How to Hack Your Sleep
Sleep is important. Not just the amount you get, but the quality of your sleep too.
Sleep deprivation causes a number of adverse effects. Some of the effects are mental, like worse memory, decreased response time, and a shorter attention span.
Others are more serious like a decreased immune system. There have even been direct links shown between sleep deprivation and diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and other illnesses.
You know that you should probably be getting more sleep, but the busyness and stresses of modern life mean it doesn’t always seem possible.
You’ll spend at least a quarter of your life sleeping, even if you only get six hours per day, so you should make the most of it! In this post, I’m going to share some hacks to help you sleep better.
Source:mercola.com
1. Get A Better Rest By Cutting Out Light and Electronics
Your body has a biological process called a circadian rhythm that it cycles through every 24 hours or so. Your circadian rhythm controls things like hormones, body temperature, hunger, and sleep.
Artificial light can trick our body and make us think that it’s daytime, when in reality it’s 3 am.
The blue light that from electronic screens and fluorescent lighting is especially bad. It can really mess with your ability to get to sleep.
Source: bedtimebeginnings.com
The more light (especially blue light) you can remove for a few hours before bed, the more likely you’ll be to get a good night’s rest. If you can, try to start winding down by using less bright lighting and no electronic devices before bed.
Use software to stop blue light
If you can’t give up technology before bed, you can install a free program called Flux which adjusts your display to filter out blue light. The software is available for computers, Android, and iPhone.
Make your room darker
Sleeping in a pitch black room can improve your sleep, especially in a city with street lights and other light pollution. Use curtains to make the room as dark as possible. Turn your alarm clock facing away from your bed, so the light isn’t shining in your face at night.
Use airplane mode
If you have notifications on your phone going off all night, you’ll have a hard time resting. Set your phone on airplane mode to prevent this. It will also reduce wifi, cell signals, and other electromagnetic frequencies in your room which can disturb sleep.
source:sixstepstosleep.com
2. Consider Breaking Up Your Sleep Into Smaller Chunks
You don’t necessarily have you get all of your sleep in one big chunk of time each night.
Some people prefer to break their sleep up into multiple times throughout the day.
Trouble getting your 8 hours a night? Try adding a nap to your day. Some people prefer to split their sleep up into two periods each day.
The most common form of way of splitting it up is to have a 6 hour sleep period each night, along with a 30-90 minute nap during the daytime. A siesta or afternoon nap is quite common in many areas of the Mediterranean and Southern Europe.
Taking a siesta has been associated with a 37% reduction in heart-related deaths. Of course, for those of us who work from 9-5, it might not be a reasonable choice.
Some people go more extreme and take as many as six smaller naps throughout the day. There’s some evidence that Einstein, Tesla, Leonardo Da Vinci, and others slept like this. At least during periods that they were busy working on their ideas.
Source: National Sleep Foundation
3. Use Apps To Track Your Sleep and Wake Up Rested
There’s more to a good night’s sleep than just laying down and going unconscious for the night. There’s a complicated series of events called sleep cycles that happen in your brain when you sleep.
If you have an activity tracker like the Oura Ring or a Fitbit, you probably already have a sleep tracker that you aren’t using. These devices can track sleep to help you understand your sleep quality. They can also help you in working toward a consistent sleep schedule and stay on track.
If you don’t have an activity tracker, you can download a free app for your phone that can do something similar. There are plenty available, so I’d recommend searching the iOS or Android store and picking the one that you like best.
Use a customized alarm to wake up feeling more rested. Perhaps the best feature of sleep trackers is their alarms. Getting woken up by an alarm clock is jarring and doesn’t give you the best sleep quality because you’re stopping sleep forcefully mid-cycle. Since these customized alarms track your sleep cycles, they can adjust your morning alarm up to 15 minutes earlier or later to try and wake you up as close to between sleep cycles as possible. You’ll start your day feeling much more rested just from this little change.
Source:signaturemd.com
4. Monitor Your Diet, Nutrition, and Exercise
What you eat and drink can play a big part in your sleep quality.
Cut out caffeine. Drinking coffee in the evening is a big no-no if you’re having trouble sleeping. Don’t drink caffeine (including tea and soda as well) after 2 pm each day, or at least 8 hours before bedtime. If you’re sensitive to caffeine, you might need to start even earlier.
Apple cider vinegar. Either incorporating it into a meal or just swallowing a spoonful will help stabilize your blood sugar and lower insulin. It will help you get to sleep faster and prevent getting up at night.
Don’t eat after 8 pm. Eating a late dinner or snacking can mess with your sleep schedule. Your body isn’t able to rest as well while it’s working hard to break down the food you ate a few hours before. Try to stop drinking water a couple of hours before bedtime as well.
Get more magnesium. Lots of people are magnesium deficient, which can increase anxiety and interfere with sleep. Avocados, dark leafy greens, and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli are all good sources of magnesium.
Exercise. Shoot for at least ten minutes of exercise per day. This can be as simple as going for a short walk outside after dinner each night. Exercise reduces stress and tires you out.
Keep your room cool. Research suggests that a cold room will result in a better night’s sleep. Your body’s core temperature needs to drop to begin the sleep process. Between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit is best.
5. Consider Supplements
You should speak with a doctor before starting any kind of medication. Some of the items listed below can interact with other medications, especially Aspirin and blood pressure medications. But if you’ve tried all of the other hacks listed above and you’re still having trouble sleeping, you might want to consider some of these.
Valerian root, passion flower, or chamomile. These are all herbal supplements that help promote sleep and decrease anxiety.
5-HTP. This is a natural amino acid that stimulates the natural production of more melatonin in your body, which will make you sleepier.
More magnesium. If you can’t get enough magnesium from natural food sources, it’s also available as a supplement. You can also take an Epsom bath with magnesium salts. The most bioavailable form of absorbing magnesium is through the skin. The warm bath before bedtime will help you to relax as well.
Source:projecthealthysleep.org
Getting A Good Night’s Rest
Getting the right quality and amount of sleep is important for your mental and physical health.
Wouldn’t it be great to get out of bed feeling refreshed in the morning? And not start to get exhausted halfway through the day? You’ll feel better and perform better in your daily life if you optimize your sleep cycle.
There are a bunch of hacks you can use to improve your sleep. Cutting out blue-wavelength light a few hours before bed is perhaps the most important. Otherwise, you’re signaling to your body that it’s still daytime.
You might want to experiment with how you sleep and incorporate a nap into your day if possible. Apps can also help you track your sleep and help you create a good sleep schedule.
Exercising and eating the right foods at the appropriate times can help too.
Getting quality sleep is within your reach, it just takes a bit of effort and consistency to establish good habits.
What do you do when you have trouble sleeping?