Twelve Tips for Healthy Sleep
December 13, 2021
Sleep isn’t an exciting subject for everyone, it’s not a usual topic coming up at your local bar or during lunch breaks on the worksite. In saying this, there are people in this world that are passionate about sleep and understand the critical role it plays in every aspect of life. Matthew Walker is one of these people, a neuroscientist who is dedicated to helping us understand the role and function of sleep. If it isn’t an exciting subject it is one of high importance, a good nights sleep can make us cleverer, slimmer, happier, healthier, ward off cancer, and be more productive (to name a few), whilst on the other hand, the lack of sleep will have the opposite effect on us. Sleep Deprivation is simply deadly, the negative effects sending us to the grave early.
Walker is the author of Why We Sleep. An international bestseller that explores the topic of sleep in detail, a read I would recommend any person serious about their health or wants to impact the health of others, needs to read.
The Appendix of the book contains Twelve Tips from the National Institutes of Health Medline Plus, Tips I want to share with you here, a guide to help you get a good night’s sleep and be rewarded the huge benefits of doing so.
Sleep is important for all of us, use these tips to help improve your sleep duration and quality.
Tip One
Stick to a sleep schedule. Aim to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. As creatures of habit, people have a hard time adjusting to changes in sleep patterns. Sleeping later on weekends won’t entirely make up for a lack of sleep during the week, and it will make it harder to wake up earlier on Mondays. Set an alarm for bedtime, just as you do for a wake-up alarm in the morning. If there is only one piece of advice you remember from these twelve tips, this should be the one.
Tip Two
Exercise is great, but not too late in the day. Try to exercise at least 30 minutes each day, but not later than three hours before bedtime.
Tip Three
Avoid caffeine and nicotine. Coffee, caffeinated energy drinks, certain teas, and chocolate contain the stimulant caffeine, and the effects of caffeine can take as long as eight hours to fully wear off. A cup of coffee in the late afternoon can make it hard for you to fall asleep at night. Nicotine is also a stimulant causing smokers to sleep lightly. In addition, smokers often wake up early in the morning due to a nicotine withdrawal.
Tip Four
Avoid alcohol before bed. Having a nightcap or alcoholic beverage before sleep may help you relax, but heavy use robs you of REM sleep, keeping you in the lighter stages of sleep. Heavy alcohol ingestion also may contribute to impairment in breathing at night. You also tend to wake up in the middle of the night when the effects of alcohol have worn off.
Tip Five
Avoid large meals and beverages late at night. Large meals can cause interference with sleep, whilst drinking too many fluids at night will cause frequent awakenings for a toilet break.
Tip Six
Where possible, avoid medicines that delay or disrupt your sleep. Some commonly prescribed heart, blood pressure, or asthma medications, as well as some over-the-counter and herbal remedies for coughs, colds, or allergies, can disrupt sleep patterns. If you are taking medications and it has affected your sleep please discuss with your doctor or pharmacist to see whether any of the drugs you are taking may be contributing to your trouble sleeping.
Tip Seven
Don’t take naps after 3 p.m. Naps can help make up for lost sleep, but late afternoon naps can make it harder to fall asleep at night.
Tip Eight
Relax before bed. Don’t overschedule your day so that there is no time for unwinding in the evening. A relaxing activity, such as reading, or listening to music, should be part of a bedtime ritual.
Tip Nine
Take a hot bath before bed. The drop in body temperature after getting out of the bath may help you feel sleepy, and the bath can help you relax and slow down so you’re more ready to sleep.
Tip Ten
Set your environment up for sleep. Dark bedroom, cool bedroom, gadget-free bedroom. Get rid of anything in your bedroom that might distract you from sleep, such as noises, bright lights, an uncomfortable bed, or warm temperatures. You will sleep better if the temperature of the room is cool. A TV, mobile phone, or computer in the bedroom is a distraction and will deprive you of needed sleep. Individuals who have insomnia often watch the clock. Turn the clock’s face out of view so you aren’t watching the time while trying to fall asleep.
Tip 11
Ensure daily sunlight exposure. Daylight is key to regulating daily sleep patterns. Aim to get outside each day to get 30 minutes of sunlight. If possible wake up with the sun or use very bright lights in the morning. Sleep experts recommend that, if you have problems falling asleep, you should get an hour of exposure to morning sunlight and turn down the lights before bedtime.
Tip 12
Do not lie in bed awake. If you find yourself still awake after staying in bed for more than twenty minutes or if you are starting to feel anxious or worried, get up and do some relaxing activity until you feel sleepy. The anxiety of not being able to sleep can make it harder to fall asleep.
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Twelve Tips for Healthy Sleep
December 13, 2021
Sleep isn’t an exciting subject for everyone, it’s not a usual topic coming up at your local bar or during lunch breaks on the worksite. In saying this, there are people in this world that are passionate about sleep and understand the critical role it plays in every aspect of life. Matthew Walker is one of these people, a neuroscientist who is dedicated to helping us understand the role and function of sleep. If it isn’t an exciting subject it is one of high importance, a good nights sleep can make us cleverer, slimmer, happier, healthier, ward off cancer, and be more productive (to name a few), whilst on the other hand, the lack of sleep will have the opposite effect on us. Sleep Deprivation is simply deadly, the negative effects sending us to the grave early.
Walker is the author of Why We Sleep. An international bestseller that explores the topic of sleep in detail, a read I would recommend any person serious about their health or wants to impact the health of others, needs to read.
The Appendix of the book contains Twelve Tips from the National Institutes of Health Medline Plus, Tips I want to share with you here, a guide to help you get a good night’s sleep and be rewarded the huge benefits of doing so.
Sleep is important for all of us, use these tips to help improve your sleep duration and quality.
Tip One
Stick to a sleep schedule. Aim to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. As creatures of habit, people have a hard time adjusting to changes in sleep patterns. Sleeping later on weekends won’t entirely make up for a lack of sleep during the week, and it will make it harder to wake up earlier on Mondays. Set an alarm for bedtime, just as you do for a wake-up alarm in the morning. If there is only one piece of advice you remember from these twelve tips, this should be the one.
Tip Two
Exercise is great, but not too late in the day. Try to exercise at least 30 minutes each day, but not later than three hours before bedtime.
Tip Three
Avoid caffeine and nicotine. Coffee, caffeinated energy drinks, certain teas, and chocolate contain the stimulant caffeine, and the effects of caffeine can take as long as eight hours to fully wear off. A cup of coffee in the late afternoon can make it hard for you to fall asleep at night. Nicotine is also a stimulant causing smokers to sleep lightly. In addition, smokers often wake up early in the morning due to a nicotine withdrawal.
Tip Four
Avoid alcohol before bed. Having a nightcap or alcoholic beverage before sleep may help you relax, but heavy use robs you of REM sleep, keeping you in the lighter stages of sleep. Heavy alcohol ingestion also may contribute to impairment in breathing at night. You also tend to wake up in the middle of the night when the effects of alcohol have worn off.
Tip Five
Avoid large meals and beverages late at night. Large meals can cause interference with sleep, whilst drinking too many fluids at night will cause frequent awakenings for a toilet break.
Tip Six
Where possible, avoid medicines that delay or disrupt your sleep. Some commonly prescribed heart, blood pressure, or asthma medications, as well as some over-the-counter and herbal remedies for coughs, colds, or allergies, can disrupt sleep patterns. If you are taking medications and it has affected your sleep please discuss with your doctor or pharmacist to see whether any of the drugs you are taking may be contributing to your trouble sleeping.
Tip Seven
Don’t take naps after 3 p.m. Naps can help make up for lost sleep, but late afternoon naps can make it harder to fall asleep at night.
Tip Eight
Relax before bed. Don’t overschedule your day so that there is no time for unwinding in the evening. A relaxing activity, such as reading, or listening to music, should be part of a bedtime ritual.
Tip Nine
Take a hot bath before bed. The drop in body temperature after getting out of the bath may help you feel sleepy, and the bath can help you relax and slow down so you’re more ready to sleep.
Tip Ten
Set your environment up for sleep. Dark bedroom, cool bedroom, gadget-free bedroom. Get rid of anything in your bedroom that might distract you from sleep, such as noises, bright lights, an uncomfortable bed, or warm temperatures. You will sleep better if the temperature of the room is cool. A TV, mobile phone, or computer in the bedroom is a distraction and will deprive you of needed sleep. Individuals who have insomnia often watch the clock. Turn the clock’s face out of view so you aren’t watching the time while trying to fall asleep.
Tip 11
Ensure daily sunlight exposure. Daylight is key to regulating daily sleep patterns. Aim to get outside each day to get 30 minutes of sunlight. If possible wake up with the sun or use very bright lights in the morning. Sleep experts recommend that, if you have problems falling asleep, you should get an hour of exposure to morning sunlight and turn down the lights before bedtime.
Tip 12
Do not lie in bed awake. If you find yourself still awake after staying in bed for more than twenty minutes or if you are starting to feel anxious or worried, get up and do some relaxing activity until you feel sleepy. The anxiety of not being able to sleep can make it harder to fall asleep.
