Hi everyone. Lately I have developed a fascination for improving sleep quality. There is more and more research showing it is less about time on the pillow (although increasing this is a good start) and more about the quality of the sleep and sleep efficiency. I have provided a few pointers on how to sleep more efficiently and a few sleep “hacks”, because you don’t want to disrupt your bedtime routines too much.
We all know sleep affects a lot of things in our life. These things range from increasing our sporting performance, our mood in the morning and how tired we feel, right through to whether we lose more fat or lose more muscle in an energy deficit. Some of you may also be aware of the term “sleep hygiene”. This term refers to building a routine with regards to our sleep to maximise our chances of gaining the most hours of quality sleep possible.
Some easy work-ons to improve our sleep hygiene include:
- Building a routine for sleep, so having a similar bedtime each night. This will allow for our bodies circadian rhythm to settle into a pattern allowing us to fall asleep faster.
- Our circadian rhythm starts when we wake up, so try and gain exposure to sunlight if possible in the first two hours of waking to kick start the right hormones for getting us off to sleep later that same day, doing exercise early in the morning will also have a similar effect.
- Having a room that is quiet and cool (around 18 degrees), and wearing appropriate pyjamas and covers so you don’t wake too hot or too cold mid sleep.
- Reducing caffeine consumption in the late afternoon/evening, caffeine has a half-life of around 5 hours, so if you drink a strong coffee (150mg of caffeine) at 17.00, then at 22.00 there is still 75mg of caffeine in your system which may reduce your chances of falling asleep.
- Ensure a dark room with no light sources, (these include: the small red lights left on plug sockets or the small LED left on the TV).
- Avoiding the use of tablets, phones and TVs immediately prior to sleep. The bright (blueish) lights emitted from these devises reduce the body’s production of our sleep-inducing hormone melatonin.
Okay, but what if my normal sleep routine includes half an hour on social media or surfing the internet on your tablet or phone before bed and I don’t want to change?
Fortunately for all those in the Iphone/Ipad family on the new iOS 9.3 update there is a new option for “Night Shift” mode. This shifts the bluer colours emitted by your devise to the warmer colours which may help you get off to sleep easier, as these colours do not inhibit melatonin as much. Have a look for this option in the “Display and Brightness” tab in settings next time you are late-night surfing. This may be a small life “hack”, similar options are wearing orange tinge sunglasses whilst watching TV late at night as this will also reduce the amount of blue light reaching your eyes. However, what I would recommend is building a sleep routine that includes some quiet time before bed, maybe reading a book for half an hour to help you power down and sleep efficiently.
I hope you have a few new ideas of how to improve your sleep. Good sleep can be seen as having a multiplier effect on everything in your life, from your training right through to your business and social life as well as helping you make better decisions (helpful with regards to food choices). So start thinking more about how you can get the best night sleep.
Thanks from reading, goodnight and don’t let the bed bugs bite!!
Cheers – Hudson xx
