#06 - 5 Ways to Master Your Sleep

Sleep is arguably the most important element of our health and well-being.

When we get good sleep, so many things in our lives benefit.

When we get poor sleep, an equal number of things suffer.

Today we are going to learn how to nail sleep with advice from the author of the international bestseller Why We Sleep, Matthew Walker.

There is a huge laundry list of benefits of getting good sleep:

• Improved athletic performance

• Faster recovery

• Enhanced immune system

• Better emotional regulation

• Deeper learning

• Benefits to potential longevity

However, sleep is something many of us just do without a second thought. This is not likely to result in the best sleep possible.

We need to be intentional.

Getting better sleep should be a key consideration.

Here are some of the mistakes that can hurt sleep that we would be wise to avoid:

• Going to bed and getting up at different times every day

• Viewing lots of light after around 10 pm. This includes overhead lights and phone screens

• Caffeine. In the morning, caffeine is great. But having caffeine after around 2 pm will very likely prevent you from getting into the deepest stages of sleep

• Alcohol. While you might feel more relaxed after a drink or two, alcohol also prevents the deepest stages of sleep and causes you to wake up more often during the night

• Not getting outside enough during the day. We aren’t designed to be inside all day. The brain needs to know what time of day it is. Get outside

However, with just a few small tweaks, we can prevent any of these things from hurting our sleep.

1 - Regularity.

Our brains love patterns and regularity.

Get up at the same time and go to bed at the same time as many days as you can (including weekends).

The brain will reward you with longer and deeper sleep.

This is also the cornerstone of a healthy circadian rhythm, which governs so much of our physical and mental health.

Pick some times and stick to them as best you can.

2 - Sunlight during the day.

Put simply, we aren’t designed to spend all our time indoors.

We evolved under the sun for a reason.

Viewing sunlight and daylight helps tell our brain what time it is.

This helps it stay alert through the day and sleep soundly at night.

A great habit to get into is to get some sun in your eyes in the morning hours.

This is one of the very best ways to keep that circadian rhythm in check.

Just 5-15 minutes can provide a huge return on your time.

3 - Darkness at night.

The human body did not evolve to experience light at night.

In days gone by, when the sun went down, that was it in terms of light until the morning.

Now, we have lights on all the time.

Bright light tells the brain to be alert - not something we want when we are looking to sleep.

So, in the last couple of hours before sleeping, do your best to turn off bright overhead lights and turn on smaller, dimmer lights.

Also, turn the brightness down on your screens and use night modes and blue light filters where possible.

You will be surprised at how tired you feel.

4 - Keep it cool.

Ever struggled to fall asleep because you were too hot?

Not fun.

Our bodies’ temperatures need to drop to fall asleep.

So, turn down the temperature in your bedroom. Err on the side of a little cold.

Specifically, somewhere around 18-19 degrees Celsius is best.

Use blankets and duvets to remain warm in bed.

No more tossing and turning due to heat!

5 - Don’t lie in bed awake.

As previously mentioned, our brains love patterns.

Do your best to make your bed the place your brain associates with sleeping.

If we lie in bed awake for long periods, our brains will start to associate our beds with more wakefulness.

Not what we want.

Instead, if you can’t sleep, get up and go to another room if possible.

Read in dim light. Do calming breathing. Try NSDR. Do this until you feel tired and then go back to bed.

That’s it for today, I hope this was helpful.

Check out Matthew Walker’s book Why We Sleep for a deep dive.

Have a good one!

• Adam