Setting Up the Perfect Sleep

Chronically sleeping less than 7hrs per night increases Alzheimer’s risk by 30% and heart disease by 48%.

In fact, chronic sleep deprivation is now considered a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease comparable to smoking, high blood pressure and obesity.

I was as shocked as you probably are when I learned that.

A sobering realisation.

A call to action that we ALL ought to be doing our due diligence in ensuring sleep is a non-negotiable priority.

So now I’m faced with the daunting task of condensing an incredibly complex topic into a short(ish), digestible newsletter, but hopefully this intro brings you value nonetheless.

Before I give you some practical tips, realise that proper sleep hygiene doesn’t begin from when your head hits the pillow at night. It actually starts in the morning, and there are a series of decisions you can make throughout the day to set yourself up for a restorative night. This week however, we’ll be focusing on evening-based strategies.

So let’s get started:

Environment matters. There are 4 environmental criteria for a physiologically restorative sleep. They are: Dark, Quiet, Cold and Safe. Now most of us are lucky enough to sleep safely every night in a literal sense (no bears or sabretooth tigers etc). But safety in this context refers more to your stress levels. For example, the place you sleep should not be the place that you work. So if you’re a ‘sit up in bed with a laptop and bash out emails’ kind of person, I recommend you move it to the couch. These types of associations have even been found to trigger a stress response that can massively impact the quality of your sleep.

Consistency. Research shows that the brain is capable of PREDICTING the onset of sleep based on recent bedtimes, releasing various hormones and neurotransmitters (such as the well-known Melatonin) that assist in our slumber. So, having inconsistent bedtimes throws this absolute super-power of a capability off-kilter, reducing our ability to get high quality sleep. Choose a sustainable bedtime and stick to it.

Which leads me to my next point…

Quality over quantity. During the night, we progress through the various stages of Light sleep, REM sleep and Deep Sleep. REM and Deep Sleep are the stages where our brain and body recuperate from the day. So whilst quantity of sleep is still very important, a restorative night of sleep is based primarily on how much time you’ve clocked up in each of those stages during the night.

Stimulants. That post-dinner coffee is interfering with your sleep, regardless of whether or not you feel like it is (my mother-in-law would kill me for saying this). It’s a stimulant, meaning it’s causing a physiological response in the brain to increase alertness. It also means the sleep-inducing hormones like Melatonin can’t work their magic. Bright light exposure has a similar effect, by the way. So get those lights dimmed (I use lamps in the evening), and try to reduce screen-time in the lead-up to bed.

Take-homes?

We can all strive to sleep more, to be more consistent with our bedtime, reduce our screen exposure, and limit (if not avoid completely) caffeine intake in the afternoon & evening.

Sleeping like a baby is something to be proud of!

So if you’re the type of person who takes your health seriously, it’s probably about time to get serious with your sleep as well.

Talk soon!

Michael

PS. I know this was a long one. Sorry guys! So if you made it this far, Mazal Tov. I respect the student in you!