This article follows ideas from the book ‘why we sleep’ by Matthew walker.
Sleep is a phenomenon, that to this day remains unexplained.
There are a lot of people online that advocate waking up early for all the wrong reasons, one of them being that it allows them to add hours to their days.
Many preach that their waking up early is one of the main factors that led to their success. Which to some extent maybe true, but in the most case (‘successful’) people like Tim Cook or Bill gates, wake up early as a result to their already accomplished success, as more tasks are added to their days.
Waking up early, sleeping late and working around the clock has been glorified by society and is romanticised by many.
What many people don’t understand is that, losing on sleep is not a substitute for a longer working day.
MY HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE BOOK “WHY WE SLEEP?”
Routinely sleeping less than six or seven hours a night demolishes your immune system, more than doubling your risk of cancer. Insufficient sleep is a key lifestyle factor determining whether or not you will develop Alzheimer’s disease.
Inadequate sleep can :
disrupts blood sugar levels so profoundly that you would be classified as pre-diabetic.
contribute to major psychiatric conditions, including depression, anxiety, and suicidality.
swell concentrations of a hormone that makes you feel hungry while suppressing a companion hormone that otherwise signals food satisfaction. Despite being full, you still want to eat more.
Two processes determine when we feel sleepy – a 24-hour circadian rhythm where the body is naturally awake for 12-16 hours and a chemical called adenosine that slowly builds up starting from the moment we wake and continues to build until it makes us feel very sleepy at night.
Sleeping pills do not provide the same restorative immune benefits as natural sleep. Effectively, sleeping pills sedate you, which helps you fall asleep faster, but the sleep you get is poor quality.
Melatonin cycles change as we age. Teenagers actually have later cycles, which means they don’t get tired until 11 or midnight, unlike most adults who tend to get tired earlier. This is why calling teenagers “lazy” for sleeping in late may not be accurate; they’re simply adhering to their natural melatonin levels.
Caffeine temporarily blunts the feeling of adenosine, but not the accumulation of it. This is why, once the liver flushes out the caffeine, you experience a crash because you feel the effects of all that built up adenosine at once.
Sleep before learning something new refreshes our ability to initially make new memories. Sleep after learning something new enhances memory retention.
More sleep is associated with improved athletic performance. One study on professional basketball player Andre Iguodala found that several of his measurable statistics on court improved when he got eight hours of sleep per night compared to less than eight hours of sleep.
HOW YOU CAN IMPROVE YOUR SLEEP:
Dark bedroom, cool bedroom, gadget-free bedroom - Get rid of anything in your bedroom that might distract you from sleep, such as noises, bright lights, an uncomfortable bed, or warm temperatures. You sleep better if the temperature in the room is kept on the cool side. A TV, cell phone, or computer in the bedroom can be a distraction and deprive you of needed sleep. Having a comfortable mattress and pillow can help promote a good night’s sleep. Individuals who have insomnia often watch the clock. Turn the clock’s face out of view so you don’t worry about the time while you’re trying to fall asleep.”
Don’t lie in bed awake - If you find yourself still awake after staying in bed for more than twenty minutes or if you are starting to feel anxious or worried, get up and do some relaxing activity until you feel sleepy. The anxiety of not being able to sleep can make it harder to fall asleep.
Take a hot bath before bed - The drop in body temperature after getting out of the bath may help you feel sleepy, and the bath can help you relax and slow down so you’re more ready to sleep.
Avoid consuming caffeine and nicotine in the evening - a cup of coffee in the late afternoon can make it hard for you to fall asleep at night, since its effects can take as long as eight hours to wear off fully.
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Links to things I’ve enjoyed this week and think you might enjoy too:
Check out the book ‘why we sleep’ here. (not an affiliate link.)
💡If you liked this article, you might like this one too: ATOMIC HABITS, COLOSSAL CHANGES.
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