All about that sleep
Why do we sleep?
It feels good but scientists still donāt know a lot about why animals and humans need to sleep every night. Most research suggests that some of the many functions of sleep are:
- To recover from the damage of daily life ā sleep has a restorative effect on the mind and body, not only do you rest but your cells regenerate and your temperature, breathing and heart rate drop to conserve energy.
- Help learning and memory. You know how people say you should study something you want to remember just before sleep? Itās got scientific backingĀ¹. Your brain processes and consolidates memories in sleep.
- Increase immunity. Your body produces special proteins called cytokines ā they play an important role in helping your body fight off infection. When you sleep you produce more of itĀ².
Itās why youāre so drowsy when youāre sick, your body is trying to protect itself.Ā Ā
The methods we are about to mention are our suggestions for improvement and some basic ideas for you to add to your knowledge. We’d like to mention that are not medical personnel or sleep experts.
What can you do to improve your quality of sleep?
Insomnia is a common problem for a lot of people and the challenges are mainly: trouble falling asleep and waking up intermittently. If you have trouble falling asleep, it might be related to the stress in your life, and chemical or hormonal imbalances can lead you to waking up in the middle of the night.
So letās take a look at what you can change in your life to help you sleep better. Weāve split it into three categories we consider important:
- The environment or your surroundings
- Self-discipline and habits
- Outside aid (which can range from medication to technology)
Improve your surroundings
Often it is the environment that affects us, which can be the easiest and fastest to change. Light pollution comes with living in a big city and it can have a big impact on your sleeping habits.
First, you can start by making sure your bedroom or sleeping area is totally dark. Why? Because light affects the hormonal balance of the body.
An important hormone for sleep is melatonin ā which is produced by the pineal gland. Itās triggered by the reduction or lack of light and prepares your body and mind for sleep. It slows down digestion and brain activity and reduces your core temperature and cortisol levels (dubbed stress hormone). It can even have anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and blood-thinning effects. Our ancestors had sunsets to get them ready for sleep but modern life isnāt so limited anymore.
Melatonin is converted from another related hormone called serotonin which is produced during the day.
So, basically, you need natural sunlight during the daytime and darkness during the night. It sounds simple but not many people get their daily dose of light and dark or get it in the right order. People living near the Poles, especially those whoāve moved there and arenāt used to the seasons, donāt do well during the night that lasts for months.
Being isolated and deprived of light was even a method of tortureĀ³.
SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) or seasonal depression affects people during the winter months when they are less exposed to sunlight. Ā If you donāt get enough light during the day, your brain wonāt produce enough serotonin which in turn affects your melatonin levels. Itās a vicious circle which only gets worse if you donāt fix the imbalance. So itās important to expose yourself to sunlight when you are awake and have total darkness when you sleep.
Sunlamps and red light therapy can help you with your light intake but if you want to sleep well, you need total darkness. Blinds at the windows, curtains, eye masks ā they are the first step. But donāt stop there ā turn off all your electronics. TVs, tablets, phones, smartwatches, laptops and anything that can emit light has the potential to upset your circadian rhythm.
And donāt read on the phone before bed.
Of course, the quality of the light you are exposed to during your waking hours is important too. Natural light is the best. Try to get up and go outside first thing in the morning and bask in the sunlight for about 20 minutes. Itāll work wonders. Greeting the sun when it rises is a good way to get rid of jetlag faster too! Let natural light in through your windows whenever you can, it keeps you healthy, your house germ-free and helps produce Vitamin D.
There are a few types of artificial light you can use too. The most useful are red and near-infrared light – best applied in the evening before bed. Being exposed to blue light ā like the one from your TV, phone, etc ā can trick your brain into thinking it’s daytime and prevent you from falling asleep. Try and choose light bulbs that emit warm white/yellow light for your bedroom too.
Reducing noise is an obvious piece of advice. Try wearing earplugs if needed. Constant and repetitive noise can be soothing so a rhythmic song or isochronic beats can help you fall asleep.
The temperature in the bedroom matters too. Ideally, itās 18 -19 degrees Celsius. Try fans or cooling sheets if you need to bring down the heat. Fresh air also helps during the REM cycle.
Another obvious piece of advice ā have quality pillows and a comfortable mattress. Cotton sheets are better as it lets the skin breathe. Some people even raise the head of their bed at a 10 to 30 degree incline from the rest of the body in order to reduce pressure by using gravity to prevent blood collecting in the head ā which can cause pain.
Thatās about it for changes to our surroundings now we can move on to cultivating better habits.
Improve your habits
Respecting the Circadian Rhythm is an important part of getting our sleep in order. The time we go to bed and wake up matters.
We are creatures of habit and sticking to a routine is an important part of keeping healthy.
Go to bed and wake up at the same times consistently. People need 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night. Chemically, melatonin production spikes at around 10 pm on a normal day.
Leave any other distractions aside and just close your eyes. Put the phone away or just turn it off. No social media, no kindle or books on your phone, no messages just before you go to sleep.
The light from electronic devices will hinder sleep and burdening ourselves with more stress wonāt help either.
Try and finish any tasks that you might agonize over in bed before going to sleep, if you canāt then thereās nothing to do about it anyway so leave it for tomorrow.
Start the day by doing things for yourself! Stretch, go for a quick walk to soak up that early morning sunlight, eat breakfast, do something that makes you smile ā when you wake up, your mind is more open to suggestion. Positive thinking can put you in a better mood for the rest of the day.
Having a balanced diet affects everything you do. Eat more vegetables and less sugar. Try not to eat anything 2-3 hours before bed, avoid stimulants like coffee or energy drinks after midday and drink plenty of water. Regular exercise, breathing techniques and meditation have proven to be key to a healthy life. This includes sleep.
Power naps during the day can help in the long run. Just a quick 20 minute nap will do, enough to rest but not go into the deeper sleep cycle can be refreshing.
Create something ā even if itās just a silly doodle or a paper crane can focus your attention for a short period of time and help de-stress. Even adults need to play and working with our hands can help reduce anxiety.
Completion rituals help you relax. Do you have a set of stretches you do every day? If not, then learn a few simple movements and do them. This will release tension in the body and ease the mind. Do them every night and morning.
Sleeping aides
Of course, this all may still not be enough so try some outside aid, whether itās medication or hypnosis ā which you will need professional help to get or technology.
Audio-visual and brainwave entrainment uses stroboscopic light and pulsing sounds to take advantage of the bodyās natural Frequency Following Response and ātrickā our brains into relaxing. You can read more about these in our other free articles. Ā
Our takeaway
From our personal experience as well as other’s we can recommend a few things when it comes to sleep: Do you want to fall asleep faster and have a better sleep quality? Red Light Therapy is perfect for thatā“, just by using it every day for 15-30 minutes before going to bed. Do you want to wake up without feeling groggy and be ready for action in no time? Exposing yourself to red light through the usage of Red Light Therapy devices is a great way to start your morningsāµ, giving you the much-needed energy and vitality for completing your daily tasks.
Lastly, let’s not forget Mind Machines and their Night Voyage sessions – programs that are specially made for relaxation and putting your mind on the right brainwaves in order to sleep betterā¶ ā·.
References:
[2] Effects of sleep on the production of cytokines in humans
[3] Isolation in the Dark Drives Humans to Brink of Insanity, Studies Find
[4] Red Light and the Sleep Quality and Endurance Performance of Female Basketball Players
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