Tips to improve sleep quality

If you sleep less than 7 hours a night, read this:

When you regularly get less than 7 hours of sleep, you increase the risk of:

• Stroke

• Depression

• Weight gain

• Loss of memory

• Heart complications

• Increased blood pressure

Apply these 10 habits and you’ll experience the best sleep you’ve ever had…

1) Journaling

Stimulation, like TV or playing on your phone, creates open loops.

Putting them in a journal closes them.

How?

Journaling lets your mind actively come up with solutions.

Once it’s written down, your brain sees it as stored.

As a result, your mind rests.

Of course, cutting out TV, phone, not watching news is still the best way to avoid simulation.

Read a book. It's calming, no blue light exposure, increases vocabulary, enhances brain power. 

2) Limit blue light before bed

This artificial light comes from screens like your:

• TV

• Phone

• Computer

It makes your brain think it’s daytime and suppresses melatonin.

Avoid blue light 1 hour before trying to sleep.

If you can’t, invest in blue-light glasses.

Jump to end of point 1.

Read a book! 

3) Cut caffeine early

Caffeine destroys the quality of your sleep.

This stimulant blocks your adenosine production.

What’s adenosine?

The hormone responsible for promoting sleep.

 Caffeine will stay in your body for roughly 10 hours.

So if you go to bed at 10pm:

Don’t have caffeine past 11am.

8 hours of quality sleep beats 4 cups of coffee any day.

4) Sleep at a consistent time

Sleep is regulated by your circadian rhythm.

This is your system's clock.

If you go to bed early one night, then late the next, you throw it off.

Create a regular time to go to bed and wake up.

You’ll fall asleep quickly and wake up energized.

5) Optimize your room

To optimize for sleep, focus on:

1) Light

2) Comfort

3) Temperature

The easiest way to cover all three:

• Blackout curtains 

• An air conditioner or fan

• A high-quality pillow and mattress 

This is an investment in your health, not an expense.

6) Let your mind relax

The open loops created by stimulating activities gives your brain a problem to solve.

It keeps the analytical part of your mind engaged.

These “problems” keep you awake.

Schedule a zero-work time 1 hour before bed.

Your brain needs the break.

7) Meditation

Take 10 minutes out of your day to meditate.

In many studies, meditation has been shown to:

• Reduce anxiety 

• Calm your mind

• Lower your heart rate

Which all helps you fall (and stay) asleep.

Great apps if you’re new to meditation are Calm and Headspace.

8) Get sunlight

Get natural light for 5-15 minutes after waking.

This helps your circadian rhythm know the day is starting. 

And by doing so, regulates your sleep cycle and makes it easier to fall asleep.

The earlier the light exposure, the earlier you fall asleep.

9) Keep temperatures cool

The optimal temperature to keep your room is:

60°F to 67°F (15.6°C to 19.4°C)

This helps your body stay cool, and at a temperature that promotes sleep.

Invest in a portable A/C unit or fan if necessary.

If you live in a warm climate, you don't need to lower temperature all the way to 16-19 degrees. Lowering temperature by a few degrees than ambient temperature is more than enough. It's the relative temperature that counts as comfort to your brain and body. 

In fact, lowering temperature by too much can have opposite effect as too much cold will make you uncomfortable.

A/C means closed windows. This will also help you quieten your environment if you stay in a noisy place. Noise is also a stimulant and lowering noise helps quality of sleep immensely.

Make sure to get fresh air circulation in the room during daytime to avoid the room become muggy and stuffy.

10) Don’t exercise at night

The body prepares for sleep by reducing your:

• Heart rate

• Brain waves

• Body temperature

But exercise increases your:

• Heart rate

• Levels of arousal

• Body temperature

Make it a rule to not exercise 3 hours before bed.

10 tips for consistent sleep:

1) Journal

2) Reduce blue light

3) Cut caffeine early

4) Sleep consistently

5) Revamp your room

6) Let your mind relax

7) Meditate before bed

8) Get sunlight exposure

9) Cool your temperature

10) Don’t exercise late at night