Unless you’ve been living off the grid, you’ve likely heard that you need to get 8 hours of sleep.
This is not that article.
Most advice around sleep is focused solely on duration. There is another equally important side to the equation which is improving sleep quality. At the end of this post, I’ve included an exercise to help you do just that.
Sleep is the wonder drug that nobody wants to take. If you needed a prescription or a co-pay for anything beyond a short nap, you would probably look at sleep in an entirely different light. Unfortunately, 5 hours sleep or less paired with a 5 Hour energy drink is more common.
Poor sleep affects our emotional well-being, our cognitive abilities and our physical health. Sleep helps our body regulate hormones and blood sugar, regulates our appetite, keeps our brains healthy and helps get rid of our body’s waste products.
When you have poor sleep, your body is literally missing trash pickup after hosting a party.
Sleep runs in continuous cycles of 4 stages beginning with N1, N2, N3 and REM.
The first sleep cycle of the night is typically the longest with subsequent cycles ranging from 75 to 90 minutes. N3 (or Slow Wave Sleep) is the deepest level of sleep and occurs in progressively shorter episodes. REM cycles progressively increase in duration the longer you sleep.
It is important to note that you get most of your deepest sleep in the first half of the night. The restorative effect of sleep is not simply the number of hours you get. Quantity does NOT necessarily mean quality.
This isn’t an argument for only getting 5 hours of sleep per night. Each stage of sleep has its own benefits, and we need all of them to function and feel our best.
In my experience, telling someone who struggles to get 5 hours of sleep that they need to get 8 isn’t helpful…but most people would agree that 6 hours is better than 5.
Incrementally increasing your nightly sleep by 15 minutes appears very manageable. Gradual increases in sleep duration are often the gateway to significant sleep improvements.
Three Tips To Improve The Quality Of Your Sleep
While there are several best practices for improving sleep quality, here are our top three.
Don’t eat within 2 hours of going to bed.
Digestion requires a significant amount of energy and is a fairly slow process. During sleep, you want your body’s resources focused on repair and recovery.
Establish a nighttime routine.
This may include shutting down all screens one hour before bed because this is beneficial for your brain. You may find stretching or reading will help you unwind from the day. Performing a “brain dump” and getting your thoughts on paper will help you plan your day the night before. This routine is incredibly helpful for busy professionals as organizing your thoughts allows for a deeper mental relaxation.
Optimize your environment for quality sleep.
This includes the temperature of the room (ideally below 70 degrees), darkness of the room, sound (you may prefer white noise) and the fabrics you sleep on.
If you’ve ever slept on hot scratchy sheets, you probably didn’t enjoy a good night of sleep. Consider your mattress and sheets important investment decisions in your sleep quality.
Use This Exercise To Improve Sleep Quality
Here’s an exercise you can use to improve the quality of your sleep.
Imagine you run the Great Sleep Hotel and the main focus of this hotel is giving people the best sleep of their lives.
You are in charge of every aspect of optimizing their sleep including lighting, décor, noise, bedding, and evening routines. You have unlimited resources at your disposal.
What changes will you make to ensure the most important guest (you) consistently gets amazing sleep?
This Sleep Assessment Worksheet (from Precision Nutrition) may give you some additional ideas for improving sleep quality.
Conclusion
Like most things, the quality of your sleep won’t magically improve on it’s own.
You’ll need to get involved in the process of improving your sleep. Increasing your sleep in 15 minute increments, not eating 2 hours before bed, establishing a nighttime routine and optimizing your environment are all proactive steps you can take to improve your sleep.
