Getting the rest you need isn’t just about bedtime – you’ve got to play the long game. Just make these easy zzz-friendly tweaks to your daily routines and you’ll be snoozing like a koala in no time.
Many people think about sleep about twice a day: at night when they’re tired and need to go to
bed, and in the morning when they’re still tired and want to stay there. But lack of shut-eye affects your whole day. Poor sleepers miss out on immune and emotional regulation as well as tissue restoration and repair, says sleep research psychologist Dr Jessica Payne. Stress may keep you awake, but insomnia can impair your ability to regulate tension the next day, creating a “sleep-stress snowball”, she says.
Stress also increases levels of neurotransmitters and hormones, such as cortisol and norepinephrine, keeping you in a hyper vigilant state, always watchful for tigers (or work enemies). “The more you’re stressed, the poorer your sleep is and the worse your stress is,” Dr Payne says.
Given sleep’s ability to wreak havoc on your waking hours, it only makes sense that your days might be causing you trouble at night. Think of your day like a fitness class, says sleep researcher and neurologist Dr Christopher Winter, author of The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep Is Broken and How to Fix It. Your decision-making brain is like a good instructor who leads you through the class, giving notice of what’s coming up next or how many burpees you’ll be doing. Without that sort of guidance, your body holds back, he says, trying to conserve energy to prepare for the unknown.
It boils down to this: A good night’s sleep relies on healthy daytime activities to regulate your internal clock, or circadian rhythm. “The interplay of sleep and rest, when it’s on a schedule, helps signal your brain as to where it is within a 24-hour circadian cycle,” explains Dr Winter. Certain activities send the right signals and others can be harmful, adds neurologist Dr Donn Dexter.
Here’s your 24-hour guide to which is which so you can snooze better, starting tonight.
MORNING
Quit hitting snooze
Your greatest sleep mistakes happen in the morning, Dr Winter says. After a bad night, it’s tempting to give yourself a pity pass to sleep in or take a sick day. On the other hand, a regimented response at the start of the day helps set your brain’s sleep-wake clock. The exception: If you wake up too early, don’t try to force a return to sleep – it’s smarter to go ahead and get up. That reduces the chance of developing a chronic case of insomnia, according to a US study.
Eat breakfast - even if you aren't super hungry
Banking kilojoules for dinner leads to overeating in the evening, and then a night of fitful sleep as you try to digest that heavy meal. In the morning, be sure to eat some protein, such as eggs, meat, yoghurt or milk. “Protein tends to facilitate the production of dopamine, a wakefulness neurotransmitter,” says Dr Winter. Bonus: dopamine allows you to feel pleasure and satisfaction.
Step outside early
Exposure to morning daylight, preferably combined with exercise, such as walking the dog or to the bus stop, supports regulation of your internal clock, as the sun suppresses melatonin. Even on a cloudy day, a 10- to 30-minute outdoor stroll provides more light than being indoors with all the lights on. If you can do a heart pumping workout, even better. That’ll increase the serotonin that enhances mood and wakefulness and informs your internal clock, Dr Winter says
AFTERNOON
Find 10 mins of downtime
Your temperature naturally drops in the early afternoon, aligned with circadian rhythms, causing sleepiness. A short catnap during your lunch break at the same time each day can reboot energy levels, but it isn’t necessary to fall asleep. “Resting isn’t a failed nap,” Dr Winter says. The goal is to practise relaxation techniques that’ll be useful later at night. Allow your mind to wander and get drowsy for about 10 minutes, then get back to what you were doing, refreshed. Tip: Reading a book in a warm, cosy spot will make your eyes nice and heavy.
Don't chug coffee
Your body produces adenosine, a molecule that serves as the ‘energy currency’ for the body and also promotes sleepiness, says Dr Mathew. As a stimulant, caffeine blocks adenosine and inhibits your brain’s natural increase in sleepiness as you move toward nighttime. Herbal tea or water is better in the afternoon. Plus, if you drink water throughout the day, you’ll need less in the evening, helping you to avoid those 3am bathroom trips.
Work out in the daytime
Exercising raises body temperature and levels of epinephrine and adrenaline, known sleep fighters. So, work out only during daylight hours to give time for heat and hormones to quiet down. “A falling body temperature almost acts like a signal that brings on sleep,” Dr Mathew says.
Do a short meditation
Decreasing daytime anxiety and worry can help you doze more deeply at night. Find five to 10 minutes to use the ‘body scan’ meditation technique, observing your body’s sensations, moving slowly from toes to scalp (or the reverse). Melt away stress either on your own or using a
guided meditation in an app or on YouTube.
EVENING
Write down what's bugging you
Dr Payne says that when you don’t offload the day’s events, your brain continues to process stressful situations throughout the night. So, by writing down any problems beforehand, you can improve compartmentalisation and save figuring out the solutions for the morning. If you’re lying in bed stressing about sleep itself, get up and do something quiet for 15 minutes, such as reading or sketching in a low-lit room - steer clear of bright screens. “Some people treat the bed like a bus stop,” Dr Winter says, and obsess over missing the sleep bus. Adjust your expectations and start again tomorrow.
Create a ritual
Any kind of stimulus is problematic – even mindless Netflix reruns. You’ll experience subtle increases in blood pressure, heart rate and sweating. Instead, take at least 20 minutes to dial it down. Try gentle stretching, meditating or taking a bath. Think of it as a ‘bookmark’ at day’s end, Dr Payne says, telling the body and brain it’s okay to sleep.
Turn off the ceiling lights
Exposure to bright blue light can reduce melatonin levels by up to 50 per cent, says Dr Satchin Panda, author of The Circadian Code. And it’s not just your phone that’s to blame. Cool-hued ceiling lights also produce blue light. So, after dinner, switch to table lamps and fl oor lamps with warm- or orange-hued light bulbs. Electronic devices should also be set to night mode to warm the screen colour.
Stop eating at least two hours before bed
And also keep dinner on the lighter side. Your body’s digestive and waste functions need rest and downtime and to learn when “the kitchen is closed”, Dr Panda says, to prevent midnight snacking.
Are you getting enough sleep?
There’s a difference between time in bed and optimal shut-eye. The ideal sleep amount is between seven and eight hours, but to pull that off, you need to slide between the sheets at least eight hours before the alarm sounds. That way, you’ll have unhurried time to fall asleep and accommodate unplanned night waking. It’s normal to wake up during the night or toss and
turn a bit, but taking more than 30 minutes to fall back asleep is known as ‘sleep maintenance
insomnia’. If you’re having issues with night waking, try avoiding naps altogether during the day, suggests sleep expert Dr Reeba Mathew.
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