy, as well as night-time sleep quality and duration.
This has been proven time and again by testing on people with insomnia. Day-time bright light exposure has consistently improved sleep quality and duration in insomniacs. It has also reduced the time it took to fall asleep by 83% (Harvard study).
A similar Harvard study in older adults found that 2 hours of bright light exposure during the day increased the amount of sleep by 2 hours and sleep efficiency by 80%.
While most research involves people with severe sleep issues, daily light exposure will most likely help you even if you experience average sleep.
Try getting daily sunlight exposure or — if this is not practical — invest in an artificial bright light device or bulbs.
#2: PUT YOUR SCREENS AWAY, FOLKS!
We’re going to talk a little more about the circadian rhythm. As discussed, light exposure works wonders in the day — but has the opposite effect at night. How? By tricking your brain to believe that it is still day-time. This reduces hormones like melatonin, which help you relax and get deep sleep.
And you know the worst of the lot? Blue light. That’s the light that heavily emanates from our phones, TVs, laptops, and most other electronic devices.
Now, there are several ways you can counter this — by wearing protective glasses when using said devices or by adjusting the lighting on the screens you’ll be interacting with.
But the healthiest way is to stay away from screens up to 2 hours before getting into bed. It might be hard — but, read a book or something. Or maybe listen to music. Or have light, relaxing conversations with your loved ones. You don’t HAVE to watch an entire series before bed. Space it out!
Easier said than done I know. I struggle with this myself. But if we start with baby steps — we can actually do this!
#3: COFFEE? HMMMMM…
I will come right out and say this: I love coffee. In fact, I’m having a giant steaming mug of coffee as I type this.
But here’s what we’ve got to remember: Caffeine can stay elevated in our blood for 6–8 hours.
So, the tip is this: No caffeine in the 6 hours leading up to bed time.
If you’re reeeeeeally craving some, try the decaffeinated kind. But try and wean yourself of those over time. They be expensive!
#4: NO IRREGULAR NAPS
Try not to nap in the day. And if you absolutely need to take one — take a power nap. And try to get those naps in at roughly the same time every day. Of you don’t follow a set pattern — you will confuse your internal clock.
However, I would also like to point out that studies have shown that the “ill-effects” of day-time napping depends on the individual. If you take naps all the time and you’re managing to sleep well, then you do you, I say!
But if you’re sleeping well, then why are you reading this article? Either way, no complaints here!
#5: MORE QUICK TIPS
Here are some quick takeaways from the larger picture that is our course with Duroflex. It has been scientifically proven that the following tips work but each point will require a deep dive (which I shall leave to the experts at Duroflex to explain and not get into here).
- Optimize Your Bedroom Environment: These factors include temperature, noise, external lights, and furniture arrangement. Make sure your bedroom is a quiet, relaxing, clean, and enjoyable place.
- Set Your Bedroom Temperature: Test different temperatures to find out which is most comfortable for you. Around 70°F (20°C) is best for most people.
- Don’t Eat Too Close to Bed-Time: Consuming a large meal before bed can lead to poor sleep and hormone disruption. However, certain meals and snacks a few hours before bed may help.
- Relaaaaax: Many people have a pre-sleep routine that helps them relax. Relaxation techniques before bed, including hot baths and meditation, may help you fall asleep.
- Consult a Doctor: Sometimes, there are underlying conditions that may be causing the sleep irregularities. Get that checked ASAP.
- Get the Right Essentials: Your bed, mattress, and pillow can greatly affect sleep quality and joint or back pain. Try to buy high quality bedding — including a mattress — every 5–8 years. ALWAYS test out the mattress before buying it. It needs to be right for YOU.
Wonderfully good things happen when you get sleep, but alarmingly bad things happen when you don’t get enough — both for your brain and for your body. To want to improve your sleep cycles, patterns, habits, and routines is a great first step. Now — let’s make sure we put these ideas to action!
For learning new skills or understanding yourself and your mind better, remember — Masterlife is just a click away.
Cheers!
