Tips for Better Sleep
Sleep is absolutely essential to all animals, especially us humans. Insufficient sleep reduces our learning, memory and cognitive abilities, causes brain impairment and increases the risks of numerous diseases from cancer to diabetes, coronary heart diseases and even death. Sleep boosts our mental, emotional and physical health and capabilities in ways that no amount of drugs or medical interventions can provide.
Unfortunately, most of us are also sleep-deprived, and we don’t even realize it because we’re so used to operating at sub-optimal levels. Below are a few ways to boost your sleep hygiene;
☀️ Get 20 mins of morning sunlight - View sunlight by going outside within 30-60 minutes of waking. Your eyes need at least 20 mins of pre-noon sunlight (cloudy days are fine) to reset your inner clock, which makes it easier to fall asleep in the evening. Do this again in the late afternoon, prior to sunset.
💡 Avoid viewing bright lights around bedtime— Turn off your computer at least two hours before bedtime and turn off/dim overhead lights between 10 pm and 4 am. Viewing bright lights of all colors are a problem for your circadian system.
☕️ Avoid caffeine, especially in the evening - Caffeine keeps you from falling asleep and is extremely disruptive to the quality of your sleep. It’s best avoided all together, but if you must, drink it in small amounts and only before noon. Remember that any tea outside of herbal options have caffeine, including Green Tea.
🛌 Keep your bed for sleeping - The best way to check out the moment you hit the mattress is to avoid working or watching television in bed (I hope my husband doesn’t read these thoroughly 🤞).
💜 Be kind to yourself - If you wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble falling back asleep, know that this is normal for the human body. No need to beat yourself up! Try protocols such as NSDR or Yoga Nidra to help you fall back asleep.
Want more? Read Toolkit for Sleep with Andrew Huberman
Question: What one thing can you change about in your daily life to better support sleep hygiene?
Action: Do that one thing… ⬆️
💜 a good quote…
“It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it.” — John Steinbeck
“If you get tired learn to rest, not to quit.” — Banksy
