Sleep

Sleep is often "slept on", but without proper sleep, nothing else matters. Sleep is not just about "getting your eight hours", it revolves around four principle components:

  • Depth: Getting "quality" sleep (enough REM and deep sleep).
  • Duration: Making sure you sleep enough (most adults need 7-9 hours of sleep a night).
  • Continuity: Minimizing the number of times you wake up a night to ideally zero.
  • Regularity: Attempting to go to bed and wake up at as close to the same time each day.

Improving Sleep

Improving sleep involves various factors: timing, temperature, light exposure, device usage, and behavioral practices. Even meal timing and stress play crucial roles.

Timing is crucial. Aligning your sleep pattern with your sleep "chronotype" and circadian rhythm can foster better sleep quality.

The temperature of your sleep environment, too, is vital, with a cooler room generally promoting better sleep.

Then there's the role of light. The blue light from our screens can suppress the secretion of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycles, so adjusting light exposure, especially before bedtime, becomes a necessity. While devices and modern technology have made our lives more connected, they've also encroached upon our sleeping hours. Drawing a clear boundary between device usage time and sleep time can be a game-changer.

Late-night eating, caffeine, or alcohol consumption can sabotage sleep quality, while stress can keep us tossing and turning all night. It's important to understand how these factors uniquely affect your sleep.

Generally, finishing your last meal 3 hours before you go to bed allows your body sufficient time to digest before going to bed.

Caffeine surpresses the production of sleep promoting hormone adenosine. While everyone processes caffeine differently, its half-life can remain in your bloodstream many hours after your last sip.

Any alcohol before bed can have catastrophic effects on sleep. These effects can range from blocking REM sleep as well as frequent wake-ups throughout the night.

Before resorting to sleeping pills or supplements, evaluate and modify these factors to optimize your sleep quality.