It’s 4 AM and you’re awake, unable to fall into a deep sleep.
Instead of drifting off to sleep, you’re moving around in bed, trying to get comfortable and get some shut-eye.
The clock ticks, the moon glows, and you’re growing impatient.
You stare at the ceiling, thinking about why you’re awake for no reason.
Out of the many reasons for your sleeplessness, what could be the reason this time?
I may have some answers for you.
In this quick guide, we’re going to explore the science of sleep and how you can sleep better.
Why Do We Sleep?
Social media right now almost makes us believe that the less we sleep, the more hours we save in a day, and the more productive we are with our lives.
Yet, we still spend roughly one-third of our lives sleeping.
And even though this is an important metric, we usually don’t take sleep seriously.
Science says that we need sleep to recharge ourselves and re-align our bodies and mind.
But then again, why do we need sleep?
1. Sleep Conserves Energy
It’s a no-brainer that a bad night’s sleep eventually leads to a groggy next day.
Happens to all of us.
As per Healthline, about 8 hours of sleep each night can save up to 35% of the energy our bodies would use if we were awake all the time.
A deep sleep is extremely essential to our physical and mental well-being.
When we sleep, it’s like plugging ourselves into a charger. This helps us save energy.
During sleep, our body slows down and uses less energy.
Our metabolic rate also decreases when we’re asleep.
All this fuels up your day and keeps you active to perform the cognitive functions your body is supposed to do.
So, a good night’s sleep not only promotes better mental and physical health but also manages your body’s energy usage for the day ahead.
2. Sleep Repairs Cells
The restorative theory says one of the primary functions of sleep is to restore and repair the body both physically and mentally.
Physically, sleep facilitates the repair of tissues and muscles and the synthesis of proteins. It also promotes the release of growth hormones which encourages muscle growth, tissue repair, and overall body rejuvenation.
Mentally, sleep consolidates memories and aids learning. It allows the brain to process and store information acquired throughout the day.
So, insufficient or poor-quality sleep can impair the body’s ability to repair and restore itself which can result in various health issues and cognitive deficits.
3. Sleep Improves Cognitive Functioning
According to brain plasticity theory, your brain needs sleep to function.
When you sleep, your brain gets a chance to tidy up and clear away the fog that builds up during the day. This helps your brain stay sharp and ready for action when you wake up.
This helps you learn better, remember things, solve problems, be creative, make good decisions, and stay focused.
4. Sleep Aids Emotions
The National Library of Medicine US suggests that sleep and emotions are closely linked.
If we don’t sleep enough, we feel more stressed and emotional.
Likewise, our emotions during the day can affect how well we sleep.
Our brains also use sleep to process emotions and memories, especially during the REM sleep stage, when we dream a lot.
Problems with sleep, like not getting enough or having trouble sleeping, can make it harder to control our emotions.
This is especially true for kids and teens.
That’s why taking care of our sleep is important for keeping our emotions in check and feeling our best overall.
5. Sleep Regulates Weight
Sleep affects how hungry you feel.
It does that by controlling special hormones in your body.
A hormone called ghrelin makes you feel hungry, while another called leptin makes you feel full after eating.
When you sleep, your body uses less energy, so ghrelin decreases, making you less hungry. But if you don’t sleep enough, ghrelin goes up and leptin goes down, making you feel even hungrier. This can make you eat more and gain weight.
Not getting enough sleep, even just a few nights in a row, can increase your chances of becoming overweight.
6. Sleep Boosts Immunity
Your body’s strong immune system depends on sleep.
When you sleep, your body produces proteins called cytokines that fight infections and inflammation.
It also generates antibodies and immune cells that destroy harmful germs.
Getting enough sleep is crucial for your body to defend itself against illnesses, especially when you’re sick or stressed.
The Stages of Sleep
Even though there are plenty of reasons why you need healthy sleep, it makes more sense when you understand the stages of sleep more intimately.
So, let’s talk about that.
Has it ever happened to you that you wake up from a good deep sleep and you only remember the odd snapshots of dreams, without knowing how you arrived at those specific dream scenarios?
Let’s understand the science behind it.
I’ll get slightly technical here but I promise you that I’ll make it as easy as possible to understand.
Sleep is broken up into four stages each with its own functions.
This cycle repeats several times during the night, and each cycle lasts somewhere between 70 to 120 minutes.
The two primary stages of sleep are non-REM sleep and REM sleep.
Non-REM sleep has three stages, and REM sleep is one stage.
Aspect | Non-REM Sleep (Stages 1, 2, and 3) | REM Sleep |
Description | Transitioning from wakefulness to sleep. Light sleep. | Deep sleep stage. Harder to wake up. |
Eye Movement | Slow eye movements or none. | Rapid eye movements (REM). Eyes move quickly. |
Muscle Tone | Muscle activity decreases. | Muscle paralysis (except for eye and breathing). |
Brain Activity | Slower brain waves than when awake. | Brain activity is similar to when awake. |
Dreams | Rare dreams, if any. | Most dreams occur during this stage. |
Importance | Important for the overall sleep cycle. | Essential for cognitive function and emotional processing. |
Non-REM sleep means your eyes aren’t moving rapidly. REM sleep, on the other hand, is when your eyes move quickly, and this is when you usually dream.
Here’s a table to help you understand the two primary stages of sleep:
So, how important is it to maintain a healthy sleep routine?
Let’s talk about that.
Lack of a Good Night’s Sleep - The Repercussions
You’ve probably experienced those days where a lack of sleep leaves you feeling like you’re running on empty.
Maybe during those long nights of work, maybe your kid keeping you up at night, or maybe it was a night out with friends.
We’ve all had those moments where we know we didn’t get enough shut-eye, and it shows in our tired eyes and sluggish movements the next day.
But beyond the immediate grogginess and fatigue lies a more significant concern: the long-term effects of consistently not getting enough sleep.
Some common outcomes of insufficient sleep include:
- Daytime sleepiness, slowed thinking, and decreased concentration.
- Increased risk of obesity, heart disease, and infections.
- Impaired memory, decision-making, and mood.
- Higher chances of unintentional errors and accidents.
- Greater vulnerability to chronic diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
So, how do you sleep “better”?
Let’s get one thing straight – sleeping longer has nothing to do with sleeping better.
There are days when you sleep 9 hours and still feel tired. And there are also days when you sleep just 5 hours a night and feel fresh enough to conquer the world.
So how can you sleep better?
1. Stick to a consistent sleep schedule
Irregular sleep can mess up your body’s natural sleep cycle.
It affects how your hormones, immune system, and brain work.
That’s why you need to create and stick to a consistent sleep schedule.
If you want to stick to a regular sleep routine, there are some cool tech tricks you can use.
For example, if you have an iPhone, you can check out the Sleep Focus feature in the Health app.
It lets you set up your bedtime and wake-up time so you can have a consistent sleep schedule.
Android users have a similar feature called Bedtime mode in the Clock app. It does pretty much the same thing.
You can also explore sleep-tracking rings that you can wear to bed.
One popular option is the Oura Ring.
This ring keeps track of your heart rate, body temperature, and what stage of sleep you’re in.
They use this information to give you feedback on how well you’re sleeping and how ready your body is for physical activities.
Note: Something I want to add here is that one of the most important things I ask my clients to work on is their sleep. Most of them don’t know how to get their sleep schedule correct, which is why instead of asking them to directly change their sleep time from 1 AM to 10 PM abruptly, I ask them to do it step by step. I help them exercise a schedule that allows them to gradually change their sleep schedule within a few months.
2. Create a relaxing bedtime routine
This one is completely personal to you.
You can experiment with lots of activities to create a sleep-promoting routine.
Start your bedtime routine at least 1–2 hours before going to bed.
Try doing relaxing things like taking a warm bath, breathing deeply, or listening to calm music – whatever helps you calm down.
One of the best things to also follow is the circadian rhythm of the universe.
When it gets dark, it’s usually tempting to turn up the lights in the house. But in reality, you should be dimming the lights and winding down. You can also switch from lights up above to floor lights or table lamps.
Additionally, you can even try some gentle stretching or a quick yoga session. This can help relax your muscles and improve your sleep.
Over 85% of people who’ve tried it say it helps them stress less, and more than half say it improves their sleep.
3. Optimize your sleep environment
Your bedroom, practically, is only meant for two things – sleep and sex.
If you want to make your sleep setup top-notch, take everything else out of your bedroom like your phones, TVs, or anything that’s not inviting enough for you to sleep.
First, ensure your room temperature is just right, somewhere between 17 to 19 degrees Celsius.
Next, to block out any annoying noises, you can use earplugs or even a white noise machine.
And, don’t forget to make your room nice and dark. You can throw on some blackout curtains or an eye mask to tell your brain it’s time to wind down.
You can also try adding some soothing scents like lavender with essential oils or a diffuser. It helps set the mood for sleep.
Lastly, keep your bedroom organized and tidy. A clutter-free space not only reduces stress but also makes it easier to relax.
4. Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine
While your morning coffee or evening glass of wine may be enjoyable, they can quietly disrupt your sleep.
Let’s talk about that in detail.
Most people are under the impression that if you’re drunk or even tipsy, you can sleep better.
But the reality is that even though alcohol can make you seep quickly, it still disrupts the rhythm and cycles of sleeping mentioned above, in particular REM sleep.
This is why you also feel crappy when you wake up the next day.
Deirdre Conroy, a sleep expert from the University of Michigan, says that stuff like alcohol, caffeine, and even water can mess with how well you sleep.
That doesn’t mean you need to get rid of coffee or alcohol for better sleep.
Try limiting caffeine intake to the morning and early afternoon. Avoid it for at least 6 hours before bedtime.
And for alcohol, drink moderately, and avoid it close to bedtime, preferably at least three hours before sleep.
5. Limit daytime naps
Most people love a power nap during the day. It improves our mood and makes us more productive and less moody.
But, longer or late-afternoon naps may disrupt nighttime sleep quality by reducing the body’s sleep drive, potentially causing difficulties falling asleep.
Experts recommend limiting naps to at least 8 hours before bedtime to avoid sleep disturbances.
6. Exercise regularly
If you want a good shut-eye at night, consider exercising daily.
When you work out, your body releases hormones and raises your body temperature, both of which help signal to your body that it’s time to wind down and get some sleep.
Exercise also enhances circadian rhythm by raising your body temperature, which happens naturally in the evening as you prepare for sleep.
But your exercise doesn’t necessarily have to be so intense and complicated. Even going out for a walk or a bicycle ride can be enough.
In fact, it could also be counter-productive to stress yourself out too much with exercise. So if your workouts are intense, it’s usually best to complete them earlier in the day.
7. Manage stress
When you’re stressed, your body goes into “fight or flight” mode. This makes your heart beat faster, you breathe quicker, and it releases stress hormones.
So, when stress keeps you up at night, practising relaxation techniques can help you unwind and get better sleep.
But, how to manage stress?
Practice the A’s of stress management, which are: avoid, alter, adapt, or accept.
First, avoid unnecessary stressors by setting boundaries and saying “no” when needed. Limit time with people or tasks that stress you out.
If you can’t change the stressor itself, adapt to it by reframing problems, adjusting your standards, and practising gratitude.
Finally, accept the things you can’t change, and seek support from friends or professionals when needed to cope with unavoidable stressors.
Participating in a 9D breathwork experience can be incredibly helpful in managing stress.
It combines various techniques like vocal coaching, somatic breathwork, hypnosis, and different vibrations and sounds to help you gain an inward experience of your mind.
This approach helps access the subconscious mind, release trapped emotions, and rewire the brain.
8. Avoid eating heavy meals before bedtime
Eating heavy meals before bed affects both sleep and overall health.
So, maybe snacking super late at night isn’t the best idea.
One reason is it causes discomfort like heartburn, making sleep difficult.
Additionally, when you consume a heavy meal close to bedtime, a significant amount of the body’s energy and resources are diverted to the process of digestion.
This diversion of resources takes away from the body’s ability to dedicate itself to all the essential benefits we derive from sleep, such as physical and mental restoration.
Lastly, eating late at night can disrupt your circadian rhythm and insulin sensitivity, but this highly depends on what you eat.
For instance, consuming foods high in sugar and refined carbohydrates before bedtime can lead to rapid spikes in blood sugar levels, which in turn may disrupt the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle and increase insulin resistance over time.
This disruption in circadian rhythm and insulin sensitivity can contribute to an elevated risk of metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
That’s why experts recommend stopping eating about three hours before bedtime to allow for proper digestion.
9. Seek treatment for sleep disorders
If none of the mentioned solutions seem to help, you may want to consider seeking treatment for sleep disorders.
If you’re experiencing issues like insomnia, narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome, or sleep apnea, it’s crucial to seek help.
So, implement these strategies to enhance your sleep quality and reap the benefits of a good night’s rest.
Remember, quality sleep is not a luxury—it’s an important aspect of a healthy lifestyle.
Let’s fix your sleep
When you go down the rabbit hole of why you REALLY aren’t able to sleep, most times, chronic stress is the reason.
Chronic stress leads to a variety of day-to-day problems that most of us don’t even pay enough attention to.
That’s why I have worked hard over the years to prepare a solution for you.
A practical one.
Rather than offering you boring ebooks or asking you to count sheep, I’ve put together a practical solution to help tackle your chronic stress – and by extension, helping you through a variety of other problems too.
And this solution is my 9D breathwork experience.
It’s a high-tech program that integrates different hypnotic and trance modalities to clear out any mental roadblocks holding you back.
By giving this program a shot, you’re giving yourself a backstage pass to your brain. Who knows what awesome stuff you’ll uncover? Better sleep, improved focus, and maybe even a whole new outlook on life could be waiting for you.
So, what are you waiting for? Book your spot for the 9D breathwork experience now.
