How Well do you Really Sleep?
How Well do you Really Sleep?
Sleep is one of the most under-rated components of health. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US, over one third of the American population don't get at least seven hours sleep. But sleep isn't all about duration. Those who are getting at least seven hours of sleep may not be getting 'good' sleep.
What is good sleep?
- You are asleep (not just in bed) before 11pm.
- You do not wake up at all.
- It takes you less than twenty minutes to fall asleep.
- You wake up feeling refreshed.
- You get the right amount of sleep for you (changes from person to person).
As you can see - I don't necessarily believe that you must get at least seven hours of sleep per night. I'd much rather someone was in bed and asleep by 11pm and slept solidly. Even if that sleep is only for five hours, that's still better sleep than sleeping for nine hours but waking up constantly.
Why do you need good sleep?
Sleep has an impact on every system in the body. While you sleep you:
- Detoxify
- Digest
- Restore muscle tissue
- Replenish energy stores
- Burn fat
- Release positive hormones such as testosterone and growth hormone
- Put memories into long term storage
Good sleep helps you burn fat, build muscle and have more energy and focus. That energy and focus can be put towards other activities that help you burn fat, build muscle and develop yourself as a person. The mental focus you get from a good nights sleep, and what you can achieve because of that, is reason enough to improve your sleep - let alone all of the other physical benefits.
A recent study found that one night of poor sleep could increase insulin resistance by up to thirty percent. Insulin is the hormone responsible for dealing with carbohydrates. So what that means is, if you sleep badly, you won't process carbs properly and may be more likely to store them in fat.
How to sleep BETTER!
1. Make sure your room is completely black.
- Remove all artificial lights like TVs, cover up any LED standby lights and make sure you don't have a clock with a light on it.
- Get some blackout curtains or blinds if you live in a bright area. If you can't afford blackout curtains, try placing thick blankets over the top of your existing curtains.
2. Turn off all electronics sixty minutes before bed.
- Turn off your computer, tablet and phone sixty minutes before you want to be asleep.
- Read, have a bath or shower or listen to some music instead of being on electronics.
3. Don't use your phone as an alarm clock.
- Having your phone beside your bed while you sleep makes you sleep worse. The phone can go off, vibrate or flash which interrupts your sleep.
- Your phone will often tell you 'how many hours until your alarm goes off'. Knowing you've only got six hours until your alarm goes off stresses you out and makes it harder to sleep!
- If you have to use your phone as an alarm clock, put it on flight mode and put it on the other side of the room.
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4. Don't check the time if you wake up.
- You don't need to know the time. Your alarm clock will go off when its ready to get up so there's no need to know the time. It just stresses you out either thinking about how you can't get to sleep or thinking about how little sleep you've got left to take.
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5. Wake up at the same time.
- If you sometimes wake up at 5am and other times wake up at 11am, you are creating jet lag for your body. If you've ever had jet lag you know how bad your sleep becomes when you are jet lagged. Changing the time you wake up is like voluntarily giving yourself jet lag.
6. Keep the bed 'safe'.
- Your bed is for sleep and sex - nothing else. You shouldn't do work, check emails, go on your phone or do anything else in bed. When you get into bed your body should associate it only with those two natural human behaviours.
Do you have any good tips that help you sleep better? Let us know about them in the comments below. If you've found this article helpful and want to improve your health more, check out my Six Week Health Challenge where you could win
per week just for joining in and getting healthier!
Yours in health,
Coach Ben @healthsquared
The iPhone has the do not disturb setting that you can schedule. So my phone quits alerting me to messages at 10pm and doesn’t resume until 9am. No lights, no buzzing - nothing. Those people you have in favorites (ie your kids) are the only calls that can get through. Get to this setting from Settings then on the first page scroll down to Do Not Disturb, click and turn on scheduled and choose your hours. Best setting ever!
AWESOME tip @tamala. The added benefit of that is that you don't worry that you might miss calls from the most important people in your life. Thanks for the info :D
I try to do but it is very hard. Because some of your post is part of our life.
Making changes one step at a time is key! Just try and change one thing at a time @rainbowlord :)
@ healthsquared, "How Well do you Really Sleep" this is a great health question. i can say of mine, not for any other person. i sleep for more than 3 hours day time and i sleep 8 hours at night.
That is a lot of sleep!
Getting enough sleep💤 is so important to your overall health... just as important as eating healthy! 🍴
And if you are well rested you are more likely to eat healthily! If we are tired we are more likely to reach for junk food :p
Extremely insightful post and one I shall constantly refer back to. Sleep has always been one of the great banes of my life, so I have recently turned to furthering my intake of supplements; Vitamin D, 5HTP, Omega-3 and Magnesium. Followed! :)
Those supplements can be really helpful for sleep. Particularly if you are somewhat deficient in them already. Let me know how you get on if you try any of these changes @charlieashtonuk!
Sleep is a natural way to reset the mind for optimum functionality, it refreshes the body and soul. In fact, sleeping is as important as eating, besides it has a therapeutic value. Thanks @healthsquared for your quality contents.
Thanks @kevaton. Great points!
That are some good tips. as a doctor I agree with every single one :)
Thanks!
If I may, I would like to add an advice to people that have problems with sleep because of stress. I think lots of us were there one time or the other and then it is difficult to fall asleep even with all mentioned ´precautions´.
One thing that helps me is evening run or workout. Of course not right before the sleep as you usually need to eat something small especially if you choose the workout. Reason for this the the release of endorphins that makes your problems look far less serious than they actually are and so the reason of your falling asleep is gone.
Another reason for this may also be, that as I go to sleep either after mentioned workout, run or even on rest day I drink the quark milkshake (source of proteins for night regeneration of muscles) and as the body associates it with the ´before sleep´ time, easier falling asleep may come just like the associating the bed with sleep time.
What is the author´s opinion on the sport activity between hour or two before sleep ?
I think it depends on the person. If I do exercise before bed then it makes more more awake, not less. However, I know some people that it really helps!
When you say, you have your drink before bed and your body associates that with sleep time, I think that's really true. Having a routine before bed will really help get your body ready for sleep. Perhaps your body associates exercise with getting ready for bed because it's your routine.
Because I normally exercise in the morning I associate exercise with waking up! So the key that you've identified is the routine :D And I think that's exactly right!
Sleeping is important as eating. When the ersona is asleep and has a good sleep that allows her to regenerate her body, rest, relax the muscles and the mind, regenerate her cells and acquire corporal and mental well-being. Many people in the world do not sleep well due to work or family problems, work or personal problems.
Truely a good night's sleep just births a beautiful day and keeps you fit.
I'll like to add that the type of food and even when we eat before bed time has a major influence on how our night turns out to be.
It is adviced to eat about 2-3 hours before bed time.
Some foods that can aid a sound night sleep are; Potatoes,Canteloupe, oatmeal, Almonds, cherries, bananas.
And we should avoid, Peppermints, Burgers, Acidic foods (Orange juice, Grape fruit), Caffeinated foods (coffee, energy drinks, black tea).
As my African people will say "The way you dress your bed is the way you'll lay on it".
I created a post about something similar. Didn't get much audience tho. But please check it out will love to see what you think.
https://steemit.com/health/@crownit/no-gym-no-problem-staying-fit-and-healthy-while-living-your-life
Great points! For some people eating too much of the wrong food to close to bed time can make sleeping hard