9 Habits to Prime your Body & Mind for your Best Sleep

Over 50 million Americans chronically suffer from sleep disorders. Anxiety and an incessant racing mind are prevalent now more than ever, yet sleep deprivation has immense adverse effects on health and well-being. 

Sleep deprivation impairs immune function and cognitive function including our ability to focus, make decisions, and impairs long-term memory. When we’re sleep deprived we run the risk of causing undue stress in our body because we activate our sympathetic nervous system which results in an increase of blood pressure and cortisol secretion. 

Insufficient sleep among adolescents has been shown to increase feelings of depression, anxiety and alcohol use. In addition, our appetite gets thrown out of whack when we don’t get sufficient sleep. Sleep deprivation causes our levels of leptin decreases, which is the hormone that suppresses appetite and ghrelin increases, which is the peptide that stimulates appetite. This means that on less sleep we’re more prone to eat more as we feel hungrier and we’re less likely to feel full. 

Exercise may be impaired because the lack of restfulness effectively reduces our energy and drive. In addition, sleep deprivation causes an increase in the secretion of cortisol, and our body responds by wanting to store more body fat. And while our appetite is adversely affected, we adopt poor eating habits as we tend to crave foods that will make us feel better because sleep deprivation can negatively affect our mood. Not to mention that if you’re an active individual with aesthetic or strength goals, sleep is sacred because sleep is when we repair and build our muscles. 

Sleep is valuable, we want to protect our sleep in order to promote healthy cognitive functioning, to combat age induced cognitive declines and to protect our immune system and overall well-being. 

There are simple lifestyle habits to adopt in order to prime your body and mind to consistently get a high quality of sleep.  

1. Light
2. Exercise
3. Caffeine
4. Meditation
5. Breathing
6. Natural Sleep Aids
7. Eat Timely
8. Magnesium Baths
9. Alcohol

Light

Exposure to light has a strong influence on our sleep quality. Even the presence of light in our sleep environment can impair our mental health. Here are three strategies to control our exposure to light in our environment.

One of the most effective ways to improve our sleep begins as soon as we wake up. Adopt a habit of exposing your body to natural light in the morning (ideally at sunrise) to activate your biological clock and regulate your circadian rhythm. In addition, expose your body to natural light in the evening as the sun is setting. This is most effective outside under the sun instead of being exposed to the sunrise and sunset through a window.  

The second strategy is to get black out curtains for your bedroom. Regardless if the sun has set and it’s already dark outside, the streetlights, car headlights and general city lights will have adverse effects on your sleep cycle and mental health. One study among Japanese university students showed a minuscule amount of light in your bedroom at night can induce depressive symptoms. Another study observed the effects of exposure to light at night among the elderly who had no previous depressive systems. The group experiencing exposure to light at night increased their risk of depression. In addition to black out curtains, it’s important to avoid any form of light which may include LED light emitted from an alarm clock or the on button of a TV. 

The third strategy is to limit your exposure to blue light. The production of the sleep hormone melatonin is suppressed by light, of which blue light (the light emitted by electronic devices) has the strongest effect. These lights increase alertness, decrease melatonin production and your body will be affected by them because there are cells in your eyes that are aware of any presence of light. These cells are highly aware of blue light so limiting exposure to your cell phone or TV is crucial a couple hours before sleep. 

To reduce your exposure to harsh overhead lights, use salt lamps at night and you can even replace lightbulbs in your bedroom with red light bulbs which are effective because they have a lower blue spectrum. Studies have shown that individuals with normal colour vision do not experience a suppression of melatonin from bright red or dim lights compared to bright blue lights. Use free programs such as f.lux to install on your device and control your iPhone settings to limit blue light. 

1.  Enable Night Shift on your phone by accessing

               Settings > Display & Brightness > Night Shift.

2. Second, google iPhone red light trick which shows you how to turn your screen red to eliminate 100% of the blue light. Use this feature especially before bed because when you’re scrolling on your phone at night seeing all the colours fires up dopamine. The less colours you see on your screen will help to calm your racing mind.

In addition, get a pair of blue light blocking glasses to limit your exposure to blue light from any electronic device. 

Get it: TIJN Blue Light Blocking Glasses

Get it: Black Out Curtains

Get it: Red Light Bulbs

Exercise

Exercise is full of benefits for your health and overall well-being, especially when it comes to sleep. Exercise improves quality of sleep, increases slow wave sleep and reduces daytime sleepiness. Exercise has positive effects on sleep quality for middle-aged and older adults with insomnia in addition to positive effects on sleep quality and duration in obese adults. It is recommended to avoid intense physical activity within three hours prior to bedtime as it has been shown to elevate heart rate and may reduce recovery time during sleep. Instead of exercising in the evening, consider exercising in the morning because you can leverage your elevated cortisol. By the end of your day you will be more tired and your body will be primed for sleep.  

Caffeine

If you want to improve your sleep, don’t drink caffeine late in the afternoon or evening. For healthy people, caffeine has a half-life of about 5 hours meaning that after 5 hours, 50% of the caffeine is still present in your system. It is best to consume caffeine before 3:00 PM to ensure you will not interrupt your ability to fall asleep. One study showed that consuming caffeine 6 hours before bedtime significantly disrupts sleep quality and reduces sleep time by 41 minutes.

We want to calm our body down into a parasympathetic state to rest before bed. Caffeine increases cortisol secretion (the stress hormone) which can put our body into a sympathetic state. It does have adverse effects on our quality of sleep as well. According to sleep scientist Matt Walker “caffeine can actually decrease the amount of deep non-rapid eye movement sleep… as a consequence you can wake up the next morning, and you don’t feel refreshed, you don’t feel restored by your sleep.” 

Keep in mind that the popular post-dinner treat chocolate contains caffeine, so avoid snacking on chocolate too close to bedtime.  

Meditation

Meditating before bedtime induces mental relaxation because it is phenomenal for slowing a racing mind. It activates the parasympathetic system and induces a calming state by providing a regulation of the HPA axis and cortisol levels. It has also been shown to enhance serotonin which is the precursor to melatonin (the sleep hormone). 

Studies show that habitual meditators have higher levels of melatonin than non-meditators and even have higher levels of melatonin immediately after meditation compared to individuals who were not as experienced. Interestingly, another study showed that meditators were able to experience a reduction in duration of sleep needed equal to the duration of meditation. 

Yoga Nidra is a type of meditation that encourages the body to relax as the mind remains alert. Those who practice yoga nidra have claimed to experience better sleep as they effectively can reduce racing thoughts and stress which commonly impair sleep latency. One study showed that chronic insomnia patients practicing yoga nidra had improvements in sleep. 

Check out: You can learn more in depth about the benefits of meditation here, and the anti-aging benefits of meditation here. (hyperlink to meditation articles) 

Breathing

Focused breathing is an extremely effective tool to activate your parasympathetic system and to reduce stress at any time, but especially before bed. One simple breathing tool taught by Dr. Andrew Weil is the 4-7-8 or “Relaxing Breath” technique which he refers to as a “natural tranquilizer for the nervous system.” It’s an effective strategy to reduce stress and to practice prior to bedtime to enhance sleep latency. In order to learn the exercise, begin by sitting up straight and place the tip of your tongue against the gum above your upper front teeth. Practice one exhale through your mouth with your tongue in this position as it will be kept there for the duration of the exercise.

• Close your mouth and inhale through your nose for 4 seconds
• Hold your breath for 7 seconds
• With your tongue in place, exhale through your mouth making a whoosh sound for 8 seconds
• Repeat this cycle three times for a total of four

If you have trouble holding your breath for 7 seconds, the absolute time isn’t necessary and you can cut the time in half to keep the ratio of 4-7-8 and instead inhale for 2 seconds, hold your breath for 3.5 seconds and exhale for 4 seconds. It is recommended to practice this technique twice a day but to not perform the practice more than four breaths (at one time) for the first month.

Natural Sleep Aids

Listed below are effective natural strategies to improve sleep and can be easily incorporated into your nighttime routine. 

• Melatonin
• Magnesium 
• Valerian Root
• Passionflower
• Glycine
• Reishi 
• Lavender

Check out: You can learn more in depth about how these natural sleep aids benefit sleep and the proper dosage here. (hyperlink to natural sleep aids article)

Eat Timely

It is recommended to not eat your last meal of the day within a three-hour time frame of when you intend to go to sleep, because it may impair your sleep quality. Digesting food increases our core body temperature which is not optimal for sleep and the energy it takes to digest food additionally takes away from the production of melatonin. 

Magnesium Bath

A warm bath or shower will induce relaxation and get your body ready for sleep. When you step out of the bath or shower, you will cool down which triggers melatonin production. A warm bath is even more relaxing with added epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) or magnesium chloride flakes. Absorbing magnesium through your open pores has a relaxing, calming effect because it enhances serotonin. Magnesium baths reduce stress and anxiety and the replenishment of magnesium into your body regulates the production of melatonin to promote sleep. 

If you’re not a bath person, even a warm shower before bedtime will improve sleep. A warm bath or shower one or two hours prior to bedtime for even as short as 10 minutes will reduce sleep latency and improve sleep quality. 

Check out: You can read more in depth about the benefits of magnesium baths (magnesium sulfate and magnesium chloride) here. (hyperlink to epsom salt bath article here) 

Alcohol

Alcohol may help you zonk out quickly, but the second half of your sleep will be light and may cause you to wake up sooner than you’d like. Studies show that consuming alcohol at both high and low doses does improve sleep latency as people tend to fall asleep quicker than if they had not consumed alcohol. However, after 4 to 5 hours of falling asleep, people experience increased bouts of wakefulness and disruptions in sleep as the body completes the metabolism of the alcohol. This is due to the fact that alcohol tends to adversely affect neurotransmitters including GABA which helps to regulate wake-sleep states. So, while drinking alcohol may help you initially get to sleep faster you will overall have a poor quality of sleep.

Implementing these simple lifestyle habits can do wonders for your body and mind. Other simple things you can do before bed are to make a to-do list for the following day, so you aren’t thinking about all those things as soon as you turn off the light and your head hits the pillow. In addition, journaling can clear your mind of any lingering thoughts that might keep you from falling asleep. Most importantly, limit blue light 1-2 hours before bed and do what you can to prime your body in a parasympathetic state. Sweet dreams!