How to sleep better: 5 unexpected tips
Sleep is critical to managing our stress, as I wrote about in this blog. We perform better and feel better on a good night of sleep. Whether you’re taking my ultimate sleep challenge or not, the bottom line is that we need to sleep more and better. Easier said than done, though. How in the heck are we supposed to get more and better sleep? As someone who’s taught this for years (and fought my own battles with insomnia!), I’ve got some thoughts. But these might not be the most expected tips you’ve ever heard…
FIVE unusual tips to achieve a good night’s sleep:
Regular meals can set your brain’s clock and help you sleep better. Food is used as a time cue by many circadian clocks throughout the body (did you know you have multiple internal clocks?!). This is one of the reasons that breakfast is touted as the most important meal of the day- it tells every part of your body to start their engines. Whatever time you eat, and however many meals you eat, the important thing for your sleep routine is to have stable meal times and not a lot of unexpected snacks.
Wash your bedclothes. Sleep hygiene is more important than you might know. Clean sheets and pillows improve breathing throughout the night and improve sleep quality and satisfaction.
Melatonin works, but it does not work like a sleeping pill. Your body naturally secretes melatonin daily. Normally your body will secrete melatonin when it starts to get dark to cue your brain to get sleepy, but artificial light can disrupt that process. Taking low doses of melatonin supplements (e.g., 0.6 mg) in the evening at a consistent hour that is 1 hour prior to your bedtime can help teach your brain when it’s about to be bedtime. It helps if this is also the time that you routinely dim lights and settle down. It may take a few weeks of regular doses to work.
Get outside and/or get bright light exposure in the morning. Why? Light is king! The primary cue that the circadian system (internal clocks) uses for resetting its phase to align with the environment is light. When we get bright light throughout the day, it tells our brain to be awake and alert, and then we respond better to the dim lights of evening as a cue to start settling down for bedtime. (Feeling sleepy during the day? Take a quick stroll outdoors or sit by a window for 5 minutes looking out.)
Blue light isn’t the problem. Ok yes, it’s a problem, but it isn’t the problem. We’ve been hearing for years that blue light in the evening prevents melatonin release and disrupts going to bed. And that’s a bit of a problem, and filters can help. Keep using the filters. BUT blue light is not the real problem with electronic devices. The actual sleep-disrupting problem with devices is all the stimulating content you’re consuming on your blue-lit screens, it keeps part of the brain awake while you’re resting, tricking you into not getting actual sleep. Try the device-free evenings of my ultimate sleep challenge.
Stay tuned for more sleep information and tips for good nights… I’ll blog about sleep again soon!
