Photo by Matthew Henry
“A day without a nap is like a cupcake without frosting.” — Terri Guillemets
Sleep should be at the top of your list of priorities. That’s it. That’s the tweet. Why?
What happens when we sleep?
The body repairs cells, releases necessary hormones, and restores energy.
The brain stores new information, and dumps all the toxic waste and unnecessary info taking up prime real estate.
Your body produces cytokines which is a protein used to fight infection and inflammation; something essential for a healthy and strong immune system.
Our brains reorganize. Short-term memories are moved into the long-term memory category, new connections are formed and we have time to eliminate the brain clutter accumulated throughout the day.
“Happiness is waking up, looking at the clock and finding that you still have two hours left to sleep.”
What is the sleep cycle?
Even though it seems that all it takes is a semi-silent room, and a lack of direct light to fall asleep, the process is much more complex than that. Our bodies are pretty magical, y’all!
Stage 1: Non-REM 7 minutes approx.
Tis the beginning. Your brain waves, heart rate and eye motion all start to slow down.
Stage 2: Non-REM Most of the night
This is the stage right before deep sleep, and probably where we spend most of our night’s sleep. Our eye movements stop. Our muscles relax and our heart rate drops noticeably. Although our brain waves spike, they quickly fall again.
Stage 3: Non-REM Deep Sleep (finally!)
Our eyes and muscles are completely still. Our brain waves? Even slower than in stage two at this point. This is the stage where the body gets to work. Cells, repaired! Tissues, fixed! Muscles, healed! You get the idea…
Stage 4: REM 90 minutes AFTER falling asleep approx.
Our eyes start moving quickly again at this stage, and our heart rate, brain waves and breathing really pick up again.
Then…
Dreams enter the group chat.
I want to share one of my favorite videos which answers a question I’ve always asked myself:
Why do we dream?
5 ways to sleep better
I’m glad you’ve made it to this section of the post, as it’s probably the most relevant to you. I mean you clicked on this because you want to sleep better, so let’s get to it. I’ve tried each and every one of these tips and had success. That said, if there’s another proven way to sleep better that you want to share, please leave a comment! You never know who you could help!
Limit blue light: I know, I know, it’s basically impossible as anyone born after 1988 probably has their phone attached to the palm of their hands, but we gotta do better. Why? Our bodies follow a natural circadian rhythm, and blue light tricks our bodies into thinking it’s still daytime.
Chill with the caffeine: Caffeine can stay, elevated and sitting pretty, in your blood for 6 to 8 hours. So when you’re craving that good-good to push you through the final part of your workday, keep this in mind.
3. Nap, but keep it brief: I’m the first one to tell you that I am pro-nap, but studies show that taking longer naps—think 1+ hours— can confuse your internal clock and perhaps even have the opposite of the intended effect. 30 minute naps, however? Science likes those. They’ve been proven to increase brain activity and overall productivity during the day.
4. Melatonin: Taking a melatonin supplement 30-60 minutes before bed is very helpful. There are several benefits to melatonin, the main one being that it’s naturally produced in our bodies already! Yay! Also there’s no withdrawal associated with this supplement.
5. Temperature check: Most people say that temperature, not external noise, or even light, is more disruptive to sleep. 70F (20C) is the ideal.
Personal Tip:
One of the main reasons I can’t fall asleep is because my mind races. I spend so much time recounting the day— what I said, what I shouldn’t have said, what I need to do, etc—so keeping pen and paper near my bed has been a total game-changer.
To better sleep!
