Sleep part 2 – My best tips for improving your sleep
In the previous part about sleep, I detailed how good sleep affects your body and the health benefits it provides. In this section, I will focus more on how you can improve your sleep and achieve the health benefits from it.
If you’re like me and don’t naturally sleep so great, you need to pay attention to how you can improve your sleep and what you do around bedtime. Here are some of my best tips.
Regular bedtime
Maintaining a consistent sleep schedule is crucial. Try to maintain your daily rhythm and sleep-wake times as similar as possible across the week. This helps maintain your sleep-wake cycle, so you don’t constantly have to readjust and miss out on good nights of sleep in the process. This can be challenging, especially if you want to stay up late on weekends. However, if you have clear sleep issues, it’s worth giving a try for consistent sleep schedules.
Calming evening routines
Engage in relaxing and pleasant activities before bed, such as a warm shower, meditation/ breathing exercises, stretching or reading a book. These activities can lower your alertness and prepare your body for sleep. Meditation has been scientifically proven to help with stress management and if this is your issue, it may give you a relief on these two at the same time.
Morning sunlight
Expose your eyes to sunlight, especially in the morning and at midday. Sunlight strengthens your circadian rhythm and improves sleep quality. Aim for at least 30 minutes long time spent in the sun.
“Studies have found that daylight exposure increases sleep duration and improves sleep quality. Sunshine may play a role in regulating hormones, your body’s internal clock (circadian rhythm), and sleep patterns by affecting the melatonin secretion in the evening hours prior to bedtime”.
Avoid blue light in the evening
The blue light from phone, TV, and other smart device screens mimics daylight and can affect melatonin production, making it harder to fall asleep and weakening your sleep quality. Turn off these devices two hours before bedtime when your internal clock is most vulnerable for disturbances. If you can’t avoid the temptation, use blue light-blocking glasses. However, if the contents on your devices keeps you very much alert, it’s best avoiding them 45-60 minutes before your desired bedtime.
Avoid caffeine early on since the afternoon
Caffeine’s half-life is about 5 hours, but the time it takes to leave your system depends on the dose and your liver size. Avoid caffeine up to 10-12 hours before bedtime, especially if you’re more sensitive to it. Caffeine is found in coffee, black, green, and white tea, mate, cocoa, and caffeinated drinks like energy drinks, many pre-workout supplements, and cola. I’ve noticed that a big dose of caffeine during the morning can still reduce deep sleep at night, so respect your body and do what works best for you.
Avoid alcohol
However much relaxed you may feel after your drink, in reality alcohol reduces sleep quality by activating the sympathetic nervous system and decreasing REM sleep. Just one to two drinks can already negatively affect your nighttime recovery. So if you’re going to drink, do it at least earlier the day to have less impact in your sleep.
Carbohydrate and tryptophan rich evening meal
Have a meal rich in carbohydrates in the evening but leave 2-4 hours before bedtime for digestion. This allows your heart rate to lower in time for good amounts of deep sleep. Eating kefir and other foods rich in tryptophan like whey protein, cheese, meat, and poultry in the evening can also promote good sleep since tryptophan is converted to serotonin and melatonin.
Schedule heavy workouts earlier
Do your heavy workouts earlier in the day and avoid working late into the evening to prevent overstimulation of the sympathetic nervous system. This allows you to relax and wind down early enough before bedtime. Also you’d need enough time for digesting your post-workout meal which becomes impossible if you only have an hour for it and a very light meal doesn’t do so great for the recovery purpose.
Optimize your sleeping conditions
Set up an ideal sleep environment: a cool room (about 18 degrees Celsius is suitable for most), blackout curtains, and a comfortable bed and pillows. Try ventilating the room in the evening before bedtime. Try using a fan during hot season.
Consider Supplements
Certain supplements can help, but those designed for sleep might not be very effective if poor sleep hygiene or high stress levels are the main issues. If you’re stressed and your sympathetic nervous system is overactive, try a supplement which contains ingredients like GABA, L-theanine, lemon balm, and valeriana or chamomile. These ingredients have calming effects on the nervous system and can help you fall asleep more easily and achieve deeper sleep. I also recommend taking magnesium in the evening. Sleep teas containing chamomile, lemon balm, and lavender seem to work well also. Sometimes I’ve used melatonin, but it seems to work best temporarily for jet lag, with its effectiveness decreasing with long-term use. And anyway, if you’re supporting your melatonin production with proper sunlight exposure, supplementation with it probably becomes unnecessary.
Final thoughts
Although I’m not a big fan of recommending drugs, if these tips don’t help and your insomnia persists, it might be a good idea to see a doctor for assistance. Chronic sleep deprivation is hard on the body and mind and, as mentioned earlier, can lead to many health and well-being issues. If you’re stuck deep in the loop of insomnia, it’s also more difficult to have the muscle to work on sleep hygiene and other issues so breaking the sleeplessness cycle can be the right first step to take.
Sources
https://www.verywellhealth.com/morning-sunlight-exposure-3973908
https://www.firstbeat.com/fi/blogi/miksi-muka-alkoholi-ei-sovi-kuntoilijalle/
https://longevity.stanford.edu/lifestyle/2023/08/17/more-sunlight-exposure-may-improve-sleep
https://www.silmaasema.fi/artikkeli/sininen-valo.html
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321784#how-long-does-it-take-to-metabolize-caffeine
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13880209.2018.1557698
https://www.mmsports.fi/lisaravinteet/vitamiinit-ja-mineraalit/uni/body-science-wellness-series-3-kpl-deep-sleep.html