Getting better sleep to jumpstart your day

About one third of people in the world experience sleep problems. Being able to sleep well can make a big difference in the quality of work you can accomplish during the day and relationships you have with others. It can also improve your overall physical health. For that reason, sleeping more soundly and better is worth working on. In my experience, many people don’t think that simple fixes can improve the quality and amount of sleep. I know I did not think so either. Ultimately after a multi year journey trying to improve my sleep, I found that the simple things really did matter a lot. Let me tell you about them. Let’s go back to the basics.

According to the CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/about/index.html), better sleep practices begin with ideas like this:

• Going to bed and getting up at the same time every day.
• Keeping your bedroom quiet, relaxing, and at a cool temperature.
• Turning off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime.
• Avoiding large meals and alcohol before bedtime.
• Avoiding caffeine in the afternoon or evening.
• Exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy diet.

This article from Harvard Health talked about creating a sleep sanctuary (https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/sleep-hygiene-simple-practices-for-better-rest)

• Reduce or mask noise. Heavy curtains and rugs can help absorb sound. A sleep machine that provides white noise, or a recording of soothing sounds such as falling rain, can mask outside noise.
• Minimize light. Consider light-blocking curtains or shades if outside lights shine into your bedroom.
• Replace your mattress and pillows if they're worn or uncomfortable.
• Most people sleep better in a room that's slightly cool. Keep room temperature around 65°F to 68° F at night.
• Only use the bedroom for sleep and intimacy.
• Have children and pets sleep elsewhere.
• Keep electronic devices and anything work-related in another room.

Exercise improves sleep also: (https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/exercising-for-better-sleep)

• Exercising 30 minutes each day may help with sleep quality
• Exercising can help release endorphins and improve mood and sleep

I tried many of these things. Although I thought I was doing the right things in order to sleep better, I was not able to see any patterns until I kept a sleep diary. A sleep diary is a written record of how much you sleep and the quality of your sleep along with any stressors that might have affected your sleep.

Things that one might include in a sleep diary include when you:

• Go to bed.
• Wake up during the night.
• Wake up in the morning.
• Take naps.
• Exercise.
• Drink alcohol or caffeinated drinks.
• Take medications.

An example of my sleep diary

When I did a sleep diary even just for 1 week, I started being more mindful about following better sleep hygiene practices. Just the simple action of noticing my actions more helped me adjust them to sleep better. It was a case of what gets measured, improves.

What caused the biggest improvements for me?

Managing my light exposure improved my sleep the most.

After doing the sleep diary and noticing things in my day to day life, I found out that I was very sensitive to light from electronics and just any ambient light in general. I tried to create a bedroom sleep sanctuary, but as a remote worker, I was not able to remove electronics entirely from my bedroom. I was frustrated when I was not able to completely control my bedroom environment to be more comfortable. While I might have given up there, I eventually learned to:

• Use an eye mask to cover my eyes when getting in bed and going to sleep. I found there are a variety of eye masks, and I found one that contains lavender herbs. The scent of lavender can help one sleep.
• I chose a sunrise alarm clock that wakes you up with gradual light instead of focusing on a typical sound-making alarm clock.
• I also created a sleep routine around shutting down and not using my technology about 30 minutes to an hour before bedtime.
• If I woke up in the middle of the night and was not able to get back to sleep, I did not use my technology, but instead looked at a book or wrote. Sometimes that helped me get back to sleep.

A second method of improving sleep involved reducing my dependence on social media and dopamine releasing apps on my phone.

Although I was not able to totally eliminate social media in my life, I was able to minimize its effects on my sleep by:

• Removing social media apps from my phone to prevent scrolling at night.
• Deleting some social media apps that had a more negative effect.
• Using a website blocker on my phone and computer so that I would be less tempted to go to social media sites or other sites that are triggering for me.

Finally, exercise made a big difference for my sleep too:

• Being a remote worker, I had struggled to move around enough during my workday. When I incorporated stretching for 5 or 10 mins between work commitments, I started to feel a lot better.

• I used a stretching youtube video to help me and guide me

• I also made an effort to get 30 minutes of exercise daily if possible.

Some of these adjustments to my daily routine helped me sleep better. Although I don't always get quality sleep, it has improved some and I feel that makes all this effort worthwhile. I think keeping a sleep diary is a beneficial practice that I may continue doing so that I can see my stressors and be more mindful of what is affecting my life and sleep.

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