Finally Get a Good Night’s Sleep - This is How
Finally Get a Good Night’s Sleep - This is How
People sometimes think that getting a good night sleep should be natural and easy. That when the light is turned out they should fall asleep quickly and sleep through the night until the alarm goes off the next morning. Unfortunately, and as is often the case, they can become exhausted and frustrated. Some assume they need to take a sleeping pill(s), when their sleep should be easy expectations backfire.
Of course, while sleep medications can initially help one to sleep, the quality of that sleep is inadequate, the meds lose their effectiveness over time, and many who take those types of medications, can grow dependent on them. Overall, it’s not idyllic.
Understanding the Better Sleep Truth
It’s absolutely true that sleeping soundly night after night and feeling refreshed and ready to go morning after morning doesn’t just happen. It does take a bit of effort and knowledge to sleep well consistently and thrive.
Understanding more about sleep and the so many short and long-term benefits that come with it is critical to prioritizing sleep. In short, if you want to really start to sleep better without becoming dependent on medications, you have to first embrace sleep. That means establishing and keeping sleep as a top priority and doing what it takes to gain restorative sleep.
What to do for Consistent, Good Night Sleep?
There are multiple factors we can integrate into our daily routines now to start sleeping better tonight. Eating higher quality foods, moving more, and managing stress all rank high on the list. I believe though, perhaps even more critical than the above, is to reset your master clock each morning.
It’s essential your brain knows a new day has started in the morning so it can release both melatonin/cortisol, the sleep/wake hormones, appropriately, i.e., on time, in proper amounts, as well as when the level of either hormone should drop. There is actually a reciprocal relationship between melatonin and cortisol, meaning that as one rises, the other should drop.
In the evenings around 8:30/9pm, melatonin levels should rise and stay elevated throughout the night. When melatonin starts to drop near 5am, cortisol should be on the rise. It’s actually cortisol with the sun that helps us to wake up with gusto and stay awake during the day. Melatonin instead brings on drowsiness at night and helps to keep us asleep.
Nowadays, I find people have an inverted relationship with their sleep/wake hormones. Many have too much cortisol in their systems in the eves and during the night which makes falling asleep and staying asleep a challenge. Add to that a several hour delay in the release of melatonin,(from 8:30/9pm to midnight and later), and you’ve now got key components for a perfect miserable night of sleep storm.
Artificial Light - The Massive, Problematic Issue for Good Sleep
Your brain is wired to get sleep cues from nature including sun/daylight, evening dimness/nighttime darkness, and cool temperature, i.e., research shows 65 degrees F as the optimal sleeping temperature for adults. When you are cut off, (which most of us are), from natural light, darkness and cool temperature, your mastery clock operates a bit like a tail-less kite darting about haphazardly in the sky.
Even when you do get outside, sunglasses and windows interfere in your master clock picking up on the cues needed for proper sleep/wake hormone release. Sadly, artificial light is not strong enough during the morning/day to communicate with your brain. Then, in the evening/nighttime, it’s too strong and causes your master clock to mix things up much to your sleep’s detriment.
How Then to Re-Set Your Master Clock?
Becoming more attuned to the sun or circadian rhythm will always be in your best interest for better sleep. Here are practical and effective steps to take to become aligned with the sun:
-Get more sun/daylight exposure in the mornings and during the day.
-Dim the lights by 8pm.
-Block blue light exposure by 8pm.
-Make your bedroom into a cave -
1) Pitch dark, and,
2) Cool
Re-Set Your Master Clock Even When You Can’t Get Outside!
Getting outside on a typical work day is easier said than done. What follows are substitutes I use to re-set my master clock when I’m stuck inside.
Mornings for 20-min completed by 8:30am latest
Light box or Sun Lamp - My box/lamp generates 10,000 Lux and I place it approximately 12-16” from my face. I avoid looking directly into the box. Instead, I look down at the table, read, write, and stay in front of the box for 20-30 minutes.
Re-Timer Glasses - These are excellent! I wear them right over my own eyeglasses. They have a 4-hour charge. On the inner stem there is a button. One press and the glasses illuminate for 30-minutes, (there are two little lights on the bottom of each lense). Two pushes of the button provides for an hour of light exposure.
Lunchtime and Late Afternoon
Repeat above.
Evenings by 8pm
Dim all lights
Blue Light Blocking Glasses - I wear these all evening until I’m in bed ready to sleep. Should I awaken in the middle of the night to use the restroom, I put these glasses back on until I return to bed.
Nighttime
Black out drapes - All drapes are closed and my bedroom is mostly dark, though not pitch dark.
Eye mask - I wear an eye mask each night to bring on the super darkness my brain craves for deep sleep.
Set the thermostat to 68 degrees F and leave on the ceiling fan - I find this temperature with a slowly oscillating fan an effective combo for great sleep temperature. Consider purchasing an inexpensive room thermometer to ascertain the ambient temperature of your bedroom at night. Experiment with sleeping temperatures between 65-69 degrees F and determine which works best for you.
Conclusion
While sleep is a natural activity for all, sleeping well is not necessarily easy to accomplish. There are a variety of reasons people struggle with sleep and frequently it’s more than one factor. However, until we start aligning our master clock with the circadian rhythm on a daily basis, great sleep can remain elusive for many.
Gaining approximately one hour of exposure to natural or strong light in the morning and during the day; reducing artificial light as much as possible in the evening and nighttime, as well as bringing down the ambient bedroom temperature all work in unison. Your brain will finally pick up on the information it needs for proper sleep/wake hormone management that ultimately leads to the coveted great sleep prize.