Far too many people have bragged to me over the years about how little sleep they get on a nightly basis. It seems to be almost cultural these days. I’m sure it’s impressive to a certain type of person, but those that choose to go short on sleep regularly, are choosing a very foolish path.
Sleep:
Sleep is such an important part of the puzzle. Getting adequate sleep will help to make the steps stick. You can make progress regardless of whether you’re getting good sleep so don’t get discouraged but I’m always going to speak in terms of optimal so that we’re not aiming too low.
I’ve struggled with sleep my whole life. It certainly never helped that I worked the evening shift nearly all my working years. So this step is still hard for me. I often find myself awake in the night. But prior to making big changes I could go a week without any sleep. I’ve not had that level of trouble since.I changed all my bedding, mattress, and pillows to increase the quality of the sleep I get. It made a huge difference for me. My mattress wasn’t too bad, but it was never comfortable. My pillows just didn’t fit my sleeping position, and my sheets all left me too hot in the night. The addition of earplugs and a sleep mask makes a big difference as well.
There has been a lot of focus in the media recently on sleep deprivation and its effects on quality of life. The studies I’ve read all seem to suggest that information age humans like us don’t get enough sleep to recover. Over time this deprivation can affect cognition and health. That makes sense. Historically people slept more than we do now especially prior to the invention of the light bulb. It seems pretty logical that sleep and sleep quality will help you toward our goal.
Here’s a list of the sleep hygiene steps I use and links to the specific items I use and suggest:
- Don’t eat too late or too much: eating too late or going to bed too full can really harm your chances of good sleep.
- Follow a regular sleep schedule: Going to bed early and waking early can reduce the stress of rushing to work in the morning. It can also give you time to eat a healthier breakfast.
- Black out your bedroom or use a sleep mask (or both): This is a big one for me. This is the best sleep mask I’ve found. It’s soft and blocks the light better than all the others I’ve tried. I also use two sets of drapes over the windows because there is a light on my street that shines right in.
- If noises in the night bother you like they do me, use earplugs: I’m very sensitive to noise, so earplugs make a huge difference.
- Put your phone, devices, or computers away at least an hour before bed time (the light can confuse your circadian rhythm making your brain ready to wake up in the blue morning light emitted by your devices) (switching your screen to a warm tone can help and this function is an available option in iOS devices now)
- Cover your digital alarm clock or turn off the illumination if that’s an option.
- Change your bedding to optimize your perfect sleeping temp (If you wake up sweating find a thinner duvet make sure it’s nice and cool in the house before bed): I use a thin wool blanket and these good high quality sheets.
- A good mattress: Bed in a box makes the one that I use & recommend. They’re made in America and I’m very happy with mine.
- A pillow that fits your sleep position: I ordered my Bed in a box foam pillow with my mattress and I love it. They have separate models for side sleepers and back sleeper. I use the side sleeper pillow and it holds my neck at the right position so I don’t toss and turn in the night.
- If you have problems with heartburn in the night I’ve had great results using Prilosec.
- Very small doses of Melatonin may help as well: Melatonin is a hormone produced naturally by our bodies. It plays a role in regulating sleep. I suggest using micro doses of Melatonin rather than the 1mg – 5mg capsules you commonly see in stores. Melatonin is produced by a very small gland in the brain. If we overwhelm the system with high supplemental doses of the hormone it’s possible the gland will slow or stop its natural production. I use 300 mcg (micrograms). Take it right when you’re going to sleep. Keep your room bat cave dark or use your sleep mask for best results. It’s also optimal to take Melatonin at your preferred bed time in order to help train your system to equate that time of day with sleep.
Far too many people have bragged to me over the years about how little sleep they get on a nightly basis. It seems to be almost cultural these days. I’m sure it’s impressive to a certain type of person, but those that choose to go short on sleep regularly, are choosing a very foolish path. It’s been shown that our minds must have proper time to rest and recuperate in order to function properly. I suspect that there are many people around whose cognition is very compromised on a daily basis due to lack of sleep, perhaps even nearing that of a drunk driver. It seems reasonable to assume that’s why they think it’s cool to get so little sleep in the first place. Don’t be that guy.
Get at least 8 hours a night if you can. If you find you sleep longer, sleep longer. Somewhere between 7-10 is ideal depending on the individual. For young people 10 is better. Don’t take my word for it, just search the many sleep studies that have been done over the years and you’ll find that none tell you 5 hours makes you cool. Enough about that.