How to Sleep Better (and Need Less Every Night)
Many of us find it difficult to get enough sleep every night, but do we get a good sleep? While getting enough sleep is important, better sleep is a better ally than longer sleep. We talked to a sleep specialist and did a number of studies to help you get better sleep and need less sleep. Here’s how.
This post was originally published in 2013. In honor of World Sleep Day, today we will revive this old feature on how to improve z.
Most of us find it difficult to get enough sleep.
Let’s make sure we’re on the same page from the get-go: you need sleep and chances are you’re not getting enough anyway. This guide will help you improve the quality of your sleep so you can survive on less, but it won’t be helpful if you don’t know how much sleep is right for you to start. In truth, each of us needs a different amount of sleep in order to be productive, and these “8 hours” are more of a guideline than a rule. In fact, some research suggests that sleeping too long can harm your health. Photo by Toshiyuki IMAI .
We’ve discussed how to get good sleep patterns and get rid of a dysfunctional sleep relationship, so if you’re having trouble sleeping, be sure to follow this guide first. Our goal in this post is to help you improve your sleep to the point where you can fine tune and dial in the amount you get according to what you really need. You will spend less time tossing and turning and more time to truly restful sleep.
Why better sleep is more important than more sleep
We often hear about the dangers of not getting enough sleep , but there are also studies that show that too much sleep is also a problem . One study published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research concluded that sleep quality is more important than sleep quantity when it comes to feeling rested and rejuvenated.
So where does this leave us? First, start tracking your sleep and find the perfect time to sleep . There are great apps out there that can help . Eight hours of sleep is useless if you spend it tossing and turning or tossing and turning, or if you only sleep 3-4 hours. Trying to fix bad sleep habits by going to bed earlier is like trying to lose weight by spending more time in the gym without changing the duration of your workout. Once you learn how to optimize your time, you will see better results.
Keys to Better, Quality Sleep
Optimizing sleep is heavily dependent on three things: preparation (forming good sleep habits), the environment (setting your environment for optimal sleep), and time (getting the sleep you need when you need it). We met with Dr. Nitun Verma, MD, a Stanford-trained sleep medicine specialist and medical director of the Washington Sleep Disorders Center in Fremont , to provide some tips to help you improve your sleep quality. less will be needed in the long run. Photo by Joey Ito .
Training
The first step is to develop habits that will help you fall asleep faster, sleep longer, and feel more comfortable while relaxing. For instance:
- Exercise regularly . The goal here isn’t to tire yourself out, but the National Sleep Foundation stated that exercising in the afternoon can improve sleep in the evening . In particular, morning or afternoon exercise will help you fall asleep faster and with fewer problems. Just don’t do the exercise right before bed as it backfires.
- Install a kinder and softer alarm . Ditch the incredibly loud and annoying alarm clock and try something new that makes waking up easier and more natural. Grab an alarm clock app to wake you up with music or soothing sounds, or try turning on an alarm light that gradually raises the room’s light levels as you get closer to your wake-up time.
- Cut out alcohol, cut out caffeine and watch cigarettes . One study published in 1994 tackled all three topics and concluded that alcohol can be relaxing and help you fall asleep, but it disrupts the sleep cycle when you leave the house. The end result is a hectic, hectic night in which you wake up more often than usual. Caffeine has a different effect. It lengthens the second phase of your sleep cycle (when your brain begins to reorganize and process the day), which is great for naps, but not for deep nights. Caffeine shortens the third and fourth phases, during which REM sleep and dreaming occur. On the other hand, cigarettes or, in particular, nicotine in small doses can be relaxing, but too much keeps you awake and completely prevents sleep onset.
Reduce your screen time . We’ve mentioned this before , but research after research points to the notion that electronic devices damage our sleep cycles . Dr. Verma advised turning off your gadgets at least 1-2 hours before bed, even those with e-ink . Two hours is better, but admittedly impractical for many. “Tablet / phone / TV screens are so bright they can confuse the brain’s suprachiasmatic nucleus , or SCN,” he explains. “A bright light too late at night can confuse the brain and make it think that it is 2 pm when it’s 2 am. Even if sleep occurs, it will be less deep and therefore less restorative. ” Photo by Dreaming Poet (Shutterstock).
- Meditate before bed . We’ve shared one sleep-centered meditation method to help you fall asleep, but there are many others . Try to imagine a dream that you would like to see, or if you woke up in the middle of the night, relax, focus on the dream, and try to visualize where your dream stopped.
- Improve your evening ritual . Your evening ritual is important , and if you’re not working on everything from snacking (you don’t want to go to bed hungry, you wake up or sleep restlessly) to the bathroom (waking up often to go to the bathroom). bathroom can lead to shallow sleep throughout the night and disrupt the sleep cycle), you may suffer from this. Start a healthy “sleep pattern” of relaxation, which begins long before your head touches the pillow.
Environment
Before going to bed, you should also make sure that your surroundings are conducive to a good night’s rest:
Make sure your bed is really comfortable . We’ve talked about this several times before , but invest where your time goes. Since most of us spend an average of 24 years of our lives asleep, your bed deserves a serious investment. Get the right mattress , get good pillows, and get good sheets . Don’t underestimate the power of a more comfortable blanket, a pillow over an old mattress, or even a cooling pillow . Your bed is important and you need to make sure that it improves your sleep, and does not interfere with it. Photo of the Alliance .
- Adjust the temperature . Some studies have shown that the optimal sleep temperature for most adults is 60 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit . It’s too hot and you’ll start having insomnia problems. Again, research says one thing, but find your sweet spot – sometimes a cool room and a hot water bottle in bed, or maybe a fan running through your body, is all you need to feel good.
- Filter out the light . LEDs and pilot lights from electronics can do as much damage to your sleep cycle as the glowing screen of your phone or tablet. We’ve already banished your electronic devices – or at least turned them off, but don’t forget to hide this pulsing light on your laptop while it’s charging. Cover these lights on your cable box, TV, or any other device in standby next to your bed while you’re on it. There are products for this , but some scotch tape is also suitable. If you, like me, live somewhere constantly lit, buy a sleep mask. Whether you splurge on expensive, adjustable ones that fit your face and have pillows, or just grab a dollar store mask that is essentially an elasticated cloth, it will work wonders for your sleep. In addition, if you are working after hours and need to sleep before sunrise or during the day, it will help you get better rest.
Eliminate distractions . Do the kids wake you up? You might not be able to do much about it, but if your phone wakes you up, buzzes with notifications or new emails, it’s time to turn it off, set quiet hours, improve your notifications to help you sleep , or just set it to silent. when you go to bed. If your area is noisy and interferes with your sleep, try a white noise generator or soothing music to drown it out and help you rest. Photo by maxriesgo (Shutterstock).
The timing
You already know it’s important how long you sleep, but for the best sleep, you really should go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. There is a raging debate about the concept of “sleep deprivation” and whether sleep can “pay off”, and different experts talk about this differently .
Dr. Verma suggests an alternative: “People who often overlook the way to improve their sleep is to wake up at the same time every day, or at least at the same hour. So instead of sleeping on the weekends, waking up at the same time and then taking a nap, you can get extra sleep without disrupting your normal wake / sleep schedule. ”
He continues: “Many of my patients have such a different wake-up schedule on weekdays and weekends that they experience the same sleepiness as people with jet lag. Even a two-hour difference is harmful, especially if they don’t get enough sleep anyway. ” If so, and you still don’t want to adjust your sleep schedule, then our tips for overcoming jet lag may be helpful .
Get help from experts
Finally, if you have trouble sleeping or have been sleeping for a long time and do not feel rested, it might be time to talk to your doctor. Sleep problems can be caused by any number of medical problems, and they are all treatable. You may have chronic insomnia, which can be treated with mild sedatives. You may also suffer from sleep apnea or another undiagnosed condition that, after treatment, can turn the hours you spend into the most peaceful hours you have ever had. At the end of the day, the only way to know for sure is to consult a doctor and perhaps take a sleep test that will fix the problem once and for all. Photo by Eric Schmuttenmayer .
Once you’ve resolved your sleep issues, the pros or with our tips above, you can start fine-tuning the amount of sleep you actually get to make sure you’re only getting enough sleep. If you’ve slept for nine or ten hours because that’s the only way to feel refreshed, but once you start putting on your mask and ditching your gadgets before bed, you’ll find that after eight you feel just as refreshed that you can start to retreat. to see what’s going on. Bonus: you have two extra hours a day to do what you want to do, and as a result, your mind and body will not suffer from wear and tear.
Dr. Nitun Verma, MD, is a Sleep Medicine Specialist and Medical Director of the Washington Sleep Disorders Center in Fremont . He has already offered his advice on improving sleep here and kindly shared his experience in this work. We thank him and you can follow him on Twitter at @nitunverma .