Sleep

Sleep

I’m definitely one of the lucky ones here.  I fall asleep within seconds of my head hitting the pillow, occasionally wake up once per night, and usually feel refreshed after 7 hours (that will likely keep some poor sleepers up at night ruminating).  Sleep is vitally important and high quality sleep conveys so many benefits.  Despite being something we practice daily you can genetically be a light sleeper or a restless sleeper or conditioned to lie awake thinking when you want to be asleep.

Sleep is very very individual but you can improve your own sleep after finding out what your preferences are. As with everything there are no one-fits-all solutions but by thinking about what type of sleeper you are, realizing your own bad habits, etc. you can improve your sleep significantly. Especially if you have problems falling asleep, disrupted sleep, or pain in a body part like the spine or neck after sleeping there is a good chance you can solve them. For the chronically poor sleepers who’ve tried everything, perhaps sleep is ironically addressed in the other Health salients.

It makes sense to invest time and money to improve your sleep. Sleep just has a large influence on many things that are important to us. If you are well-rested you are more productive, you feel better, and you are less likely to be annoyed quickly and emotionally hurt the people you like. All of these are things we value highly and thus should be willing to invest time and money to improve.

Most of the insights presented in the literature and summarized here are not revolutionary. Sleeping the right amount improves how rested you are the next day, but the fact that they seem so obvious creates a problem of implementation rather than lack of knowledge. For example, going to bed too late even though I know that I have to get up early the next morning or do other things that go against the classic advice.

Assess where you’re at: if you have no problem, great! Feel free to optimize or experiment.  If you have a mild problem like trouble falling asleep, waking up in the night, or poor quality sleep: identify a pattern and run through the options below.  If you have a moderate to severe problem it’s likely best to refer to a sleep specialist who can officially monitor and provide corrections.

Around Sleep

• Routine: Consistent bed and wake times
• Exposure to sun (especially after waking up) is good for mood and internal clock
• Regular exercise helps to accumulate fatigue and promote sleep pressure
• Avoid alcohol and large meals close to bedtime
• Short naps in the early afternoon are ok if sleep deprived, but shouldn’t interfere with regular sleep schedule (not too long and not too late in the day)
• Identify when and how much caffeine influences sleep
• Try to avoid screens before bed, use Night Shift or blue light blocking 
• Avoid lying in bed awake for long periods of time, if sleepy fall asleep, if awake get up and do something non-stimulating before attempting again
• Don’t be perfectionist, it is normal not to sleep perfectly every night. You should even expect to sleep poorly during periods of high stress

Sleeping Conditions

• Quiet environment

• Around 65 degrees is ideal for most

• Bedding and clothing that don’t make it too hot

• Ensure dark room

Waking up in the middle of the night

If you wake up to urinate (“nocturia”)

• Do not drink anything (including soup) within 3.5 hours of sleeping. This is hard to do if you’re a nighttime eater, but it can really make a difference. 

• Not drinking before bed requires that you drink more water earlier in the day. For example, if you typically get ~4 bottles worth of liquid every day (any form of liquid is fine, including soups), then get all 4 bottles before the 3.5 hour sleep window begins. Otherwise, you’re at risk of waking up thirsty in the middle of the night.

• Next, I’ve personally found that consuming more than ~5% of the recommended daily intake of sodium (salt) within 3.5 hours of sleeping triggers nighttime bathroom visits. (Listed on the labels of food items is how much sodium there is per serving.)

• Low-sodium foods include unsalted beans, raw veggies, protein powder, plain unsalted oatmeal, and anything else that has no more than trace amounts of salt.

• Finally, be sure to the bathroom as much as you comfortably can right before going to bed.

If you wake up with a dry mouth

• If you live in a humid climate, buy a hygrometer (a humidity measuring device). If the humidity in your bedroom is above 40–45% at night, you’re at risk of getting worse sleep (study) due to either ambient discomfort with the humidity level or your body needing water after prolonged sweating. 
• To decrease bedroom humidity, first check that you’re not leaving windows open since it’s the outside air that brings it in. Then try one of these two tactics:
• Turn on your AC: Air conditioner units dry out the air (decrease humidity). If you have a programmable thermostat like the Nest, which also has a built in hygrometer, you can set its schedule to cool your room to a low temperature before bedtime. You want to decrease the humidity to below ~40-45%.
• Buy a dehumidifier: Dehumidifiers may cost less to operate than air conditioning. They don’t have to be attached to a window unlike standalone AC units.

If you wake up from noise

• If you sleep in a noisy environment, buy a noise machine. It’ll create a constant, low-volume “white noise” that will mask the inconsistent sounds you hear at night. This is helpful because it’s actually not a low level of ambient noise that prevents you from falling asleep, but rather noise that intermittently starts and stops, e.g. sirens and, dogs barking (study, study). A noise machine works by masking the inconsistency.

Have a hard time falling asleep? These are the generally recommended tips:

• Use your bedroom only for sleeping. Use a different room for watching TV, using the computer, and killing time on your phone. You want your subconscious to get used to walking into your bedroom meaning you’re falling asleep soon.
• If you ever take a nap, take it before ~1pm. Otherwise, evening napping makes falling asleep harder at bedtime
• There is benefit to routine, train your body by going to sleep and waking at the same time each day
• Avoid caffeine in the evening. This includes coffee, tea, and soda. Or try removing it altogether for a stretch.
• Get cardio done in the morning or afternoon — not before bed. 

Here’s the recap: 

https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/KGanghgdx3GHejNFY/how-to-sleep-better

In any case, first consult a doctor. 

Mentality/behavioral change - sleep friendly environment -