How to Sleep Better: The Science and Strategies

The one thing that is more important than our diet and physical activity - and as the title of this post says it - is sleep. Sleep is often a greatly undervalued area of health and wellbeing even though it helps us to feel good, look good, and stay lean. Fortunately, there is now change happening - at least in the wellness world - and more and more people are interested in this topic and are eager to find out how they could optimize their sleep to improve their cognitive and physical performance. Sleep has a crucial role in my wellness routine and during the past couple of years I have done my best to optimise my sleep. 

Whenever possible, which is most days of the week, I wake up without an alarm. On average I sleep about 7.5 to 9 hours a night depending on how active I have been during the day. This hasn’t always been the case though. While I was still studying at the university and working at the same, I used to think that sleep was a waste of time, and for those who didn’t have anything better to do or who just were lazy. At that time I had so much going on in my life that making enough time for sleep was certainly not the number one thing in my mind. I didn’t even understand its influence on our health! At some point I became more interested in holistic health and wellness, and I learned how deeply important sleep is for our cognitive and physical performance and I redefined my priorities in life. 

This post was inspired by the book, Why We Sleep by Dr. Matthew Walker, PhD which I read recently. 

Please remember I’m not a scientist or medical-know-it-all, and thus, this blog post is shared only to spark your curiosity and encourage you to take ownership of your wellbeing.

Natural circadian clock and the power of afternoon naps

Our bodies are governed by an internal 24-hour clock, also known as circadian rhythm. We rely on our biological clock for regulation for various metabolic processes, like hormone production, body temperature, blood sugar levels, and immunity. Having said that, when we don’t get enough quality sleep, we get sick easier, our hormones can get out of balance, and our metabolic health suffers. Our internal clock also determines when we want to be awake and when we want to be asleep. 

According to Dr. Walker not everyone’s circadian timing is the same. Despite we all follow the 24-hour pattern, the respective peak and trough points are significantly different from one individual to the next. In science the term chronotype is used to describe the natural preferences of the body to sleep at a certain type. Our chronotype determines more than just our sleep pattern. It also influences our appetite, physical activity, alertness and sleepiness. Our chronotypes are strongly determined by genetics. About 40% of the population fall in the category of morning types, 30% can be described as evening types, and the remaining 30% of the population lie somewhere in between “morning larks” and “night owls”. 

Personally, I tilt more toward the morning type. I typically wake up between 7:00am and 9:00am and ideally go to bed between 11pm and 11:30pm. I live in Finland where the winter months are really dark and cold, but in summer the days are very long. The daylight is almost endless around midsummer. Consequently, during the winter months I need about an hour more sleep every night, whereas in summer I feel fine with less sleep and can easily wake up earlier in the morning. I like to honor this natural rhythm or tendency as much as I can instead of trying to force myself to wake up every morning to an alarm if I don’t have to. 

What’s really compelling is that in his book Walker argues that we no longer sleep the way nature intended. Today in developed countries most adults sleep in a monophasic pattern. We only take a long, single serving of sleep at night, the average duration of being less than seven hours. Yet, most healthy adults need at least seven hours of sleep per night. This means the actual sleep time and it needs to be restorative, and continuous  - and not fragmented - so that you would feel best during the day. 

Before our modern times and electricity we used to sleep in a biphasic pattern, meaning that we would take a longer sleep period at night - around seven hours of sleep - and a brief 30- to 60-minute nap in the afternoon. We can observe this biphasic sleep pattern in several siesta cultures around the world like in certain South American and Mediterranean countries as well as in hunter-gatherer tribes. In Blue Zone areas - regions of the world where people tend to live the longest, healthiest lives - afternoon napping is still a common practice. The biphasic sleep pattern is not cultural in origin. It is deeply biological. All human beings around the world have a hardwired dip in alertness that happens in the midafternoon hours. Studies show how afternoon naps can help us to live healthier and longer and they reduce our risk of heart disease related death. There are multiple reasons for why afternoon naps can improve our health: taking a nap can decrease our cortisol levels, increase positive mood and improve emotional control, and boost our cognitive performance. After learning about the benefits of afternoon naps for our health, I am seriously considering quitting caffeine completely and starting to take afternoon naps regularly!

Sleep versus diet 

Have you noticed how you crave more certain foods and tend to snack if you haven’t slept well? The link between insufficient sleep and overeating is likely tied to hormonal functions in the body. When we get enough sleep, our hormones work better, including those regulating our appetite, digestion, and metabolism. When we don’t get the sleep we need, we create an imbalance in the body that increases ghrelin (hunger hormone) levels and lowers our leptin (satiety hormone) levels making us feel hungrier. As a result, we become more vulnerable to consuming more energy than our bodies need and overtime this can lead to weight gain. According to studies, lack of quality sleep also makes our appetite control weaker. Moreover, we have more time and opportunities to eat when we are spending time awake instead of sleeping. Lack of sleep also raises our cortisol levels which can cause our bodies to store belly fat and gain weight. Even studies show how sleep deprivation can have a role in the development of metabolic disorders such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. 

This is what I have noticed: when we feel alert and well-rested we can better connect to our natural hunger cues and make healthier food choices. We don’t have a constant need to look for sugary snacks to give us energy boost - nor do we need to over-consume caffeine to beat the afternoon slump. Therefore, sleep comes often before the diet even though certain food choices can also interfere with our sleep like consuming too much caffeine or eating heavy meals late in the evening. 

Sleep versus workouts 

Good sleep works like a performance enhancing drug. To get the most of our workouts we need to sleep enough, so that we would have enough energy and focus to do our best during our workout sessions. When we have our brains and bodies well rested and recovered, we can better avoid injuries and after our sessions we have a faster recovery time. Again this is only my experience, but I have noticed how my body recovers much faster after a good night's sleep: it’s more mobile and movement becomes effortless. Whereas if I haven’t slept well after a day being physically active, I often feel very stiff and have a hard time holding my balance and yoga inversions become only an unobtainable goal. 

Sleep and brain health 

Not getting enough quality sleep is strongly linked to cognitive dysfunction. Just after sixteen hours of being awake, the brain begins to fail. As mentioned above, humans need more than seven hours of sleep per night to maintain cognitive performance. The sad thing is that like alcoholics, chronically sleep deprived individuals don’t even know how sleep-deprived they are when they are sleep-deprived. As Walker explains in his book, people who are sleep-deprived tend to be as cognitively impaired as those who are legally drunk. That being so, it’s not the best idea to drive a car or do anything that requires sharp focus if we haven’t slept well. 

At least I have noticed how I struggle learning new things and have a hard time focusing on anything if I haven’t gotten good quality sleep. In contrast, when I sleep well, I feel sharper and can memorize new things fast. I become more productive and my overall performance is much better. Inadequate sleep is also a causal factor contributing to dementia in mid- and later life. When we get adequate amounts of sleep, our brain has enough time to “take a shower” to get rid of all the toxic build up like beta amyloid protein that can lead to dementia. 

Sleep and beauty 

During sleep all our organ systems have time to detox, rebuild, and repair. Beauty sleep is a real thing and there is even research behind this concept. Chronic poor quality sleep makes our skin age faster, because important processes like collagen formation cannot properly take place if we don't get enough quality sleep, meaning at least seven hours of quality sleep.

Tips for better sleep 

Stick to your sleep schedule

Wake up and go to bed at the same time every day. Sleeping later on weekends won’t fully make up for a lack of sleep during the weekend and this change in your sleep pattern is more likely to mess up with your internal clock. 

Limit caffeine

Caffeine has a huge effect on our sleep and most experts advise not to consume any caffeine after midday. We don’t even realize how much it affects our sleep until we quit caffeine completely. The quarter life of caffeine is 12 hours meaning that if we drink a coffee at 10am, we still have a quarter of that caffeine circulating in our brain at 10pm and that worsens the quality of our sleep. I managed to improve the quality of my sleep after I stopped drinking any caffeine after midday. I only drink one cup of coffee in the morning. It’s important to note that caffeine is also found in certain teas (green tea, white tea, black tea), yerba mate drink, energy drinks, dark chocolate, and chocolate- or coffee-flavoured foods. 

Stay active during the day 

Staying physically active during the day promotes sleep. Ideally we should do more rigorous training during the day and get outside to enjoy natural light that helps to sync with our circadian rhythm. In the evening we should choose calming activities; Restorative yoga, stretching, and meditation can help to activate our parasympathetic rest and digest system and induce sleep. Life is never perfect and sometimes I need to demonstrate dynamic vinyasa flow classes in the evening but I always make sure my classes are not as vigorous in the evening as they are during the day and offer a longer savasana so that the body has time to shift to a blissful state of relaxation.  

Create sleep friendly environment

The temperature in the bedroom should be slightly cool: our body temperature needs to drop to promote sleep. The environment should be dark and free of any blue light (i.e. TVs and phones). It’s better to avoid any screens right before bed time - especially social media and the fear-mongering news - since they can be way too stimulating for the brain. I typically stop checking my phone at least an hour before bed. I am fine with watching TV in a dark living room but reading a book is always a better option.

Avoid heavy meals and too much fluids before bedtime

A heavy meal can cause indigestion and  interfere with sleep. Drinking too many fluids can cause frequent awakenings and the need to visit the bathroom. Avoid alcohol late at night and in general. ;)  Alcohol is a nervous system depressant and has sedative effects that cause feelings of relaxation and sleepiness. However, even low amounts of alcohol can disrupt the sleep cycle and decrease sleep quality. On those rare occasions when I have one glass of wine at dinner, my sleep gets scattered and shallow which is the very reason why I drink very rarely alcohol these days. 

Choose tryptophan promoting foods

I avoid consuming too much blood sugar spiking simple carbohydrates late in the evening and instead choose more filling protein-rich foods. Certain foods can help to promote sleep like protein-rich foods that contain tryptophan. Tryptophan is an amino acid and is needed to build many proteins and molecules in the body, including serotonin and melatonin. Foods high in tryptophan are often animal-based but there are many amazing plant-based sources such as tofu, edamame, quinoa, oats, and pumpkin seeds.

Take afternoon naps only in the afternoon 

As mentioned above, biphasic sleep pattern would be a natural choice for human beings. Still, it’s better to keep naps short for about 10 to 20 minutes and not to nap after 3p.m so that napping don’t interfere with our nighttime sleep.

Clear your mind

If something is bothering you, create a moment to pause and observe the mind. Journaling or meditation can help. Remind yourself of all the good things you have in your life and that everything will be ok in the end. 

Sending you so much love and peace!