October 13th, 2021
David Peachment
Tips to Have the Perfect Sleep
Critical to education, learning, and performing your absolute best is a solid night’s sleep. Feeling rested and raring to go is baked in so heavily into proper brain functioning that we don’t run at an optimal level without it. Whether you are starting work early, have morning classes, or just want to craft some hobbies, a night of good sleep is paramount to achieving success.
In this blog post, I wanted to talk about some tips and tricks for getting more sleep and improving the quality of that sleep. Just because you sleep for a while doesn’t mean that it was restful as it could be! With millions of people who have insomnia and chronic sleep deprivation, it is essential now more than ever to spend some time creating the optimal sleep conditions and environment. It could even save your life as several studies have shown that regular sleep deprivation can shorten your life span as it doesn’t allow your body to fully recover from the day! But enough talk about that, let’s get into some of the strategies!
Cool room
The first tip is to create a cool room to sleep in. Studies have shown that having a cool room allows the body to relax and is conducive to better sleep. Not only that, but it’s just extra cozy when snuggling up underneath some warm blankets! I’m sure we’ve all had it where on a hot summer’s night, we are absolutely cooking and laying on top of the covers trying to fall asleep. Turn the thermostat in your house down a few degrees below body temperature to create that cozy atmosphere and go to sleep quicker.
Dark light
This one isn’t a crazy idea, but make sure there is as little light as possible seeping into the room. As certain types of light trick our brain into thinking it is daytime, the brain will try to keep itself awake. Close the curtains on your windows and turn off any lights from any devices. And speaking of devices, that leads me to my next tip:
Don’t use a screen up to a few hours before bed
Some ways that many people use to relax are to scroll on their phones, check up on the latest news or social media updates, or watch TV. After a long day, it can feel relaxing to turn off the brain for a while before bed and zone out on a screen. But alas! This can cause you to feel restless and keep you away from that beautiful sleep for a long period of time. Why is that?
As I mentioned early, certain lights trick the brain into thinking it’s daytime, and the light emanating from devices like TVs, smartphones, tablets, and computers all make your brain think it’s daytime. The longer you spend on a screen right before bed, the more your mind will be ready to keep the day going. To help eliminate any desire for your brain to stay awake, stop using screens 2-3 hours before bedtime. This will allow your body to relax and get tired, making sleep easy. Additionally, there are filters that come on newer devices or can be downloaded on an app store to switch the light to one that won’t affect your mind. Google “Blue Light Filter” to filter out the blue light from devices that replicate daytime light.
Don’t have caffeine up to 8 hours before bed
Another common issue people run into is having caffeine right before bed. A little late-night coffee, tea, or even pop can be nice in the evenings. But they can also keep you awake! Not only that, but caffeine also affects your sleep. So even if you fall asleep, the caffeine flowing through your system can periodically wake your brain up throughout the night without even fully waking yourself up. This will result in less restful sleep, even if you slept for your optimal number of hours. With all of that said, caffeine can also stay in your bloodstream for up to 8 hours! Some studies have shown up to 12 hours! To optimize your sleep, try to delegate your coffee consumption to the morning or early afternoon.
These are just a few of the tips to get a better night’s sleep. But I hope you have found them helpful and insightful for improving your sleep habits. Remember, if you want to perform the best, you have to sleep the best! Work on getting a good night’s sleep, and it becomes a much easier task to work on creating an awesome life!
Until next time,
David Peachment
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