The most common request I receive is "Just tell me what to do. I don't have time for the details right now." Here it is for Sleep Basics: What to proactively do for getting sufficient, quality sleep, a few tips to make it more doable, and links to resources if you'd like to learn more.
CONTENTS
Summary: The Basics We All Need to Know
Sleep duration is important. We all need 7-9 hours for sleep to have the time it needs to perform its essential functions. Sleep quality is equally important. Both are helped by schedule regularity. To summarize:
Get 7-9 hours of sleep most nights going to bed and waking on the same schedule, +/- 30 minutes.
Know your kryptonite timing sensitivities to optimize the quality of your sleep.
How far in advance to stop consuming caffeine, alcohol, and food before bedtime;
When to dim the lights and turn off the screens;
When to stop stimulating exercise or mental activity.
Creates habits to reinforce your ability to go to sleep and wake up at a regular time.
AM Light Exposure: Get bright early morning outdoor light within the first 30-60 minutes of waking up.
PM Light Exposure: Switch to low, warm lights; avoid bright light of any color, blue in particular.
Have a Pre-Sleep wind-down routine - no stimulating physical or mental activity.
Sleep in a cool dark room (~18C/65F; remove electronics or cover their lights).
Plan buffer time-in-bed for sufficient sleep opportunity (add 30-60 minutes to your target sleep duration.)
Our individual sensitivities and needs typically start changing in our 30's and 40's. Experiment with the guidelines and tips below to find what is doable and makes a difference for you at this time in your life.
What To Do. Good Habits for Getting Great Sleep
A good nights sleep will be 7-9 hours of quality sleep where we go to bed and get up at the same time on a regular basis. The following tips are based on the evidence of sleep and circadian rhythm experts.
Bright Morning Light Exposure
Expose your eyes to early morning outdoor light within 30-60 minutes of your regular waking time. This sets your brains master clock for both waking up and going to sleep.
Duration: 10-30 minutes depending on the brightness, as close to sunrise as possible.
Enjoy outdoor cloudy daylight. If not too dark, it will still be brighter than typical indoor lights!
Sit by a bright window & maximize bright indoor lights if you can't get early morning outdoor light.
Avoid sunglasses or thick/light-filtering windows.
Low Evening Light Exposure
Dim your lights or switch to low, warm-light lamps or candles. Blue light and bright light of any color will suppress melatonin release (which tells the body it's time to go to sleep) and also send a wake-up message to the brain. The brain registers the bright light and blue light spectrum which found in the rising light of early morning.
Minimize overhead lights to minimize confusing the brain's master clock.
Use lower, warm lights 1+ hours before bed time / avoid bright lights, blue in particular.
If screens unavoidable, set the night light display settings to change to amber in case you are sensitive to the blue light in the screens.*
*New research now indicates the blue light from screens does not have a significant impact on sleep. The observed correlation of poor sleep onset with late night screen use still exists, but new studies suggest it is due to other reasons.
Wind-Down Routine
Give your brain and body time to prepare for sleep. We need our heart rate and core body temperature to drop and stay low for entering the restorative sleep stages on time and to generate true deep wave sleep early in the night.
Pick what relaxes you most.
Avoid anything that stimulates your body! (i.e. exercise)
Experiment to find the ideal wind-down window and routine that works for you.
Consider a relaxing warm bath, shower, or sauna. It's counter intuitive, but these help lower core body temperature by drawing heat out to our extremities.
Cool, Dark Sleeping Den
Keep your sleeping area cool and dark to facilitate going to sleep and staying asleep. Light receptors (melanopsin cells) in the eye's retina can still perceive light when eyes are closed.
Target ambient room temperature of ~18C or ~65F.
Light-proof your bedroom with black out blinds.
Remove electronics from the sleeping area or cover their small bright lights (Some people use black stickers or electrician tape.)
Consider eye masks if unable to block enough light sources.
Buffer Time for Sufficient Sleep Opportunity
Schedule your sleep time in bed to include buffer time. We need some time to fall asleep. We also wake up every sleep cycle to move a little. (A good night's sleep includes five 90+ minute cycles of sleep per night.)
Consider adding 30 to 60 to your target sleep hours for your time in bed.
When I started wearing an Oura ring, I discovered I was waking up (without realizing it) and falling back to sleep faster than I realized when I did remember waking up. I finally reached my 7 hour per night sleep goal when I added a 45 minute buffer time in bed! I was able to add the hour through 15 minute increments over a few weeks.
Advance Preparation Tips - Creating the Right Environment.
Besides creating a cool, dark sleeping den, consider other small ways to help stick with the new behavior and to avoid accidental 'wake-up' signals to the brain.
Automate what you can: thermostat, screens turning amber or other reminder alarms to begin winding down.
Deal with possible evening light saboteurs. Use light dimmer switches and red night lights. Have a few strategically placed low light table lamps or candles ready for use.
Dark winter mornings like mine? Consider investing in a specialty light such as a table top Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) light or 900 lux drawing light boxes you can prop on your desk.
I bought a Verilux 'Happy Light' with 10,000 lux (no commercial relationship) to get me through the dark winter mornings in Vancouver. The cost in late 2023 was ~$55cdn. I put this small flat panel light on my sit/stand desk and turned it on while scanning the news and blow drying my hair! (Yes, I moved my hairdryer so I could double up on my dry time & light exposure. It takes a while to dry this mass!)
Final Word
We're all an N-of-1 with unique needs, priorities, and life circumstances. You don't have to do everything listed here! If you see opportunity for improvement, start with any step that's doable for you. You're playing the long game and can add more options later if needed.
Wishing you all the best,
Janice
These population level guidelines do not replace the advice of your doctor. Consult with your doctor or your other care professionals before making any changes to your health related behaviors.
If you struggle with insomnia, consider talking with your doctor about finding a sleep professional trained in CBT-I (Cognitive Behavior Therapy - Insomnia), the international gold standard recommended as first line of treatment in Canada, the United States, and England.
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