Realizing the Importance of Sleep.
Just how important is sleep?
I first became interested in sleep when I began exploring meditation and dream states in my teens. It was the mid seventies and my practice in lucid dreaming was becoming a bit of an obsession. I quickly realized that deep dreaming relied on great sleep patterns.
I had always been pretty neutral about sleep. I loved it in the morning and delayed it at night. In that respect I think I was a pretty average teenager.
As I dived deeper into my dream world, something interesting happened. I began to look forward to my nightly adventure and my attitude to sleep shifted. I LOVED going to sleep. I planned for it and I prepared for it. Tonight I was going on a fantastic holiday adventure and had to get ready.
What did I want to do? Where did I want to go? How was I going to maximize the chances of getting there?
Driven by this desire I began exploring sleep and developed a personal sleep improvement system. It wasn’t that hard for me because my motivation was so positive. I wanted to get better at dreaming and this was one thing I needed to master. I was excited and enthusiastic about it.
Most people people who are interested in sleep improvement are driven to it by a problem they need to solve. Their motivation is a little different and tends to come a little later in life. My perspective here was quite different to most.
Were you ever given sleep classes at school? Probably not.
Some Sleep Basics
Physical Health
Physical health is dramatically influenced by sleep. Get a bad nights sleep and you will certainly feel it the next day. We have all experienced this feeling but, your fuzzy brain and sluggish body are just the tip of the iceberg. Long term sleep deprivation (and poor sleep in general) have been linked to an extremely wide range of illnesses including, heart disease, cancer, alzheimer’s, dementia, depression and anxiety (just to name a few).
Mental Wellbeing
The impact on your mental wellbeing and performance is also significant. Lack of sleep produces a foggy brain and anything that you need to do becomes more challenging as a result. Recent research has shed some light into the importance of sleep and brain health. It turns out that the brain goes through a cleaning process while we sleep. Think of this as a cleaning and healing process that occurs every night whilst you slumber. It is critical to brain health, clarity and the memory making process. Without it, the brain fog descends and life becomes harder.
It is clear that sleep is critical to both mental and physical wellbeing.
It is beyond the scope of this post to do a deep dive into the personal impact of poor sleep, however, it is fair to say that sleep plays a vital role in living a happy, healthy and productive life.
Sleep Metrics.
There are two things that you need to measure when thinking about your sleep. Did I get enough sleep? Did I sleep well?
Sleep Quantity. How long should I sleep?
The general consensus is that you should get somewhere between 7 and 9 hours sleep per night. This can be quite elastic depending on your age, physical exertion, personal challenges and emotional stress. They all play a role in determining how much sleep you need and they are all unique to you and your lifestyle. Tune into yourself and listen to your personal sleep requirements. They change.
Sleep Quality. How well did I sleep?
Sleep quality is a metric that is a little more complicated because you can only judge it depending how you feel once you wake up.. Did you wake up feeling buoyant and full of energy? Do you feel refreshed, sharp and ready to take on the day? Do you feel emotionally stable and centered? No? The quality of your sleep may be standing in your way.
The good news is that you can take some simple steps to improve the quality of your sleep.
Rule 1 – Make Sleep a Positive Priority.
Your first step is to realize just how critical sleep is to your quality of life. Sleep is important so it should not be an afterthought. You don’t need to be a sleep expert, but you do need to have a basic understanding of its role in your life. This article may be enough to jolt you into action, but if you need more information, then make sure you do your research. I can highly recommend “Why We Sleep” a book by Mathew Walker Phd and his TED talk “Sleep Is Your Superpower”.
Sleep is critically important for all of us. If you want to live a long, healthy and productive life, then make it a priority to understand it. Make it a priority to improve it. Make it a priority to enjoy it.
Make it a high priority.
Rule 2 – Regularity and Rhythm.
Your body is intimately linked to the rhythm of the planet. Humanity has evolved over millennia thriving within the rhythms of the earth. The daily rising and setting of the sun and the progression of the seasons are all built into your biology.
Historically people picked up the cues from the setting sun to begin the preparation for sleep. This sleep-wake cycle is known as your circadian rhythm. It’s and it is your 24 hour internal clock that controls your cycles between alertness and sleep.
Becoming aware of your natural biological rhythms is important because it provides the eco system and frame work that either empowers or weakens your daily sleep habits. Your personal sleep habits and patterns are embedded within this natural ecosystem and you can’t ignore it.
Without a regular and rhythmic sleep pattern you are asking you mind and body to make decisions regarding your level of alertness and preparation for sleep. The very act of trying to make this choice will add to your level of alertness
The goal here is to automate the whole process. Build your sleep rhythms and stick to them so they become automatic behaviors. This may take some time, but it is worth it.
ACTION: Create a countdown to your bedtime. Decide what time you will go to sleep and then work out the path to sleep. What do you do in the last 2 or 3 hours before bed?
Rule 3 – Exercise, the Body & Sleep.
Part of the price of living in a physical body is that you must move it. The benefits of mild exercise are well known and I will not go into any great detail here, however, it’s important to realize that many of our biological processes require movement. If these process are hindered by a lack of movement then this can have a negative impact on the quality of your sleep and general wellbeing.
The sad part about this is that this can become a vicious circle, as the lack of sleep can reduce your vitality and energy and make it harder to get out and exercise the next day. If this becomes the norm then getting a good nights sleep becomes a real challenge.
I’m not a doctor or a personal trainer so I will simply encourage you to get out every day and go for a walk in nature. Get the blood flowing and oxygenated. Make sure you take in plenty of fresh water throughout the day and try and stay away from big heavy meals and anything else that may weigh you down.
Give your body what it needs to maintain a level of vitality. What you do during the day has an impact on your sleep and that’s a good thing. You can control your daytime choices.
Quality sleep is often sacrificed at the alter of daytime habits.
Rule 4 – Understanding Light and Sleep.
Exposure to light is an indicator to your body that it is time to amp up and get active. Managing the light exposure both during the day and at night is simple and important. Learn to use light exposure as a leaver to manage your level of alertness.
Night – Reduce blue and bright light.
We were not built to absorb bright light at night. Biologically speaking night light is a new phenomena that disrupts our natural sleeping patterns.
Most people have heard that exposure to blue light from TVs and screens can have a negative impact on your sleep. Apps have been designed to tone down the colour and intensity of screens at night, trying to minimise the blue light stimulation. They help, but they are not a complete solution. Plan your night so you minimise or avoid exposure to screens.
House lights should also be toned down as much as possible. Use a table lamp instead of lighting up the whole room. Lights with a warmer tones (yellow or red) are better than the cooler tones.
Day – Get some sunlight
Natural sunlight helps trigger a range of biological responses that contribute to better sleep. Make sure the sun sees you every day. Staying indoors all day has consequences. Allow the sunshine to regulate your natural rhythms so your body can do what it was designed to do. Get some sun.
Rule 5 – Minimise Consumption & Before Bed.
What constitutes a consumable?
When we talk about consumption we tend to think of food and beverages, but here I would like to expand your idea of what constitutes a consumable to include information and entertainment. In fact, anything that you take in, should be viewed as something that you have consumed when it comes to sleep.
Consumables need to be Digested and Metabolised
Anything that you take in needs to be digested in some way and then it needs to be metabolised so can be used, stored or expelled. This is true not only for physical consumption (food and beverages), but also for intellectual and emotional consumption.
Although the digestion may be emotional or intellectual (rather than physical), you will still need to process it. Just as you would avoid a big heavy meal before going to bed, try to avoid any big heavy intellectual or emotional consumption before bed.
Focus on decreasing stimulation and building relaxation.
The goal here is simple. Stay away from consuming anything stimulating and plan to take in relaxing and unwinding things before going to bed.
Most people understand that they should not drink coffee late in the day because it’s a stimulant, however, they may not apply the same concept to other intellectual and emotional stimulants. An emotional discussion before bed is stimulating. A exciting book, movie or podcast is stimulating.
Rule 6 – Design your Bedroom for Glorious Sleep
Your bedroom is not a place to hang out. If you use your bedroom as a general living area then you are confusing your subconscious inner cues that tell you that “this is the bedroom, it’s time to sleep”.
Keep your bedroom simple. It’s primary purpose is sleep and sex. Get rid of any TV screens and entertainment equipment and design a space that will gently cocoon you ready for sleep. You are spending around a third of your life in this room so make sure it is beautiful and supportive.
Artwork should be calming and the room tidy and clean. This is not a place for distraction, it is a place for letting go. It’s called “falling asleep” because you surrender your awareness and allow sleep to engulf you. You need to feel safe and ready to surrender.
Finally the room should be cool. We sleep better in a cool environment rather than a warm one. Around 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees celsius) is ideal for most people.
Rule 7 – Build a Sleep Ritual.
Their is a magic in building a sleep ritual. It is a confirmation that you are considering the options and creating something just for yourself. This is a very personal process that varies greatly from person to person, however the building block are the same.
How much time do you need to prepare before lights out?
For some people it is 3 hours and for others it is 30 minutes. You will need to work out how long you need depending on your lifestyle and how many elements you want to include in your unwinding and preparation process. In reality anything less than 30 minutes will have limited results, but something is better than nothing, so start somewhere.
The elements of a night time ritual.
A bath – A stretching/yoga routine – Listen to some music – Read a book – Journal – A meditation and/or breathing session – Drawing – A review of the day – A plan for tomorrow – Grooming – A dream diary.
These are all things that can be in included in your ritual. I suggest you start by using the the 2 or 3 things and then see how you go. Don’t lumber yourself with a huge list that adds more pressure to your day.
The automation of your sleep ritual
The timing and order of events of your ritual should be the same every night. The idea is that it is automated so that you don’t have to think about it. This shouldn’t feel like more things on your To-Do list. If you don’t love this ritual then you haven’t done it right.
We don’t live in a perfect world so your night time ritual will most likely get interrupted from time to time. Relax, it’s ok.
You are building subconscious cues that encourage and prepare your mind and body to let go and surrender to sleep.
Build a night time Ritual and glide into a great night.
A note on tech in the Bedroom. Phones, lap tops and other tech devices are sleep killers (see rules 4 & 5). If you are serious… well, you know what to do
Conclusion
One of the best gifts you can give yourself is the gift of a great nights sleep. It truly is one the foundations upon which a great day is built.
Do you want to hit the ground feeling sharp, alert and full of vitality?
Do you wan to inject your day with mental focus and clarity?
Do you want to maximize the chances of a long and healthy life?
Would you like to be a better dreamer, meditator and visionary?
Take the time to implement the 7 Rules of sleep and be thankful that I have not use the term “sleep hygiene” until the very last sentence.