The older we get, the more willing we are to sacrifice our sleep for a variety of reasons. Maybe there’s an assignment you have to complete, a test you have to study for, or even a party you didn’t want to miss out on. Many of us can agree that we may not be getting the sleep that our bodies and minds need. Some of us may argue that our lives are just too hectic and too busy to squeeze in the recommended 8 hours of sleep. In Arianna Huffington’s The Sleep Revolution, she points out that it’s important to note that the quantity as well as the quality of sleep matters in order for us to be healthier mentally and physically. Consequently, we become more productive individuals. Over the past couple of weeks, I have been trying out some of the recommendations Huffington points out in her book in order to attain a good night’s sleep and how to “master sleep”.
Less Light is Better
I have always been the type of person to close my curtains and my door all the way to prevent any source of light coming into my room. So I felt that I already had this checked off in my mental to-do list before bed when I read this in Huffington’s book. The less light you’re exposed to before bed, the better because you will slowly be preparing yourself to end your day and to sleep which comes with less light of course.
No Technology at least 30 Mins Before Sleeping
The last thing many of us see right before you fall asleep is probably something on your phone. Maybe it’s an e-mail you should have responded to way earlier or an angry text from bae that you find somewhat flattering. Results of a survey showed that more than half of people in the United States sleep with or next to their cellphones. The same concept about light applies here as well. When our eyes are exposed to blue light from the phone, our melatonin levels drop down which makes us more alert and thus difficult to fall asleep sooner. Aside from the light, mentally we might become a little distracted as well which again, could get in the way of falling asleep as fast as you would if you hadn’t looked at your phone right before bed.
Ever since Apple came out with the Night-Mode update, I have been noticing that I fall asleep faster than nights when I didn’t have that feature. For me, it’s a little difficult to not look at my phone at least a half hour before sleeping, so I might end up trying Huffington’s recommendation of leaving the phone outside the room entirely for the night to avoid reaching for it.
Be as Active as You Can Be
Huffington mentions that simple things like yoga and taking the oh so dreadful flight of stairs instead of the elevator can help improve quality of sleep. When you’re a little more active throughout the day, you will have an easier time winding down later when it’s time for bed. A workout as short as 20 minutes a couple of times a week will be plenty for you to sleep better when it’s time to end your day.
I have been using the Nike+ Training app which allows you to create a profile so you can track your workouts. The app has workouts that are ranked by level of intensity and are categorized based on whether you want to work on your strength, endurance, or mobility. I have been trying to squeeze in a workout most mornings and I definitely sleep better on days that I worked out in the morning. In other words, I find myself waking up less throughout the night.
Avoid Caffeine in the Evening
What we eat and drink a couple of hours before we plan on going to sleep affect the way we sleep. Do any of you remember that article that came out last year that listed the top 50 colleges that GrubHub ranked that consumed the most caffeine? Hofstra University made that list! In fact, we ranked at number 3: http://labs.time.com/story/caffeinated-colleges/
Caffeine stays in our system for hours even after consumption so the effects of coffee can last longer than we might need it to. Additionally, caffeine is a diuretic which means that it pulls a lot of moisture from our body. So yes, that’s why coffee makes you pee a lot. If you have coffee too late, chances are you may want to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. This disrupts your sleep cycle which most likely would be your REM or deep sleep phase. Once disrupted, it takes longer and a harder time to get back to sleep. Huffington recommends that caffeine shouldn’t be consumed anytime around the evenings.
I have switched out coffee with green tea for the evenings. Green tea still has some caffeine in it but it’s definitely not as strong as the caffeine in a typical cup of black tea or coffee. Green tea has a calming effect for me which helps put me in a relaxed mood before I sleep. If you don’t want to spend money, make your own calming tea with lemon and honey. A simple recipe can be found here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/56445/honey-lemon-tea/
Overall, I have been getting better quality sleep over the past few weeks using these simple tips, even though I haven’t necessarily been hitting the target of 8 hours each night. I know college is demanding and difficult at times, but we forget to take care of ourselves in the simplest ways. Sleep is something we’ll always need. No matter how much busier we will get, if we can’t get the rest that we need, we will be setting ourselves up for damage.
Arianna Huffington’s book is well written and thorough enough for anyone to understand the importance of sleep. She addressed the concern we should have for our own health regarding sleep. She also discussed how in today’s culture, the sleep deprived have some sort of pride to them, especially in college students where all-nighters seem to be the norm. If you get a chance, check out her book for yourself so you can benefit from what she has to say.