You’re not alone if you frequently feel like you’re dragging throughout the day. Although it may seem apparent, many of us feel sleepy because we don’t get enough sleep.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that one in three adults in the country lack adequate sleep. (The sweet spot is 7 to 9 hours per night.)
Furthermore, even though we may be getting “enough,” we may need more rest.
According to a November 2023 global study conducted by MyFitnessPal, 23% of Americans report poor sleep quality, and roughly one-third report worsening over the past year.
Chris W. Winter, M.D., a neurologist, sleep specialist, and MyFitnessPal spokesperson, explains this data, according to the reports.
According to Michael Breus, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist, expert in sleep medicine, and creator of The Sleep Doctor, sleep is not a priority for most people in a world full of continual gadget pings, to-do lists, social uncertainty, and stress.
Many [people] wait until far later in the evening to even consider sleeping. After a full day of flying, they haven’t allowed themselves enough “runway to land the plane” or enough time to taxi in and make a safe landing.
Our bodies don’t function that way, as much as we’d want to think that turning on a light switch might cause us to fall asleep and stay asleep.
Dr. Winter believes that several factors, including medical issues, mental stress, lifestyle decisions, medicines, and less-than-ideal sleep habits, might work against us.
However, we don’t have to remain in a cruel cycle of being opposed to sleep. According to experts, completing these three easy actions will help you get more extended hours of rejuvenating sleep.
The 3 Steps Experts Suggested for Better Sleep
Dr. Winter believes that asking 100 people what “better sleep” means to them would probably get 100 different replies. Maybe it’s comparable to “bettering oneself” or “eating better.”
He says that unclear objectives frequently lead to unclear routes to accomplishment. “I believe it’s best to define your goals precisely, and the best way to do that is probably by defining what the person wants to feel or achieve in terms of sleep.”
Maybe you wish to have more energy during the working day to avoid feeling like dozing off in meetings. Alternatively, you would prefer a better night’s sleep so you won’t have to debate between working out and sleeping in.
Alternatively, cutting down on the amount of midnight bathroom trips could be your first objective.
Creating a customized sleep improvement strategy with these more specific goals will be simpler for you and your medical team. Most of us can benefit from a few simple, no-appointment sleep-bettering techniques.
Step 1: Stay Consistent
According to Dr. Breus, maintaining consistency in your lifestyle can help your body anticipate what to expect, including when to relax and go to bed, as pre-reports.
It’s crucial to have a consistent pattern regarding waking up times.
“Your body sets a “melatonin timer” when you wake up, so if your wake-up time varies, so does your melatonin production,” Dr. Breus explains, alluding to the hormone our bodies naturally create to regulate our sleep-wake cycle.
The secret to falling asleep is melatonin, and its erratic synthesis impedes the process. Dr. Breus says your sleep will be more productive the more consistent you are.
Establishing a regular schedule is crucial to enhancing sleep since deep sleep is significantly impacted by circadian rhythms and the timing of activities like eating, exercising, and sleeping.
Consider setting an alarm one hour before bed as a daily reminder to start winding down for bed—yes, even on the weekends—to help you stay consistent.
According to Meredith Broderick, M.D., a sleep neurologist and member of the Ozlo Sleep medical advisory board, “Waking light at the same time every day helps to set a metronome for our body, what we sleep experts call the circadian rhythm.”
Once this is under control, we’ll get the best sleep possible.
Step 2: Set Aside Time for Activities That Relieve Stress
About seventy-five percent of Dr. Breus’s patients with insomnia have anxiety, which he claims is the primary cause of their sleeplessness.
Biologically speaking, anxiety raises blood pressure, heart rate, and cognitive function—three variables you definitely don’t want to boost right before bed or while you’re attempting to go to sleep, according to Dr. Breus.
According to Dr. Breus, our heart rates should ideally be 60 or below to get into a state of sleep. However, this can be difficult if we’re stressed out and our nervous system is in fight-or-flight mode.
According to Dr. Broderick, overscheduling, attempting to “have it all,” and experiencing elevated stress for any reason can all impact our arousal threshold, increasing the likelihood that we will wake up in the middle of the night or have poorer-quality sleep.
A few easy daily routines might help you create the ideal environment for improved sleep:
Exercise: “I don’t think there is a more scientifically supported strategy for getting deeper sleep than just working out. Dr. Winter states, “[It has] been demonstrated to enhance sleep quality and produce a deeper, more restorative sleep.”
As we’ve already discussed, the body prefers a regular schedule. Hence, it’s good to exercise at roughly the same time every day; ideally, it should end at least two and a half hours before bed so you have time to relax.
Zone Out: Anything you can do as evening approaches to raise your pulse rate and lower your stress levels will help you sleep. Try a few different things to discover what calms you the most.
Some effective techniques to de-stress include reading for pleasure, foam rolling, breathing exercises, meditation, and spending time with a pet or loved one.
Step 3: Use Proper Fuel
The National Sleep Foundation states that eating too many fatty and spicy foods and calories in general can keep you awake at night.
Conversely, a review published in the journal Nutrients in April 2020 found that diets and beverages high in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, melatonin, and tryptophan likely improve sleep quality.
It also seems that a diet high in carbohydrates rather than fat is part of the prescription for improving sleep quality. (Is anyone up for some pasta?)
Dr. Winter suggests utilizing a food journal in addition to a sleep app or tracker, like WHOOP, at least for a few weeks so you can compare your sleep data with what you ate and drank before bed.
In this manner, you can identify broad patterns about what generally improves your sleep quality.
Food Rich In Melatonin:
- Pistachios
- Almonds,
- Cow’s milk
- Tart cherries
- Mushrooms
- Eggs
In addition to avoiding foods high in fat and/or fire in the hours before bed, Dr. Breus notes that alcohol and caffeine are significant disruptors of sleep quantity and quality.
“Excessive caffeine causes us to become more arousable and inhibits deep sleep, which lowers the quality of our sleep. Dr. Broderick says, “Excessive alcohol consumption also diminishes deep sleep and lowers sleep quality.”
Dr. Breus counsels his patients to try cutting back on coffee to once daily, approximately 90 minutes after waking up, and to limit alcohol intake, if they prefer to consume it, to no more than two drinks that end at least three hours before bedtime.
When to Consult a Physician
Don’t dismiss your sleep issues as unimportant. Speak with your physician if sleep disturbances have occurred more than twice a week for four to six weeks.
Dr. Broderick notes that sleep issues are more straightforward to treat before they become chronic and that “sleep problems become more ingrained over time, so it is best to seek help early.”
Dr. Winter points out that not all physicians treat sleep disorders equally.
If your primary care physician thinks you may have a sleep condition, he advises requesting a referral to a licensed sleep specialist.