Guaranteed Ways to Get Better Sleep: Rec. Reading, v14
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We recognize that habit-building and good mental health can’t be isolated to just one corner of the internet. Myrth is our favorite tool, but it’s not our only tool. In our regular Recommended Reading series, we’ll share links to articles, books, and other tools that we think you’ll find helpful in your journey.
You’d think that, during wintertime, people would do a better job of getting a full night’s sleep. After all, the nights are longer, it’s cold outside, and winter naturally lends itself to hibernation tendencies.
But sleep deprivation is still a significant problem for people, due in no small part to the prevalence of artificial light and screens in our daily lives. In this week’s Recommended Reading installment, we’ll be talking about sleep - what happens when we don’t get enough, how to fix that, and how to build good habits going forward.
1. The Science Is Extremely Clear: You Need to Prioritize Sleep
Let’s start with the basics. The medical community is still studying and learning about sleep’s effects on the mind and body, but this article points out that one thing is clear: sleep is crucial.
“Sleep is so critical for so many parts of our body and our mind,” says Aric Prather, a sleep scientist at UCSF. It strengthens the immune system and helps regulate metabolism. It can clear out toxins that build up in the brain and prevent neurodegenerative diseases. “Sleep is like the dishwasher of the brain,” Prather explains…
When you don’t sleep enough, all sorts of systems tend to break down. In fact, it is linked to all sorts of health issues.
2. Consequences of Chronic Sleep Deprivation
If you’re of a scientific bent and really want to delve into the research, we thought this chapter from a book published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information at the National Institutes of Health was fascinating. It takes a look at some of the research surrounding sleep disorders and explores how a chronic lack of sleep can affect us.
The public health consequences of sleep loss and sleep-related disorders are far from benign. The most visible consequences are errors in judgment contributing to disastrous events such as the space shuttle Challenger (Walsh et al., 2005). Less visible consequences of sleep conditions are far more prevalent, and they take a toll on nearly every key indicator of public health: mortality, morbidity, performance, accidents and injuries, functioning and quality of life, family well-being, and health care utilization. Some of these consequences, such as automobile crashes, occur acutely within hours (or minutes) of the sleep disorder, and thus are relatively easy to link to sleep problems. Others—for example, obesity and hypertension—develop more insidiously over months and years of chronic sleep problems. After decades of research, the case can be confidently made that sleep loss and sleep disorders have profound and widespread effects on human health.
Chronic sleep deprivation is a public health issue and one that affects all aspects of our daily lives. Getting enough sleep is vital to both our physical and mental well-being.
3. Blue Light has a Dark Side
One of the culprits of this epidemic of sleeplessness might be blue light, the light that is often beaming out at us from computer screens, phones, and televisions. We liked this overview from the pros at Harvard:
While light of any kind can suppress the secretion of melatonin, blue light at night does so more powerfully. Harvard researchers and their colleagues conducted an experiment comparing the effects of 6.5 hours of exposure to blue light to exposure to green light of comparable brightness. The blue light suppressed melatonin for about twice as long as the green light and shifted circadian rhythms by twice as much (3 hours vs. 1.5 hours).
In other words: if you want to improve your sleep, get away from screens and blue light a few hours before you want to go to bed. You’ll have an easier time falling asleep if you cut your exposure to blue light. Some people swear by blue light glasses to help cut their exposure.
4. For Better Sleep, Improve Your Sleep Hygiene
Reducing your exposure to blue light before bed is just one of the ways to improve your chance of a good night’s sleep. The Sleep Foundation has published a list of recommendations for improved sleep hygiene (and so have we) and we particularly liked their ideas about establishing a routine for bedtime.
Establishing a regular relaxing bedtime routine. A regular nightly routine helps the body recognize that it is bedtime. This could include taking a warm shower or bath, reading a book, setting up a sound machine, or light stretches. When possible, try to avoid emotionally upsetting conversations and activities before attempting to sleep.
We hope this brief overview has been helpful to you in your journey toward a better night’s rest. If you’ve been on a journey to improve your sleep, we’d love to hear from you in the comments!
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