Perfecting your sleep 😴
How to get the most out of your sleep?
I count it as a blessing that I can effortlessly fall asleep at night (or day) for as long (or as short) as I want. This superpower comes in handy for a quick recharge in the middle of a stressful day. But that’s just one of the teeny-tiny benefits of sleep.
Here are the most common questions about sleep and more:
How do I know if I’m getting perfect sleep?
Two things:
You wake up naturally in the morning (without an alarm or wake-up aid).
You feel fully rested and energized after waking up, ready to charge the day.
Waking up naturally means that your circadian rhythms are set. A fancy way of saying that your body clocks are in synch with natural time.
If you feel fully rested after waking up, this means that your sleep quality was excellent. It’s important for all the body and brain repairs, growth, etc. that happen during sleep.
How can I start waking up naturally? (without an alarm or a wake-up aid)
Contrary to what I used to think, it’s not that difficult. Just by being outdoors around sunrise and sunset, you can start waking up naturally within 2-3 days.
It’s all about synching your master clock (it’s in your brain) to the natural time.
Your master clock receives direct input from the eyes. The biggest clue is sunlight ☀️.
Get out in the sun soon after waking up for 2-10 mins. Even if it’s cloudy, there are enough photons outside for the eyes to get the signal.
💡 Did you know that eyes are an extension of brain? Imagine you’re trying to squeeze fit brain inside the skull and eyes pop out. Something like that must have happened during evolution, not in a Tom-and-Jerry kinda way though.
Another good time to be outdoors is around sunset. Your brain gets a signal that sleep time is approaching.
What are the basics of perfecting sleep?
A consistent bedtime.
Exposing yourself to direct daylight soon after waking up. Sunlight through windows is 50% less effective. Go out and soak in the sun.
Getting 30-45 mins of exercise/workout ideally in the mornings.
Dimming your home lights in the evenings.
Not overdoing alcohol and caffeine.
Sleeping in a cool room (18-20 deg Celsius or 67-68 deg Fahrenheit).
Winding down with a hot shower, calm music, or a relaxed reading session.
What are some good sleep supplements?
Magnesium Threonate or Magnesium Glycinate — 200-400 gm 30 mins before sleep. Different forms of Magnesium have different effects on our bodies. These are the only two forms of Magnesium that help as a sleep aid. People with heart issues need to check with their doctor first.
Theanine — 200-400 gm puts you in a hypnotic state or simply helps switch off your thoughts. People with sleepwalking issues or night terrors should avoid it as it can create very vivid dreams.
Apigenin — 50 ml. It’s a derivative of Chamomile. Or you can simply drink Chamomile tea.
What are the best natural ways to induce sleep at night?
Dimming lights in your home starting evening. It’s a signal to your body clocks that bedtime is approaching.
Taking a sauna or hot shower before bed.
Drinking Chamomile tea.
Leisure reading. Nothing intense or thought-provoking. The other day my partner couldn’t put his gripping fiction down and overshot his bedtime by 2 hours!
What’s melatonin?
Melatonin is a hormone released by a tiny gland deep inside your brain.
It’s naturally released when you wake up in the morning. Almost like starting a melatonin timer. It keeps releasing throughout the day.
By night, the high amounts of melatonin tell your brain that it’s time to sleep. That’s why melatonin is called the hormone of darkness. Melatonin levels decline by morning.
Can I take melatonin supplements?
Melatonin only makes you sleepy, it doesn’t help you stay asleep.
It’s not a good idea to take melatonin supplements because of the following reasons:
Studies show that these supplements help you sleep faster only by 3.9 mins and improve the quality of sleep only by 2.2%.
The amount of melatonin in supplements isn’t well regulated. You might end up taking unnatural, crazy amounts.
In a lab experiment, they ended up shrinking testicles in rats…so why risk!
How much sleep do I need?
There is no one size fits all but for most adults 7.5 - 8.5 hrs is good. Anything less than 7 hrs is a red flag.
In a study, a group of people was made to sleep for 6 hrs at night for a week. They were found to have higher levels of beta-amyloid, a toxic protein found in people with Alzheimer’s.
The likely reason is that 6 hrs aren’t enough for the brain to cleanse itself of all the toxins.
How big a deal is it if I hit the bed at different times every night?
A consistent bedtime is essential to set your circadian rhythms. When you keep changing the time you hit the bed, your body clocks go haywire.
It badly affects your focus, productivity, creativity, and mood besides other ill effects on your physical and mental fitness.
I can’t always stick to my bedtime. What to do?
Stuff happens. You could be working late, traveling, jet-lagged, attending to your newborn or sick toddler, or just partying over the weekend. No one can stick to a schedule 💯.
Go by the 80% rule. If you can make it 80% of the time, you’re mostly good.
When jet lagged, the more you expose yourself to sunlight, the faster you synch your body clocks with the current time.
I get up in the middle of the night and can’t fall back to sleep. What to do?
It might sound counterintuitive but the best thing for you to do is to go to bed earlier. You are most likely pushing yourself to stay awake past your natural bedtime.
Let’s say you start feeling sleepy at 9:00 p.m. That’s your natural bedtime. Your internal sleep timer sets off, whether you go to bed or not. You might actually go to bed at 12:00 but your timer is up by 3:00 a.m. and you find yourself awake.
I wake up at night to pee. Does that affect my sleep?
It’s 💯 natural. It’s not related to age. If you had a lot of fluids in the evenings, you are bound to empty your bladder at night. Most people fall back to sleep easily afterward.
Just make sure you don’t switch on any bright lights. It’s a good idea to have dim lights in your bathroom for night visits.
Are naps good?
They are great as long as they don’t disrupt your night's sleep.
I love afternoon naps that last for 5-20 mins. They recharge your mind, especially on a stressful day.
💡 For an extra boost of creativity, have a shot of espresso ☕️ or black coffee (without sugar) before you nap. If you are stuck with a problem, you’ll wake up with solutions!
Can I split my sleep into day and night?
Short answer — No.
Long answer — Night sleep is made up of 90-min cycles. Each cycle consists of:
Light sleep
Non-REM deep sleep
REM sleep
Every phase has its own functions. e.g., Deep sleep releases growth hormones, builds and repairs muscles, bones, and tissue, and carries out immune system functions.
REM sleep carries out a file transfer, moving your learnings from the day to long-term memory and deleting unwanted files. It’s like moving data from a USB stick (hippocampus) to your hard drive (cortex).
The first half of your night has more deep-sleep phases. The latter half has more REM phases. There are 4-6 cycles in all.
We can’t split our sleep into day and night because we can’t replicate these phases and cycles in their natural form.
Kids heal faster than adults when it comes to wounds and bruises. How come they need more sleep than adults?
Repair is just one of the functions of sleep. Kids are in the process of growing. This includes the development of the brain and body tissues, bones, etc. Sleep produces growth hormones so that their brains and bodies can develop and function properly.
Although the stem cells in kids help them heal faster from wounds and injuries, all kids, including teenagers need more sleep than adults.
I love my coffee. How bad is it for sleep?
It depends on your genetics and tolerance for caffeine. Some people can have caffeine as late as 4:00 p.m. without affecting their sleep. I’m one of those. 🙋🏻♀️
For some people, even one cup of coffee at 11:00 a.m. can disrupt their night's sleep.
You need to test and see what works best for you. As a general rule, don’t go overboard with caffeine, and don’t have any after 3:00 p.m.
How do I shut down my mind? Ruminating keeps me awake.
When your brain isn’t listening to you, turn to your body.
Relax your body using Shavasana or Yoga Nidra. It’s also called NSDR (non-sleep deep rest). It’s when your body is in a relaxed state but your mind is still awake.
Apps like Headspace and Calm also offer great guided meditations and sleep stories.
⭐️ Bonus sleep tip
Raising your feet above the chin level while sleeping helps with glymphatic clearance of the brain. It clears the brain of toxins including the ones found in people with Alzheimer’s.
Putting a pillow under your ankles while you sleep will do the trick.
Why are people groggy when they sleep less?
Two parts of the brain play a crucial role in our emotional health:
Prefrontal cortex — It’s like the CEO of the brain.
Amygdala — It’s the emotional center of the brain.
A full night's sleep sets up strong communication between the two, like a productive meeting.
When you’re sleep-deprived, the two aren’t on the same page. You wake up groggy and emotional.
It’s the sleep that helps us get over the tough emotional experiences of the day. When we say, time heals all wounds, it is mainly the sleep that’s doing most of the healing.
I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that perfecting your sleep can solve almost all of your life problems. At the least, it will give you the ideas to solve the most pressing of those problems. So don’t stay up late. Have a good sleep tonight 🌙.
Resources
Neuroscientists Matt Walker and Andrew Huberman have done enough research to help us make the most of our sleep. When I set out to find answers to perfecting my sleep, their talks and podcasts were a goldmine.