how to sleep like a rock

Sleep is one of those topics that gets me all worked up.

We all know how good a solid night of sleep feels and how we function the day after, yet most people won’t make it a priority.

Yet, more than 35% of Americans are sleep deprived.

It is unequivocally the best thing that you can do for yourself.

Nearly every aspect of us is affected by sleep.

- Focus

- Recovery

- Hormonal health

- Physical well-being

- Emotional well-being

All these aspects take a hit when we aren't getting the sleep that we need.

To live the best, most fulfilling life possible, we can't afford to skip out on those 7-9 hours.

Before we get into how to sleep better, there's something that you need to understand.

Circadian rhythm

Everyone has heard of the body's Circadian rhythm, but I don't think that most know how important it really is.

Believe it or not, our bodies do not run off of the clock when we look at the time.

They run on their own internalized 24-hour cycles - the Circadian rhythm.

Most cell processes happen at the same time every day based on the stimuli that we receive from the outside world.

For example, if you were to not use an alarm, you'd find out that you would wake up around the same time every morning.

This is only an example that we can see - more intricate processes are always going on under the surface.

There are certain processes (one I’ll mention later) that will only happen at a specific time. If you miss it, you miss it, and you’re out of luck until the following night.

Our Circadian rhythms are vital to our lives.

How to sleep like a rock

I've been on a quest for the best night of sleep possible, and I've gone through so many sleep tips.

These are my top 5 that are accessible to anyone, natural, and don't cost any money.

Let's dive in.

Sun within 30-60 minutes of waking

Getting sun in your eyes early in the day is the most powerful stimulus for:

- Wakefulness during the day

- Falling and staying asleep at night

We have a group of cells (M1 ganglion cell photoreceptors to be specific) in our eyes that specialize in detecting sunlight.

They pass on the data to our brains that it's time to get going for the day, and up-regulate wakefulness processes.

The low-angle, warm morning sun is exactly the stimulus we need to energize us for the day.

You should get sun in your eyes for:

- 5 minutes on a clear day

- 10 minutes on a cloudy day

- 20-30 minutes on a very overcast or rainy day

Your morning light shouldn't be viewed through a window, windshield, or sunglasses, as many of these have UV protection.

It's best to actually get outside - the more direct, the better the effect.

Eat your last meal around 3 hours before sleep

Sleep is our bodies prime time to repair, refresh, and recycle.

It's best if we can spend that time on healing rather than digesting.

3 hours gives our bodies enough time to digest our dinner, but it's not long enough to be hungry again.

If you're digesting during sleep, there might be some arousals that you don't wake up for, but are still disturbing your sleep.

You might think that you slept well because you didn’t wake up, yet your body wasn’t fully at rest.

Don't skip a meal if your only time to eat is 1-2 hours before bedtime, though.

Having the pieces to repair your body is more important than reallocating some energy for digestion.

Do the best that you can.

Watch the sunset

Remember the specialized cells in our eyes? They also light up when we see the sunset.

You might wonder, “wouldn't that wake us up again?”

Good question, but no.

Think of all the unique colors that you see at sunrise compared to sunset - your body also recognizes this.

These sunset specific frequencies let our bodies know that it's time to start winding down for the day.

Even tribes that don't have electricity go to bed about 3 hours after sundown.

The sun is a great cycle for our Circadian rhythms to sync up with.

Taking a 15-minute walk at sunset is the perfect way to start winding down for the night.

Avoid bright lights after sunset

While we need a lot of bright light in the morning, only a little bright light at night can throw us out of whack.

- Overhead lights

- Phones

- Laptops

- TVs

Each of these has enough bright light to block melatonin, preventing you from falling into a deep sleep.

In a world that has screens in every room and around every corner, this one can be pretty tricky to navigate.

Turn down your screen's brightness as low as it'll go.

Throw on a pair of blue blockers if you're going to watch a movie.

Use dim lights or lights that are close to the floor for activities that require them.

Bonus points if you only use moonlight or candles.

Create a bedtime routine

We are creatures of habit.

When we experience something we've experienced before, we can usually guess what happens next.

Routines make sleep predictable for our bodies.

Our cells and body work best when they're on a schedule and work without changes (Circadian rhythm).

This includes going to sleep at the same time (or pretty close to it) every night - it is crucial.

In our first phase of deep sleep, a bolus of important hormones is released to aid in all of the healing processes sleep provides.

Here's the kicker, though:

If you go to bed later than you normally do, you miss that phase of deep sleep and those hormones.

It doesn't get pushed back to later in the night. The next time it will happen is during the next day's sleep.

That’s just how fantastic our body’s clock is.

As you can tell, light is really important to our cycles as humans. Use them wisely and to your advantage.

You no longer have the excuse to be part of the 35% not getting enough sleep.

Until next time, with love,

Noah