Why we should sleep better & how
Blue light filters, 4-7-8, & other habits to help you achieve that
Hi everyone,
Recently, I was reading about how one can sleep better regularly. It’s because quality sleep can lead to better objective well-being & performance in our lives: better aging, better learning in cognitive & motor skills, better physical health, better reproductive health, etc. So, it’s a topic worth learning about.
Also, the lack of good sleep can seriously deteriorate your well-being & performance in almost every section of your life as shown by strong evidence here. Fun fact: I took a class on sleep under the Harvard Medical School professor who is leading the research on this topic: the paper linked above.
Here is what I learned, points backed by scientific evidence, unless stated otherwise:
Maintain a regular sleep schedule. Try to sleep & wake up close to the same time every day. This is a no-brainer & non-negotiable. Set a reminder for bedtime if you have to.
Try to get 7-9 hours of sleep every day. Anything below 6 hours has been shown to have both short (panic attacks, anxiety, lack of memory, etc.) & long-term bad effects on your health & performance across multiple studies.
Avoid screens or sources that produce blue light (phones, laptops, LED lights) for 1-2 hours before falling asleep. Blue light exposure can hamper your ability to fall asleep & its quality by suppressing the melatonin secretion that can help you sleep better. You can try having a blue light filter/night mode on your devices, that turns on 2 hours before your natural sleep time. Most smartphone settings have this feature. Turn on warm colored lights in your room during those hours.
Don’t have heavy meals 2-3 hours before sleeping. Avoid caffeine up to 6-8 hours before sleeping as well.
Exercising regularly also helps in having good sleep.
We should also try to avoid these screens right after we wake up because that might lead to increased stress & anxiety, although the evidence for this is mixed. I am terrible at this. I have heard a using a physical alarm clock instead of a phone to wake up can help build this habit.
You can use the 4-7-8 breathing technique while trying to sleep which can help you relax or sleep quickly. The evidence on this is mostly anecdotal & mixed. Rhythmic breathing exercises like this one are widely used in yoga or meditation. To use the 4-7-8 technique, focus on this: breathing in through the nose for 4 seconds, holding the breath for 7 seconds, exhaling forcefully through the mouth for 8 seconds, & repeating the cycle up to 4 times.
I hope this helped & that you start investing in sleeping better.
Sleep well,
Seeam
Here is an amazing Ted Talk on why we should focus on quality sleep, by Matt Walker, the author of the book Why We Sleep, an NYT best-seller.