Sleep

Good Evening!

Sleep tends to take a backseat in our lives for many reasons.

Work and social obligations take up a good portion of day-to-day activity, leaving wind-down time at home to be fairly nonexistent for a lot of people.

Take the average young worker and think of what their schedule might look like.

• Wake up at 6-6:30 am, shower, prepare for the day
• Maybe eat breakfast, commute/handle household tasks (if working from home)
• Work 9-5 (or longer), commute home
• Catch up with social media, texts, friends either on the way home or upon finishing work
• Dinner, followed by a Netflix show, sporting event, or streaming on TV
• Bedtime*

*This bedtime period is where sleep gets tricky.

In an ideal scenario, bedtime or the “wind down” time could (and should) start at around 9:45-10pm, with lights out and phones off by 11.

But the ideal scenario just isn’t happening when days are this crowded. And this schedule above is just 9-5. Many work late nights, or 11-7 shifts, and have things skewed further into the evening, wreaking havoc on a good circadian rhythm.

What Messes Up Sleep And How To Fix It

Lack of natural light and too much exposure to artificial lights and blue lights (the ones on your devices) stagger your body’s natural melatonin response to make sleep harder for you.

With daily exposure to the sun/natural light and dimmer nighttime environments around the home (and less scrolling late in the day), we can counteract the anti-sleep pattern that may have been developed as a result of mixed light exposure.

This can be especially hard in the winter time with shorter days, but even just a few minutes of daylight — a walk on your lunch break or an early morning jog — can drastically help improve sleep.

Another factor that contributes to poor sleep is eating or exercising too close to bedtime. These activities increase body heat.

Your body falls asleep faster at cooler temperatures, so it’s important to try and eat as far away from bedtime as possible. If you have to eat late, make sure it’s easily digestible. And if you must exercise late, don’t make it too intense, and try adjusting the thermostat or air conditioner to a colder temperature.

Finally, stress and racy thoughts can also disrupt a calm night of sleep. This symptom may not be so easily solved. If the following tips don’t alleviate your stress and restlessness, consult your primary care physician to see how you might work with them to help improve your sleep.

Reading books and brain dumping into a journal at night can lower stress levels and make restless thoughts disappear. There is significant research backing the idea that written thoughts can having healing or therapeutic effects, and books are a low-stimulation activity that can ease your nervous system into a restful state.

Even reading on your phone is a stark contrast to physical books. The blue light, smaller text, need to scroll, and potential for distractions can overstimulate the brain and cause unnecessary stress.

Summary

1. Try and find 8-10 minutes of natural light exposure during the day, and keep your evening home environment on the dimmer side to regulate your circadian rhythm and let the melatonin flow (without the supplements).
2. Avoid eating too close to bedtime or exercising too intensely before bedtime, and keep a cool bedroom for low body temperature sleeping.
3. Read a book or write thoughts out instead of scrolling. Set a timer on your phone for when you’ll turn off social media/texts, and hold true to that timer.

A healthy, functioning brain needs 7-8 hours of sleep (and women may need even more, apparently — just ask Bozoma St. John), so don’t short-change your cognitive output with bad sleep.

One caveat; our bodies are resilient organisms, so one bad night of sleep doesn’t mean your health will plummet downhill. You can adapt.

But it wouldn’t be wise to condition your brain to sub-seven hours of sleep per night. Your mental sharpness, memory, sensory awareness and ability to maintain knowledge all depend on sleep.

Do it right!

See you next week.