Sleep – The most underrated component for health
There was a quote that was doing the rounds in the 1990s and 2000s which was oft used by those who considered themselves super achievers. The quote said “You can sleep when you are dead” or “There will be enough sleeping in the grave”. Turns out that this true, but the other way around. Not getting enough sleep will send you to the grave earlier than expected and sleeping well, in fact, increases your productivity and longevity.
We tend the prioritize sleep the least and it is the first one that gets sacrificed at the altar of success, hard work, and productivity. There seems to be a bit of glamour and super-humanness associated with the ability to carry on plowing through days with little or no sleep.
Mathew Walker, Professor and Renowned sleep researcher says that the quantity and quality of your sleep are one of the key components of brain function and physical health. Lack of quality sleep has some catastrophic effects on us and some of these include:
- Inability to form new memories
- Increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s
- Compromised immune system
- Inability to produce sex hormones, reducing virility
- Increased blood pressure and risk for Cardio Vascular disease
- Obesity and inability to lose fat
- Loss of focus and productivity – brain fog
Yes, all these side effects of sleep deprivation will cause one to lose sleep! To reset your sleep cycle and to induce that deep quality sleep for a minimum of 7 hours, the following steps should help, when done consistently.
- Regularity: The most important aspect in forming a habit is consistency. Sleep at the same time every day and make this a non-negotiable element of your daily life. This will trigger your mind and body to get into rest mode around that time. A ‘sleep ritual’ usually helps this process. It could be brushing your teeth, saying a prayer of gratitude, writing your journal, meditation, etc. The trick to waking up on time is sleeping on time.
- Gadget Detox: Keep away from all gadgets an hour before your sleep time. Gadgets and their blue lights are designed to stimulate certain parts of your brain to stay in a high alert mode, making it difficult to unwind. Combine this with the cheap dopamine effects of social media, the addictive nature of various online platforms, and you will realize that your brain has been high-jacked without your permission and your sleep quality will considerably depreciate over time.
- Meal Timing: Eating too close to your sleep time causes sleep disruption. The body is in digestive stress and instead of muting or minimizing metabolic activity post-sun-set, it needs to work doubly hard at digestion. This is where fat gain, indigestion, acidity, etc come in disrupting quality sleep. Ensure you have a 2-hour gap between dinner and bedtime and make sure that it is the lightest meal of the day.
- Exercise: High-intensity training is avoidable one hour before sleep. This kind of exercise puts your body in a stimulated and high-energy mode, making you too hyper and awake to fall asleep. A light walk troll is absolutely fine. As far as there is a 2-to-3-hour break between intense training and sleep, you are good to go.
- Ambiance: Our sleep-wake cycles are closely associated with sunlight. As the sun sets, our metabolism drops and we start to produce the sleep hormone melatonin which over 2-3 hours in the evening induce sleep. Harsh lights, especially white and blue ones disrupt the production of melatonin as the body is confused with all the light overload. Dim the lights of your bedroom towards sleep time and finally as you get closer to sleep make the room as dark as possible.
- Temperature: A simple factor like the temperature in your bedroom and its effect on your body temperature plays a big role in your sleep quality. If you notice yourself tossing and turning constantly, adjusting the room temperature may be a solution. Our body temperatures fall during the night time and it is lowest between 3 am and 6 am. Studies show that the ideal temperature for sound sleep is about 18 – 22 degrees Celsius. Sure this may vary a bit and maybe unique to each one of us, but a cooler temperature allows for better sleep.
