9 Ways To Get Awesome Sleep Without Taking Medication
9 Ways To Get Awesome Sleep Without Taking Medication
I have been struggling with sleep for the last 4 months.
I would be able to fall asleep well enough but was waking and not managing to drop back off. My average amount of sleep was stuck the wrong side of 6 hours. I got more and more desperate for that blissful, elusive uninterrupted full night of sleep. So, I spent many hours diving deep into podcasts and science-backed literature to find answers.
Here are the 9 best tips that have helped me make significant improvements.
Track Your Sleep
As I said, I became invested in this so I asked Santa to bring me a Whoop strap for Christmas. This device does not have a screen. It tracks sleep, resting heart rate, respiratory rate, heart rate variability, and blood oxygen. Technology eh?
It surprised me at times to see how bad an indicator ‘length of time in bed’ was of sleep quality. Amount of time in deep sleep, wake events and more all contribute to scoring. I’ve had longer bad sleeps and shorter awesome sleeps.
There are less expensive ways than Whoop ($199 for a year) to get data. Most phones can track this or you can get basic sleep trackers for as little as $20 on Amazon. Or, start with a pen and paper to journal your sleep.
If you’re seeking to improve anything then establishing a baseline and measuring against it is imperative.
The 3-2-1 Rule
An easy rule of thumb to start with:
No eating within 3 hours of bedtime. This avoids digestion interfering with sleep.
No drinking within 2 hours of bedtime. This avoids having to interrupt sleep to go to the bathroom, especially for older readers.
No screens within 1 hour of bedtime (blue light interfering with circadian rhythms)
This was hard to stick to. Ooh just a little snack-ette. Oh wow I’m so thirsty. Hmm, what else am I supposed to do during my relaxing time when the kids are in bed? Beyond sleep, these are good habits anyway, so my quest continues.
Consistent Sleep and Wake Times
Going to bed and waking up at the same time helps establish a stronger circadian rhythm. I didn’t believe in this until my tracker had collected enough data to tell me otherwise. Going to bed before or after my ‘usual bedtime’ made sleep around 10% worse.
For those working standard hours, the weekend is the wrench in the works here. At first I resented retiring so soon on a Friday, it went against the ‘have a good weekend’ grain for me. I got over the line by finding joy in the earlier hours of Saturday and Sunday, which are now some of my favorite times. It’s a great time for efficient errands like grocery shopping and working out. You can beat the rush before many are able to rouse themselves..
Morning Sunlight
An expanded look at what we touched on in the 3-2-1 rule.
Morning sunlight is one of my favorite Dr. Andrew Huberman tips. Get morning sunlight in your eyes as soon as possible after waking. Not light from a screen or sunlight through a window. Not sitting in the shade. Just raw, unadulterated sunlight.
This kick-starts the body and helps solidify the ‘waking’ part of the circadian rhythm.
Two more Huberman notes. Morning sunlight works as well if it’s cloudy and, if it needed saying, please don’t stare directly at the sun.
Blue Light Management
Most of the screens and devices we spend our days staring into emit a lot of blue light. Too much blue light starts to mess with those precious circadian rhythms.
For the easiest step, take screen breaks. Even a short break once an hour can help. Like many of the other tips, this comes with bonus benefits - better circulation and posture in this case.
Blue light glasses next. I picked some up after a hearty recommendation from my eye Dr. and joined the growing ranks of users. They are great for preventing eye fatigue and work by blocking a percentage of the blue light.
The cheaper pairs block around 50% and, at least as far as my friends report, are effective. I went a step further and invested in a pair that block 95% of blue light. The downside is that yellow lenses are necessary. So, you have to get comfortable with looking a little different. I’m still working on this, so I’d have been better with the cheap ones, perhaps.
If you want to go all-out, 99% blockers are available. They have dark red lenses and mean you can’t see any color at all. Everything has a red hue. I gave these a try later in the evenings and they did seem to be effective in that ‘preparing to sleep’ phase. Per 3-2-1, I shouldn’t be looking at screens and need to perceive colors at that time.
Bedroom Conditions
If you want great sleep, creating optimal conditions in the bedroom is a key element. There are some helpful variables you can control.
As you approach sleep, your body temperature drops. It stays a couple of degrees below average throughout. So, a colder bedroom can assist with the process and signaling to the body. There are a few different ideas on ideal bedroom temperature but 65F (18C) seems to be the modal choice. So turn that heater down / AC up! This remains a constant spousal battle for me.
Keep your phone out of the bedroom. This was a particularly big impact for me. During one of those groggy ‘wake events’ in the middle of the night, a shot of blue light in the eyes can make all the difference to your chances of getting back to sleep. Yes, even if only to check the time. Even knowing that the temptation of the phone is there can sway things. The impact of this was the biggest motivator for me to get the screen-free sleep tracker.
While humans are (typically) smarter than dogs, we remain susceptible to Pavlovian reactions. If your mind associates the bedroom with activities other than sleep, it can disrupt your descent into slumber. So pick somewhere else in the house to sit and think, to watch TV (blue light alert!) and to work out. My bedroom now has nothing but a bed in it. #prisonvibes
*There is one activity that - traditionally, at least - happens in the bedroom that I won’t seek to offer advice on. Word on the street is that it helps to induce sleep so…I’ll leave that one with you, dear reader.
Reading, Body Scanning and Guided Meditations
These modern-day equivalents of counting sheep distract the mind from worries. They do this by planting it in the present.
I find reading a book often has me drifting off very well. The same goes for a Kindle with very low brightness and a very warm screen color.
Body scanning is the process of starting at the top (or bottom) of your body. Then, mentally scanning your conscious up and down. Focus on the sensations and presence of each part as you get to it. Feel the sensation of your body pushing into the bed along the way. Same construct as the reading, different method to achieve it.
Guided sleep meditations are available on Spotify, YouTube and many other free sources. They usually either talk you through a body scan or read a (dull) story to you in a low soothing voice. Others use noise of various ‘colors’ to block out active thoughts. These have been the best for me for getting back to sleep after an unwelcome ‘wake event’. Yet, they need me to retrieve the phone (and headphones) into the bedroom. Desperate times, desperate measures.
Other Common Recommendations
Be careful with your caffeine intake. The half-life of caffeine in the body is 6 hours, the quarter-life is 12 hours. So the science says to avoid caffeine 12 hours before bedtime. Caffeine acts on the adenosine system. This doesn’t ‘wake’ until 90 mins after you get out of bed so don’t jump straight on the coffee.
Naps are fine in general but the later in the day you take them, the more likely you are to struggle to get to sleep.
I don't drink caffeine or nap, so I can't share personal observations about their effectiveness. They came up a lot in my research, though.
And So To Bed
The 'perfect' night of sleep is not possible and a life with all these rules every day wouldn't be joyful. Going forward, I intend to keep tracking and to turn the others up or down in response to life and circumstances.
The list is not exhaustive, either. I am in the midst of my best week of sleep for months right now. This happening when I am on vacation and sitting by a beach is no coincidence.
Whatever your own sleep goals, good luck and goodnight!