How to sleep deeper and wake up less through the night - tonight.

This article is another instalment of Sleep for success - a LinkedIn series empowering you to your best nights sleep. With sleep not only important, but imperative for optimal wellbeing and peak performance alike; it's a pleasure to leverage my 14 years of academic and professional experience to share expert tips, tricks and techniques to help you sleep longer, deeper and wake more refreshed. Supercharged by sleep, look forward to achieving more, in less time, with less effort - naturally. Please share with anyone you feel will benefit, and of course, sleep well.

Sleeping deeply can be a challenge for so many of us, especially with a busy workload and seemingly competing demands for our time. It can lead us to wake through the night, burdened with mental busy-ness and an inability to return to sleep. Perspectively, a 2023 study found 89% of women and 83% of men are disturbed through the night, with using the bathroom and emotional distress the top two factors. If this is you, rest assured, this article has been published for you, at the perfect time. Not only will it share my expert tips on how to sleep deeper and wake less through the night, it will also share the exact reason this is happening - so you can know there is nothing actually wrong with you, and rather than trying to sabotage you, your body is simply trying to support you. These insights, alongside my tips that follow, will help you feel less stressed through the day, and come night, sleep deeper too. Enjoy, and all I ask is that you take the advice - starting from tonight.?

Why can’t you sleep deeply??

Biochemically, you are not programmed to sleep deeply when you are stressed - it goes against your inherent biology. When stressed, your body produces cortisol, an awakening hormone, which helps you feel more alert. Prehistorically, this was an evolutionary advantage as we were able to encounter stressors we faced with greater energy - which in caveman days, were bears and similar predators. In modern day times though, this system doesn’t serve us so well - our stressors are chronic and long lasting, such as an overwhelming schedule or excessive demands. As a result, you stay in a hypervigilant, hyper-aroused state through the day, and at night, struggle to sleep deeply and wake up through the night. As a result, you’re probably exhausted in the morning and struggle to be your best through the day. If this resonates, please know: these tips will help you. While they wont change your psychological stressors, these strategies reduce physiological stress? - thus reducing overall stress load. As a result, you’ll be able to sleep deeper and wake more refreshed - each and every night.?

How to sleep deeper and wake less through the night?

1: Wear 100% blue light blocking glasses 2 hours before bed.

100% blue light blocking glasses are a non negotiable for your best night’s sleep - even if you’re not using a screen before bed. As blue light is emitted from regular lights too, unless you are in complete darkness the 2 hours before bed, these are necessary to use - and will enable deeper, unbroken sleep, rich in slow wave and REM sleep. Perspectively, 100% blue light blocking glasses, 2 hours before bed, have been found in a clinical trial to reduce the time taken to fall asleep by 79%. Further evidence indicates they can reduce night time wakings by 66%. Note that not all blue light glasses are the same: 100% blue light blocking ones have orange or red, not clear, lenses. While clear lenses are great for daytime use, for night time use, they are inadequate - at best they only block out 50% of blue light. Note that blue light filters in prescription lenses are also clear, so again, they are only half as effective.?

2. Shut off from screens 1 hour before bed - read instead.

Screen time seems fun - until it inhibits your sleep. For several reasons, you need to shut off from screens well before bedtime - it’s not just important, it’s imperative, for deeper quality sleep. Screens enhance cortisol, the awakening hormone mentioned earlier - encouraging you to feel more alert. Screens also promote the release of dopamine, a pleasure hormone that helps us feel more energetic. Obviously being alert and energetic in the hour before bed is the exact opposite of what we want. Reflectively, a 2012 study showed using a phone in the last hour before bed increases your likelihood of taking over an hour to fall asleep by 48%; and further evidence indicates night time wakings are 62% more likely for those who use a phone in the 30 minutes before bed. Have an alarm on your phone labelled 'disconnect from bed' one hour before bed, and at this time, shut off from all screens - including kindles! My recommendation for your pre-bed activity is to read - aim for 20 minutes, and ensure this is a printed book - and if you’re after a new one, grab mine - Bear, Lion, Wolf.

3. Wear an eye mask to sleep.

Remember - light is the main factor to control our melatonin levels, so blocking it out before bed is a must, and equally, through the night! Perspectively, a 2016 study showed dim light exposure during sleep can increase night time wakings, and reduce sleep depth - so you need to wear an eye mask to help you wake up less and sleep deeper. Ideally, this should be an organic silk eye mask, as this fabric is hypoallergenic and reduces the likelihood of irritation.

Note: 100% blue light blocking glasses, my book and my eye mask are found in my Sleep Kit - giving you the exact tools you need for your best nights sleep, starting tonight. For more information and availability of the kit, please contact me directly.?