Four Sleep hacks for better shut eye

Oct 22

Wide Awake

I’ve always been a terrible sleeper. I have countless memories of lying awake in my bed as a child, staring at the ceiling.

Mom said to count sheep, Dad said count backwards from one hundred, like you do when you’re being given anesthesia. Nothing seemed to work for me.

I’m confident that my health issues played a significant role in my sleep difficulties. Even if I eventually fell asleep, I was waking up multiple times a night. At its worst point, I had a several-year period where I was waking up 16 times a night, never completing a full sleep cycle, which is between 90 and 110 minutes.

“The worst thing you can do is just lie there for hours on end”, said one of many sleep doctors I saw over the years. If I couldn’t fall asleep within 30 minutes or so, I’d try to keep myself busy: reading, writing, and, in College, training. I couldn’t even tell you how many times I got kicked off the field by Campus Security while training under the nearest floodlight at 2 AM. “You can’t be out here, Pete”, they’d say from the rolled-down car window as they chased me off until next time. I hadn’t yet learned that exercising at night was one of the worst things I could do to aid my sleep, but it was better than lying there.

Fast forward to the present day, where I’m now sleeping better than I ever have: falling asleep quickly, waking up a maximum of twice a night, and feeling generally bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when I wake up most mornings.

Given that most of us in modern culture are sleep-deprived, perpetually groggy, and caffeine-fueled, I want to share some science-backed sleep hacks that may change the game for you.

If you sleep poorly and have an underlying condition or nervous system dysfunction, that may be the root of your problems. That was the case for me—although I was implementing these strategies, I didn’t truly start sleeping like a rock until I got well, though I will say that even during my period of sickness, these sleep hacks most definitely made a dent. And now that I’m better? They help even more.

Let’s look at some of these actionable steps you can take today.

1) Ditch The screens

We may as well start with the one people are most likely to dislike, and least likely to do—cutting down screen time before bed.

We’re all aware (whether we acknowledge it or not) that the modern world revolves too heavily around electronic devices. Are they necessary to function in today’s society? Absolutely. But we’ve added comfort, stimulation, and distraction on top of that necessity, keeping us “plugged in” almost every minute of our day.

This isn’t a post about screen time, getting outside more, or connecting more deeply with other humans (in person). Although I’m a big proponent of that, the focus here is on not using electronics directly before bed or having them near you while you’re sleeping.

Why? Well, two main reasons:

1) Blue Light

2) EMFs

Artificial blue light is a light emitted by digital screens, LED lights, and fluorescent bulbs. Exposure to blue light before bed can suppress melatonin production, which helps regulate your sleep/wake cycle [5].

Studies in both adults [1] and children [2] show that blue light exposure before bed disrupts sleep, circadian timing, alertness the next morning, and REM sleep [3,4,5].

The second side of this coin is the exposure to Electromagnetic Frequencies (EMFs).

EMFs are waves of energy made up of vibrating electric and magnetic fields that move through space. Pretty much anything that has to do with electricity emits EMF: batteries, refrigerators, laptops, cell towers, WiFi routers, etc. Typically, the more power and capability a device has, the more EMF it emits; i.e., a cell phone emits more EMF than your coffee pot.

Although most of us don’t notice the effects of EMFs on our bodies, they do affect us. During the waking day, it’s almost impossible to escape them, whether you’re at school, working, driving, or doing something fun and relaxing, like watching a movie. So why not give your body at least a few hours’ break while you’re sleeping?

Although limited studies exist on this, EMFs have been shown to statistically induce significant changes in non-REM sleep, suggesting that electronic devices have an adverse effect on sleep [6].

Try cutting down your blue light and EMF exposure before/during sleep. Here are some actionable tips that I use:

Outside of sending a quick text message, don’t use any electronic devices (phone, laptop, TV) at least 1-2 hours before bed. Try reading instead.
Cut down on all the big, bright lights. Too much light makes your body think it’s still daytime. Use dim lamps or reading lights instead—shoot for incandescent bulbs, if possible.
Unplug the WiFi router while you sleep. You’re not using it anyway.
Sleep with your phone at least six feet away. You’ll still be able to hear it if someone calls. Plus, if you use it for an alarm, this forces you to get out of bed and turn it off—less snoozing.

Most of us are addicted to our devices and addicted to distraction. I can’t help but think that less stimulation from television and other media before bed helps us have a more peaceful mind. Most people I encourage to do this disregard it, but it matters; try it out for a few weeks and see if your sleep changes.

2) Reset your circadian rhythm

Your circadian rhythm is your body’s internal “master clock” that regulates things like body temperature, sleep/wake cycle, hormone secretion, appetite, digestion, and blood pressure. Essentially, it’s in charge of almost everything. Sound important?

Before technological advances, the human circadian rhythm was generally pretty sound. We got up with the sun and started to wind down as it set. This alone, combined with being more connected to the earth, kept our internal clocks regulated.

But living in the modern world, where most of us stay inside away from the sun and earth, and use bright artificial lights and screens at night (which we already went over), has caused us to throw ourselves all out of whack.

The good news is that you can reset this clock and change not only your sleep but also your mood and overall health. And you don’t need to make too many drastic changes, either. I did a few science-backed things to reset and regulate my circadian rhythm, and it all comes down to cortisol.

Cortisol is a hormone produced by your adrenal glands, known as “the stress hormone”. We typically associate stress with negative connotations, but there are both positive and negative stressors (eustress & distress), as well as appropriate times to put the body under stress. For example, exercise is a positive stressor, but doing it at night can raise your cortisol and keep you from sleeping well.

A healthy cortisol cycle will look like this: a high spike first thing in the morning upon waking, peaking at about 30 minutes. From there, it should gradually decline throughout the day, reaching its lowest at night, when your body starts secreting melatonin and preparing you for sleep.

Here are three things I did to balance cortisol and reset my circadian rhythm:

1) Sunlight [7]

“Light”, says Nathaniel Watson, MD, “is the single most important element for setting our circadian clock, or internal 24-hour rhythm, and morning light is key.”

Dr. Andrew Huberman is also another big proponent of getting morning sunlight in your eyes. He recommends getting 5-10 minutes of indirect sunlight in your eyes upon waking. If you’re inside behind a window pane or outside on a cloudy day, you should at least double the amount of time. Doing this will raise your cortisol levels first thing in the morning. If you’re not going to get outside in the sun, at the very least, turn on bright lights upon waking.

Conversely, watching the sun set may lower cortisol and signal the body that it’s time to start winding down for sleep. I usually brush my teeth or find something to do for a few minutes while watching the sun go down.

2) Grounding

Grounding (the act of having your bare skin in contact with the earth) is mainly attributed to those “tree-hugging hippies”, but there’s some real science behind it. The Earth emits a frequency (7.83 Hz) called the Schumann resonance. It’s essential to have this connection as much as possible for multiple reasons, such as reducing inflammation, a better immune system, better blood flow, a calmer nervous system, and, yep, you guessed it, a balanced circadian rhythm.

Before the invention of rubber soles, unnatural building materials, and plastics, human beings were always connected to the earth. Our clothes, houses, and shoes were all made of natural conductive materials, allowing these negative electrons to enter our bodies, even if we weren’t directly touching the earth.

Although most studies on sleep and grounding have used grounding mats during sleep [8], it is well known that simply getting a daily connection to the earth helps balance your cortisol.

Try hitting two birds with one stone—get your bare feet on the ground (away from underground power lines) while you’re getting your morning sunlight in. Not only will this enhance the effects of waking up, but you’ll thank yourself around bedtime as you try to fall asleep.

3) Movement

Just like with the sunlight upon waking, we’re looking to emphasize that cortisol spike first thing in the morning. If your schedule allows it, exercise within the first two hours of your day. Not only will this raise cortisol to start that daily cycle, but it also keeps you from raising it in the evening by exercising after work.

Even moderate movement for just a few minutes makes a difference. I have my own little morning routine that involves about 5 minutes of movement right off the bat. My poor neighbors, wherever I’ve lived, quickly grew accustomed to the weird guy doing jumping jacks and push-ups outside in his bare feet every morning. I don’t care how it looks, I just want to feel good.

Try waking up a little bit earlier and getting that workout in before work. You’ll also be in a better mood and have more energy throughout the day.

3) Intentional RElaxAtion

We’ve talked about not exercising at night, but consider trying to relax actively. And I’m not talking about watching Netflix until you can’t keep your eyes open anymore. Try taking at least ten minutes to do something that relaxes your body and mind.

Your Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) consists of two divisions: sympathetic and parasympathetic. When it comes to sympathetic, think fight/flight, while parasympathetic is more rest/digest. To fall asleep and stay asleep, you need to shift into the parasympathetic state. Here are two things I do almost every night that help me:

1) Breathing exercises

There are countless different breathing techniques, but almost all of them revolve around slow, deep breaths. This type of breathing will lower your blood pressure and heart rate, shift you into the parasympathetic state we were talking about, relax your body and mind, and help you fall asleep faster [9].

Not only does this aid your ability to fall asleep quickly, but studies have shown that those who do breathing exercises before bed wake up less throughout the night [10]. Lastly, breathing exercises help boost melatonin [11], the hormone that makes us sleepy.

Try taking 5-10 minutes before bed tonight to implement this strategy. Box Breathing and 4-7-8 Breathing are popular, but use whatever works best for you.

2) Stretching

Stretching right before bed can be a great way to unwind and relax the body. You’ll release muscle tension, improve circulation, and help calm your nervous system [12], just like the breathing exercises.

There are tons of follow-along bedtime stretching videos if you like being guided. Personally, I take a few minutes to stretch whatever is feeling tight before crawling under the sheets.

4) Chill out

We already went over relaxing, so when I say chill out, I mean literally. Your body temperature needs to drop a good 2-3 degrees to fall asleep and stay asleep. Here are two things you can do to facilitate that:

1) Take a hot shower or bath before bed. I know, that sounds counterintuitive—get hotter to cool down? Yes, actually. When you take a hot shower or bath, you’re obviously raising your core body temperature, but only temporarily. Your body doesn’t want to stay there, so it works to cool you down—faster than usual—helping signal the body that it’s time to sleep. Studies show that you should aim to take your shower or bath 1-2 hours before going to sleep [13].

The temperature of the room you’re sleeping in also matters. “Thermoregulation is very important for staying in restorative, slow wave sleep stages”, says Sleep Psychologist Dr. Michelle Drerup. Both too cold and too hot are associated with increased wakefulness and decreased REM sleep [14]. The sweet spot? 60°-67° Fahrenheit, or 15.5°-19.4° Celsius.

Try it out

If you want better sleep, try a few of these things. Although some of these tips may require an adjustment, they’re truly not that difficult to implement. I probably spend a maximum of 10 minutes at night and in the morning to help my body and mind get quality sleep. Being intentional for 20 minutes a day is a small trade-off for being refreshed throughout the day and getting proper rest at night.

Let me know how you feel when you start implementing these strategies!