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

Cheat codes I know now I wish I knew earlier

1. Use workouts to gain muscle, diet to burn fat and cardio to improve your overall health & longevity.

2. Eat a high protein diet comprised of whole foods for the best body composition.

3. When lifting weights use your mind to muscle connection to increase muscle contraction.

4. Upon waking drink water before coffee.

5. Delay coffee 1-2 hours upon waking. This lets cortisol clear out adenosine, which can lead to sustained energy into the afternoon.

6. Use your nose for smelling & breathing. Use your mouth for talking, tasting & eating.

7. Mouth breathing disrupts sleep, ruins oral health & can cause sleep apnea. Mouth taping at night helped me solve this.

8. Mouthwash is the biggest dental scam. Kills your oral microbiota. Avoid.

9. Avoid fluoride in your toothpaste. Use ones that have hydroxyapatite.

10. Sleep at the same times every day. Align your body with the rising & setting of the sun.

11. The 321 method for better sleep. No eating 3 hours before bed. No liquids 2 hours before. No screens 1 hour before.

12. If you look at screens at night wear bluelight blockers.

13. You sleep for 1/3 of your entire life. Learn how to optimize it and make it make it as awesome as possible.

14. Memory is fallible. When you have a good idea write it down immediately.

15. Your best ideas come in the shower, walking or in the gym. Keep a notepad ready.

16. Peel a boiled egg by rolling it around your plate for awhile until all the shells are cracked. This makes it easy to remove the complete shell in one shot.

17. Close the toilet bowl when flushing to avoid particles of filth sprouting up into your bathroom atmosphere.

18. The more you criticizes others the more you criticize yourself. If you want to judge yourself less judge others less.

19. Stay away from people who always complain. They are energy vampires.

20. Stay away from people who gossip. They are most likely gossiping about you.

21. Learn a martial art to increase discipline, confidence & release stress.

22. Seek rejection daily. This numbs you to the feeling. Also, you only get what you ask for.

23. Take complete ownership for every result in your life. The only constant in every result is you.

24. When someone is walking in your path look at their shoulder closest to you. 9 times out of 10 they will move out of the way.

25. Be in rooms where you're the dumbest person. Workout at gyms where you're the least fit person.

26. When you feel an emotion don't numb it. It'll only make it feel worse later. Feel it fully then let it go. Emotion is energy. We must let it pass.

27. You can tell a lot about someones character by how they treat service staff.

28. Money & alcohol amplify who a person is at their core.

29. When someone shows you their true colours believe them.

30. A few months a year go monk mode. Eliminate all distractions & vices and use that energy to build your health & business.

31. Who you choose as a partner will determine your level of peace, wealth & happiness.

32. Your perception is reality. If you want a better reality change your perception.

33. You'll never be as young as you are now. Do what you feel you're meant to do.

34. Your best decisions come from stillness. Stillness is amplified in nature & meditation.

35. You can only get stronger when you face problems in life. Embrace the fucking struggle.

36. Show up up, do the work & seek ways to grow. Do this every day & watch what happens.

37. Trust people who say "I don't know" more than the people who have all the answers.

38. Seek feedback from those in the arena. Not from the ones who are boo'ing from the cheap seats.

39. No one cares. Work harder.

40. Instead of giving your kids what you wish you had teach them things you wish you knew.

41. Keep a small circle. It's better to go narrow & deep than wide & shallow.

42. True wealth is about being physically & financially healthy while living in a household full of love.

That's it. Life's a game. Collect experience points, crush your enemies & explore. Hope these cheat codes help you in your journey.

If you got value out this thread:

1. Follow @FitFounder on Twitter for more of these. 

You can read this thread here. 

10 rules to change your life

These 10 rules will change your life today… (guaranteed):

Don't Neglect Your Health

To be at your best, you need to take care of your mind, body, and soul.

Every day I:

• Do a mindfulness meditation

• Stretch

• Lift

• Eat healthily

The best investment you will ever make is your own health.

Cut Toxic People Fast

Beware of energy vampires. 

They suck the life out of you and hold you back.

Create a Personal Board of Advisors:

Experiences > Things

We're all going to die.

You can't bring things to your grave.

Over the past 6 months, I traveled to:

• The Grand Canyon

• Costa Rica and went surfing

• Sedona and hiked the Red Rocks

Take a "mental vacation" every 6 weeks.

You deserve it.

Focus on The Process

Fall in love with the journey.

We all have our ups and downs. 

The path to success is a marathon. Slow down and enjoy the ride.

The goal isn't just to get there. 

It's to have fun along the way.

Find Your Calling

Find the intersection of your:

• Passion

• Mission

• Vocation

• Profession

You only live once.

Make sure you're doing work that feels like play.

If you're checking the clock, quit.

Here is an Ikigai template for inspiration:

Experiments > Perfection

I used to be obsessed with making things perfect.

I learned it's more important to continuously improve:

• Write

• Ship it

• Learn

• Iterate

• Repeat

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." - Edison

Learn Like Your Life Depends On It

The best entrepreneurs are lifelong learners.

I spend 6 hours a day learning from:

• Books

• Twitter

• Mentors

• Podcasts

• YouTube videos

Follow your passion. Be curious. Have fun.

Live By the 5-Second Rule

Start now. Don't waste any time. 

You are one action away from changing the trajectory of your life.

Hesitation is the kiss of death.

Have a bias for action.

“Your feelings don’t matter. The only thing that matters is what you DO.” - Mel Robbins. 

Do Things That Are Obvious

Eliminate distractions.

You must say no to things that are not in your calling.

Focus is the scarcest resource in life.

It's either a "Hell Yes" or a "No."

Make Something People Want

I've wasted 1,000+ hours working on shit no one wanted.

Seek feedback. Ask for advice. Listen.

You need 3 things to be successful:

1. Unbelievable people

2. Spend as little money as possible

3. Make something customers want

Let's win together 🥇

You can read this thread on Twitter by Matt Gray here.