Sleep Smarter

That’s Tip #1: Know the Value of Sleep.

Now, I’m not sure where you are on the “Sleep is important” spectrum, but I KNOW that a great night of sleep is my #1 non-negotiable self-care habit that keeps me most plugged in.

(btw: This little Micro Class will probably always be one of if not THE most important Micro Class I do.)

If I don’t get my 8-ish + hours of sleep a night I just don’t have the same zip in my mind I REALLY like to have. Less than 6 and you don’t want to be around me. (Hah.)

So, I don’t need a lot of convincing that sleep is super important.

If you do, KNOW that it’s super important. :) But only if you want to optimize and actualize.

It’s the secret sauce.

Let’s remember just how important it is.

And let’s take a quick look at some Ideas on how to dial it in.

That’s Tip #3. (Right after getting morning sun.)

Avoiding the blue-light emitting screens before bedtime is, as Shawn advises, probably the #1 thing we can do to optimize our sleep.

At least (!) 90 minutes before you intend to go to sleep, turn off all your electronics.

Your computer. Your iPad. Your TV. Your smartphone.

OFF. OFF. OFF. OFF.

Although these devices are ubiquitous these days, we’ve gotta remember that we evolved for MILLIONS of years without them.

Back in the day, the sun went down and we slowed down. We weren’t wandering around getting all jacked up at night. We would have been prey. And we would have been dead.

It’s only over the last few decades (starting with the TV) that these devices have become such a big part of our lives. And, really, only over the last DECADE (with the introduction of the smartphone) that they’ve become SO omnipresent.

So, if you want to optimize your sleep, turn them off. Starting tonight!

P.S. In Optimal Sleep 101 we’ll have a complete “Sleep Gear” sheet, for now, check out f.lux if you haven’t already, and think about getting these sweet bluelight blocking glasses if you want to be really cool.

P.P.S. Shawn tells us that 50% of Americans sleep with their cell phones by their side. Research (sponsored by the mobile companies themselves!) shows that people who check their phones before going to bed take longer to reach deep sleep and spend less time there. Get your phone out of your room if you want to optimize your sleep.

P.P.P.S. Here’s another fascinating thing: Did you know your skin has receptors that can pick up light? Your skin can LITERALLY see. Nuts. So… Make sure you’re sleeping in a super dark environment (so dark you can’t see your hand in front of your face). My sleep environment is pretty good but black out curtains will be arriving soon. You?

So, this is from Tip #4: Have a Caffeine Curfew.

Basic Big Idea? Caffeine has a half-life of around 5-8 hours—meaning that if you had a coffee with 200 mg of caffeine in it at 10 a.m., half of that (or 100 mg for the non-Math majors) is still in your system as late as 6 p.m. (That’s a lot.)

So, if you’re going to use caffeine, do it earlier in the day. Have a “caffeine curfew.” (For most people, Shawn tells us that curfew is no later than 2 p.m. Jacking yourself later in the day just isn’t wise if you’re hoping for a good night of sleep.)

Most of us know that at this point.

Here’s something I didn’t know: Caffeine doesn’t actually “give you energy.” What it really does is mask your fatigue. And the way it does that is fascinating.

So, short story: Your neurons are firing all day long. As they do so, they produce a by-product known as adenosine. The more firing, the more adenosine. Adenosine usually binds with receptors and basically alerts your body to the fact that you’re working hard and nudges you toward sleep and recovery. As the adenosine piles up, you get more tired—a VERY important signal for you to REST.

Apparently caffeine can fit into those adenosine receptors and basically block them from doing their job—so you don’t get the signal that you’re actually tired.

Now, that can be great in the moment.

But you’re basically borrowing energy. And, that energy needs to be paid back at some point.

If you do it once in a while, you can get away with it and pay back the debt. But if you use it all.the.time to mask an underlying failure to recover properly, you’re overextending yourself and in for a much bigger issue.

I like the way my friend Brendan Brazier puts it in The Thrive Diet (see Notes): “I consider coffee drinking an uncomplementary stress. I view it as a form of credit, similar to shopping with a credit card. You get energy now that you don’t actually have, but you pay for it later—when the ‘bill,’ or fatigue, hits. (Simply drinking more coffee to put off the inevitable is like paying off one credit card with another: It will catch up with you sooner or later.) You’ll most likely pay a high interest rate as well, needing more time to recover than if that energy had not been borrowed in the first place. This is the beginning of a vicious cycle.”

All part of a longer chat on the optimal use of caffeine (I drink coffee twice a month on the days I teach my Master Classes as it’s a nice little performance booster) but for our purposes remember: if you use caffeine, have a curfew.

Let adenosine do it’s job.

Shawn shares a couple Tips on the importance of being cool—one related to setting the thermostat just right and another on not bundling yourself up like an arctic hunter.

There’s some fascinating research he shares re: thermoregulation. Here’s what we need to know: Our bodies can keep us WARM a lot easier than they can keep us COOL.

And, being cool is a really important part of getting an optimal amount of sleep.

So, stay cool.

Specifically, the ideal room temperature is 60 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit.

One of the biggest little things I ever did for my sleep was to set my thermostat for 68 degrees. (And I actually took that down to 66 degrees to run a little experiment after reading this book.)

So, what’s YOUR thermostat set at these days?

And are you overly dressed for night time?

Stay cool!

That’s from Tip #20 and probably the one that most impacted me: Get Grounded.

As I was reading that passage, I tried to remember the last time my bare feet actually hit the earth.

I’m almost a little embarrassed to say, but I couldn’t remember! :0

I’m pretty sure it was maybe a year ago when Emerson and I went to the beach. (Oh, my!)

I thought I was ALL about “being a good animal” and leaning into certain behaviors that we’ve evolved to follow (like circadian rhythms, less technology, etc.) but I pretty much NEVER touch the earth. Yikes.

Shawn calls this Vitamin G.

As in Vitamin Grounding. Making connection with the good ol’ Earth.

A growing body of research says it’s essential.

The short story: We run on electromagnetic energy. So does the earth. “Bottom line: You may not be able to see it, but you are highly conductive. You give off and receive energy every second of every day. The misuse and misunderstanding of your body’s electrical system is a catalyst for chronic health problems.”

I have to admit that I’ve always found the whole “earthing”/“grounding” thing to be a little too far out there. After reading this chapter, I no longer feel that way. As I type this I’m finally using the grounding mat Alexandra told me to get a long time ago as she’s our family vanguard on such things. Thank you, darling. :)

I’ll be actively looking for ways to make more pure contact with the earth. (And… I’ll be looking into grounding sheets and other gear. More on all that soon. Wish me luck!)

How about you? When’s the last time your bare feet touched the bare earth? You getting enough Vitamin G?

That’s from Tip #16: Calm Your Inner Chatter.

This isn’t a news flash but we want to remember: We’re going to have a hard time falling asleep if we’ve got drunk, crazy, hyperactive little monkeys swinging around in our heads.

We need to get REALLY good at flipping what Shawn calls the “off switch.”

Imagine that.

You’re up and on and rockin’ it during the day.

Then, you’re done. Shut down complete.

You flip the OFF switch.

And, as we discuss all the time, one of the best ways to build that off-switch muscle? Meditation. (You check out Meditation 101 yet? Got a solid practice?)

Meditate in the morning to sleep well at night. Flip the off switch.

P.S. One of the things I do every.single.night is take 5 deep breaths (always 5!)—breathing in to 6, holding for 2 and then exhaling to 8. Nice, slow, deep breathing where I’m not thinking about anything other than the count and deep breaths. I do that the moment I am flat on my back.

EVERY night. No thinking allowed—no matter what’s going on. I also do the exact same thing to start every single one of my meditations (+ napitations)—grooving my consciousness to know that when I take those 5 deep breaths everything shuts down. Period. It’s amazing.

Which leads us to the importance of rituals:

That’s from the final Tip: Ritualize Your Night.

Did you know that the word ritual comes from the Latin ritus which means “a proven way of doing something”? ← I love that!!

And, more importantly, do YOU have a PM ritual that you go through to help you get a great night of sleep? We want to figure out what works then do it again and again remembering that a great day starts the night before.

Ritus-style.