Sleep Is Important
Sleep matters – a lot. You probably knew that, but here are some things you might not know:
- Sleep is the #1 predictor of how much willpower you have. Trying to do something hard? Get your sleep.
- Sleep is the most powerful anabolic tool we have.
- One night of sleep deficit increased daytime hunger by 25%.
- If you get less than 6hrs of sleep, your time to physical exhaustion drops up to 30%. So, a fighter ready to go 10 rounds and in perfect shape would be exhausted by round 7.
- Sleep is the greatest legal performance enhancing drug – but even most athletes aren’t using it.
- The amount of sleep needed depends on the season, averaging 53-56min longer in the Winter.
- Sleep deprivation heightens emotional activity and depresses control systems, resulting in taking larger and more frequent risks.
Taking Xanax, heavy drinking, or being hit over the head results in something that looks a lot like sleep, but isn’t. The difference is the quality. Read on to learn how to get the best sleep of your life!
When to Sleep
Go to bed and get up at a consistent time – even on the weekend – to avoid jet lag. Jet lag doesn’t just occur when traveling to different time zones. Your body can (even under perfect circumstances) only adapt to a few hours of schedule difference per day. So, if you travel through seven time zones, it would take you a week to catch up. Or, if you stay up four hours later on the weekend, you will be effectively jet lagged for the weekend and also the start of the week.
What to do:
- Have a consistent bedtime even on the weekend.
- Set a go-to-bed alarm.
How Long to Sleep
Most people need two weeks of sleep recovery and then can settle on eight hours in bed thereafter. This was demonstrated in sleep research that put test subjects in ideal sleep circumstances (i.e., completely dark, perfect temperature, no clocks, etc.) and let them sleep as much as they wanted. The subjects initially slept 14 hours per night, and then after an average of two weeks were down to the normal eight hours. Once you prioritize your sleep, be ready for full recovery to take even longer than that. Be ready to make the extra time investment up front.
What to do:
- Get at least eight hours time-in-bed (not necessarily time asleep).
Better Sleep through Your Bedroom Setup
The way you set up your bedroom affects your sleep quality. A good sleep environment can overcome a lot of other obstacles. For example, If you do have an adrenal problem, the right environment will dampen its effect substantially (while you use functional medicine to work on the solution).
Dr. Hansen’s personal “sleep stack” preferences: Mattress topper, bamboo cotton sheets, room at 68℉, sleep mask, Insomnitol, ear plugs, and phone in airplane mode.
When choosing a pillow, the key is to keep your head neutral with your spine – whether on your back or side. The big mistake would be to have too many pillows and prop your head up.
When choosing a mattress, get what’s comfortable for you. Whether firm or soft, focus on getting good sleep. Also, be conscious of how toxic the mattress is, what it’s made of, it’s age, etc. Don’t be afraid to try out a mattress and then take advantage of the free return policy if it’s not amazing. Your mattress should be amazing.
What to do:
- Put your phone in airplane mode during sleep.
- Use a temperature regulating mattress topper. (**Try one of the following coupon codes and CLICK HERE for discounts on Dr. Hansen’s favorite brand: chilipad25, ooler15, chiliblanket10)
- Set the thermostat to 68℉ while sleeping.
- Use a vibrating or quiet alarm to wake gently.
- Use a white noise machine (if this isn’t already covered by a humidifier or Chilipad).
- Turn off overhead lights when the sun goes down. Use lamps and amber lights to keep things dim.
- Cover all light sources in your bedroom: windows, electronics, alarm panels, smoke alarms, etc. You want your sleep space to be completely dark.
- Use a sleep mask.
- Remove all screens from the bedroom including TVs.
- Use earplugs.
Better Sleep by Communicating With Your Brain
What you do during the day has a heavy influence on how well your brain lets you sleep.
The more “awake” you are during the day, the more “asleep” you will be at night. Focus on good sleep, but also focus on being very awake. Bright light exposure during the day anchors your circadian rhythm, which will keep lights at night from affecting you as much. 30 minutes – ideally around solar noon – has been shown to have a tremendous impact. (Studies show 80% of the benefit of six hours of bright light exposure came in the first 30 minutes.) Bright light exposure during the day also increases melatonin production by about 50% at night.
What to do:
- Avoid uppers or downers such as caffeine, alcohol, exotoxins (MSG, aspartame, etc), especially within four hours of sleep.
- Avoid exercise two hours prior to sleep (or three hours if high intensity).
- Get at least 30 minutes of skin exposure to mid-day sun without sunglasses.
- Minimize blue screens (e.g., TV, computers, phones) after the sun goes down.
- Use f.lux to remove blue light from devices.
- Use dim or amber lighting in your home.
Better Sleep by Changing Your Body’s Makeup
Your body may not be ready and willing to sleep, even if you are. It requires a particular physiology: low anxiety, vital nutrients for repair and recovery, and specific neurotransmitters.
Not being able to get to sleep and waking in the middle of the night are both commonly caused by adrenal problems – and this is one specialty of the HHS Functional Medicine Program. (**Click here to contact HHS and schedule an Adrenal Functional Test.)
Insomnitol and TriMag Supreme Night by Designs for Health are two really helpful supplements. (**Use the one-time discount code HANSEN10 at the links above!)
What to do:
- Increase your Magnesium levels and supplement prior to sleep.
- Ensure you have optimal blood levels of Vitamin D.
- Alleviate neurologic tension with chiropractic adjustments and spinal hygiene.
- Avoid food three hours before sleep.
- Eat only while the sun is up.
- Use the restroom before getting into bed.
- Stretch before bed, especially if your muscles are sore.
Sleep Assessment
Wondering how you’re doing? Track the following daily for two weeks and schedule a consultation at HHS to discuss:
- Heart rate variability (HRV) upon waking
- Bed time, wake time, hours slept
- Quality of sleep 1-10
- What you think contributed to good or bad results