Introduction
Ah sleep; either you love it, or you hate it. You either can't look forward to sleeping throughout the day, or you'll "sleep when you're dead".
Sleep is not something that you should be skimping on. On the other hand, too much can cause issues as well. So let's take a look and the benefits of sleep, as well as how to optimize your day for better quality and quantity sleep at night.
Why is Sleep Important?
Sleep isn't just a waste of time. You spend about 1/3 of your life sleeping, and getting proper quality and quantity sleep is crucial to making sure those other 2/3 of your like are as healthy as can be.
Over the past 100 years, the average night's sleep for adults has decreased by over an hour. Approximately 70 million Americans have sleep disorders, and 1 in 3 adults (84 million Americans) do not get the recommended amount of uninterrupted sleep nightly.
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In 2022, only 32% of Americans rated their sleep qualitiy as "excellent" or "very good"; 35% said "good", and 33% said "fair" or "poor". In 2020, it was reported that 14.5% of American adults had trouble falling asleep most nights; particularly women more than men, where the rates were 17.1% and 11.7%, respectively.
A lack of sleep reduces cognitive function and alertness, leads to weight gain, reduces recovery, increases the rate of car accidents, and much more. Getting a good night's sleep is imperative to feeling sharp, both mentally and physically.
Poor Sleep and Weight Gain
After a poor night's sleep, levels of the hormone leptin (the fullness hormone) are lower, and ghrelin (the hunger hormone) are higher. We are also less insulin sensitive with poor quality sleep.
All of these combined lead to overeating and poor glucose metabolism. Over time, just something as simple as not sleeping enough can lead to weight gain.
Impact on Diseases
A lack of sleep could certainly be contributing to your diabetes and obesity, but it can impact much more. Chronic sleep deprivation causes the socially acceptable coffee addiction that most adults have (sorry, not sorry).
Over a lifetime, not getting enough sleep can lead to heart disease, dementia, and cancer. Without adequate sleep, the body's glymphatic can't properly recover and heal, impacting your organs, brain, and muscles.
Sleep on Mental Health
Sleep doesn't just impact physical biomarkers, such as weight, blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure. It's also viral for your mental health. Rates of depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and addiction are all higher in those with chronic sleep deprivation.
Quality vs Quantity
Most people just focus on the quantity of sleep; i.e., how many hours did you sleep per night. While the quantity is important, so is the quality. You need to have both to be functioning properly.
Generally, it's recommended to get 7-9 hours of sleep per night. This differs for everyone, and factors such as age, sex, diet, and activity level certainly play a role.
As for quality, you ideally want to spend as much time as possible in bed sleeping, and any time spent awake out of bed. If you're struggling to fall asleep, the best thing to do is to get up, not continue to lay there struggling.
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Clear signs of poor sleep is waking up tired, snoring, waking up throughout the night, or day-time napping. The key group at risk for sleep apnea is middle aged overweight men who have bad diets and a lack of exercise. But you still may have sleep apnea even if you check none of these boxes. If you chronically struggle with sleep issues, talk to a doctor and get a sleep study.
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The bed should only exist for 2 things: sleep and sex. Don't just sit in bed after you wake up or throughout the day. Instead, train your body to know that when you're getting into bed, it's time to go to sleep. I like to read when I get into bed to tire myself out; doing so knocks me out within 5-10 minutes.
Social Jetlag
You should be striving to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, both during the week and over the weekend. Obviously, you should make exceptions here and there to live your life. But don't unnecessarily stay up later and sleep in later on the weekends, as so many of us do.
Let's say you normally go to bed at 10:30pm and wake up at 7:00am during the week. But on the weekends, you go to bed at midnight and wake up at 9:00am. Your sleep cycles are constantly shifting, causing you to feel tired every Monday through Friday when that 7am alarm goes off.
This concept is known as social jetlag. Just like after a flight to a different time zone, your body struggles to adjust to these constant fluctuations in sleep times. You should be waking up feeling like you're charged at 100%, not a sluggish zombie.
Personally, I go to bed around 10:30pm each day, and wake up around 6:00am; no alarms required, and I always feel fully awake and well rested as soon as I get out of bed.
On Alcohol and Sleep
Most people think that alcohol is in fact good for your sleep, as it can get you to bed quicker. This is false; alcohol will instead sedate you.
So while you may fall asleep quicker after a drink, you won't go into deep sleep, as your body is busy metabolizing the alcohol in your body. As such, the quality is significantly lower.
What About Caffeine?
Most people don't realize that even a coffee in the morning can impact their sleep at night. Everyone has a different half life for caffeine, meaning more or less of it will still be left in our systems at bed time.
If you do choose to drink coffee, it's best to wait 60 to 90 minutes after waking up before consuming your first cup. This is because cortisol, the alertness and stress hormone, is at its peak when you wake up. Consuming caffeine when cortisol is high causes the body to produce less cortisol. This leads feeling less alert, needing more coffee, and developing a caffeine tolerance.
If you're struggling with sleep issues, the easiest fix is to reduce your caffeine intake. Instead of jolting your body awake in the morning with coffee and struggling to wind down at night, try to wake up and go to fall asleep naturally. If you need a coffee every day, I'm sorry to say that you have a caffeine addiction.
Tips For Proper Sleep Hygiene
Sources
Ah sleep; either you love it, or you hate it. You either can't look forward to sleeping throughout the day, or you'll "sleep when you're dead".
Sleep is not something that you should be skimping on. On the other hand, too much can cause issues as well. So let's take a look and the benefits of sleep, as well as how to optimize your day for better quality and quantity sleep at night.
Why is Sleep Important?
Sleep isn't just a waste of time. You spend about 1/3 of your life sleeping, and getting proper quality and quantity sleep is crucial to making sure those other 2/3 of your like are as healthy as can be.
Over the past 100 years, the average night's sleep for adults has decreased by over an hour. Approximately 70 million Americans have sleep disorders, and 1 in 3 adults (84 million Americans) do not get the recommended amount of uninterrupted sleep nightly.
In 2022, only 32% of Americans rated their sleep qualitiy as "excellent" or "very good"; 35% said "good", and 33% said "fair" or "poor". In 2020, it was reported that 14.5% of American adults had trouble falling asleep most nights; particularly women more than men, where the rates were 17.1% and 11.7%, respectively.
A lack of sleep reduces cognitive function and alertness, leads to weight gain, reduces recovery, increases the rate of car accidents, and much more. Getting a good night's sleep is imperative to feeling sharp, both mentally and physically.
Poor Sleep and Weight Gain
After a poor night's sleep, levels of the hormone leptin (the fullness hormone) are lower, and ghrelin (the hunger hormone) are higher. We are also less insulin sensitive with poor quality sleep.
All of these combined lead to overeating and poor glucose metabolism. Over time, just something as simple as not sleeping enough can lead to weight gain.
Impact on Diseases
A lack of sleep could certainly be contributing to your diabetes and obesity, but it can impact much more. Chronic sleep deprivation causes the socially acceptable coffee addiction that most adults have (sorry, not sorry).
Over a lifetime, not getting enough sleep can lead to heart disease, dementia, and cancer. Without adequate sleep, the body's glymphatic can't properly recover and heal, impacting your organs, brain, and muscles.
Sleep on Mental Health
Sleep doesn't just impact physical biomarkers, such as weight, blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure. It's also viral for your mental health. Rates of depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and addiction are all higher in those with chronic sleep deprivation.
Quality vs Quantity
Most people just focus on the quantity of sleep; i.e., how many hours did you sleep per night. While the quantity is important, so is the quality. You need to have both to be functioning properly.
Generally, it's recommended to get 7-9 hours of sleep per night. This differs for everyone, and factors such as age, sex, diet, and activity level certainly play a role.
As for quality, you ideally want to spend as much time as possible in bed sleeping, and any time spent awake out of bed. If you're struggling to fall asleep, the best thing to do is to get up, not continue to lay there struggling.
Clear signs of poor sleep is waking up tired, snoring, waking up throughout the night, or day-time napping. The key group at risk for sleep apnea is middle aged overweight men who have bad diets and a lack of exercise. But you still may have sleep apnea even if you check none of these boxes. If you chronically struggle with sleep issues, talk to a doctor and get a sleep study.
The bed should only exist for 2 things: sleep and sex. Don't just sit in bed after you wake up or throughout the day. Instead, train your body to know that when you're getting into bed, it's time to go to sleep. I like to read when I get into bed to tire myself out; doing so knocks me out within 5-10 minutes.
Social Jetlag
You should be striving to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, both during the week and over the weekend. Obviously, you should make exceptions here and there to live your life. But don't unnecessarily stay up later and sleep in later on the weekends, as so many of us do.
Let's say you normally go to bed at 10:30pm and wake up at 7:00am during the week. But on the weekends, you go to bed at midnight and wake up at 9:00am. Your sleep cycles are constantly shifting, causing you to feel tired every Monday through Friday when that 7am alarm goes off.
This concept is known as social jetlag. Just like after a flight to a different time zone, your body struggles to adjust to these constant fluctuations in sleep times. You should be waking up feeling like you're charged at 100%, not a sluggish zombie.
Personally, I go to bed around 10:30pm each day, and wake up around 6:00am; no alarms required, and I always feel fully awake and well rested as soon as I get out of bed.
On Alcohol and Sleep
Most people think that alcohol is in fact good for your sleep, as it can get you to bed quicker. This is false; alcohol will instead sedate you.
So while you may fall asleep quicker after a drink, you won't go into deep sleep, as your body is busy metabolizing the alcohol in your body. As such, the quality is significantly lower.
What About Caffeine?
Most people don't realize that even a coffee in the morning can impact their sleep at night. Everyone has a different half life for caffeine, meaning more or less of it will still be left in our systems at bed time.
If you do choose to drink coffee, it's best to wait 60 to 90 minutes after waking up before consuming your first cup. This is because cortisol, the alertness and stress hormone, is at its peak when you wake up. Consuming caffeine when cortisol is high causes the body to produce less cortisol. This leads feeling less alert, needing more coffee, and developing a caffeine tolerance.
If you're struggling with sleep issues, the easiest fix is to reduce your caffeine intake. Instead of jolting your body awake in the morning with coffee and struggling to wind down at night, try to wake up and go to fall asleep naturally. If you need a coffee every day, I'm sorry to say that you have a caffeine addiction.
Tips For Proper Sleep Hygiene
- 3 hours before bed: no food
- 2 hours before bed: no water
- 1 hour before bed: no screens
- Wake up at the same time every day (including weekends!)
- Go to bed at the same time every day (including weekends!)
- Reduce or eliminate regular caffeine consumption
- Reduce or eliminate alcohol
- Cut down on highly refined sugars, starches, and oils
- Get proper exercise every day
- Don't exercise within an hour or two of bedtime
- Practice stress reducing exercises, such as yoga, breathwork, or meditation
- Don't work or game late into the night
- Reduce overhead lights close to bedtime
- Wear blue light blocking glasses at night
- Change bulbs and screens to a red or orange tint at night
- Wait at least an hour after waking up before having a coffee
- Avoid sleep medication such as Melatonin unless absolutely necessary
- Try to wake up without an alarm whenever possible
Sources