Day 17: Why There is Nothing Better Than A Good Night's Sleep
One topic that has really spawned my interest the past few years is sleep. I've been a textbook case of being a Millennial operating on 5-6 hours of sleep a night, in order to maximise my waking hours. College days often saw my friends and I "chuck all nighters" in order to cram for the upcoming exam or finish that essay. I'd prioritise 6am body busting weights classes and late night catch ups over an early night in. You best believe there'd be drinks involved. 'Doing things' seemed more value for my time than the shut eye, paralysation that was sleeping.
No more! I now value and prioritise sleep as a key part of my wellbeing. Non-negotiable.
Now I'm not an expert or even an A-student when it comes to good sleep hygiene. I confess I'm an avid drinker of caffeine and may consume a little too many glasses of wine (Tuesday night is a valid reason, no?). However my attitude and approach to sleep has shifted dramatically over the years, and 5 hours of sleep a night is no longer something to be proud of.
What exactly is sleep? Sleep scientist Dr Matt Walker, says as a function sleep is the act of pressing the reset button on our minds and bodies. It's been found that throughout a typical night's sleep different areas of the brain activate, with some brain scans showing brain areas activating up to 30% more than when we are awake. Clearly there is a lot more happening during sleep than meets the eye.
Brain scans and long term studies on sleep deprication has led to new findings about the link between sleep and its impact on behaviours such as memory, learning and even longer term neurological disorders such as alzheimer's disease or dementia. While these are supposed much longer term effects of sleep deprivation, sleep is linked to many important biological processes that can help us manage our energy levels and focus.
The rabbit-hole to learn about sleep is endless. Everyone should experiment and observe how different hours and quality of sleep impacts their mood, energy and focus.
These are the key takeaways that have helped me understand more about sleep:
We have chemical forces that govern sleep. Having a relatively consistent sleep schedule allows these forces to work with us, and allows us to understand our readiness for certain activities.
Adenosine is a chemical that builds up throughout the day and leads us to crave for sleep. Caffeine blocks our sleep receptors that sense adenosine, so drinking coffee in the afternoon can have a severe impact on our ability to fall asleep in the evening.
Circadian forces dictate our body clocks and are hugely influenced by light (natural and artificial). Exposing our pupils to natural light or other forms of blue light within 30 minute of waking in the morning can help us be more alert and kick start our circadian rhythm. Our body's experience 90 minute cycles where different combinations of chemicals influence our level of alertness and focus. Adrenalin and cortisol combine to get us going, and 12h-14h later, melatonin is released to help us fall asleep. We can be more intentional with light exposure to help us drive our circadian rhythm. In the evening, reducing blue light can help us succumb to the melatonin and adenosine in our bodies.
Sleep Reinforcements: Power Naps or deep relaxation techniques (yoga nidra, meditation) can be an effective way to boost brain power especially between 12pm-3pm when we've been up for 5+ hours. Contrary to what I used to believe, naps won't necessarily impact your ability to sleep later on, especially if you've built up a sleep deficient over a time period.
Sleep Cycles: We cycle through different stages of sleep which have different functions. We typically spend our sleep in the following proportions:
Light sleep: Average 45-55%
Deep sleep: 13-15%
REM sleep: 20-25%
Wake: 2-5%
During each sleep cycle our brains activate in different ways. Imagine hundreds of thousands of cells in the cortex, firing together to "cleanse" or help form memory and recall from your day.
If you are trying to learn more about sleep and how it may be impacting you, here's the best way to get started:
Dr Matthew Walker content (PhD, Director of the Centre for Human Sleep Science at The University of California)
Read His Book: Why We Sleep by Dr Matthew Walker will give you a lay of the land, and is a helpful way to get your bearings.
Watch This Ted Talk: Sleep is a Super-Power is Dr Walker's Talk on the Ted stage and a great beginner resource for anyone interested in learning more.
Podcast: The Matt Walker Podcast covers a variety of topics on the connection of sleep on our brain and body's
Listen to these Podcast conversations: And if you really want to start going down the rabbit hole, listen to Dr. Matthew Walker, All Things Sleep by Tim Ferriss or The Science & Practice of Perfecting your sleep by Andrew Huberman.
Andrew Huberman content (Neuroscientist and Associate professor in the Department of neurobiology and psychiatry and behavioural sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine)
Toolkit for Sleep (gold mine of actionable tips to help with efficient sleep hygiene)
Of course, this is non-exhaustive as there are lots of academic resources and experts out there but these resources will exponentially kickstart or accelerate your learning process.
If you have any good resources or tips on optimising your sleep or energy level's I'd love to hear from you!
