6 Evening Strategies to Optimize Your Sleep

With the large amount of stress in our daily lives it is no surprise that many people suffer from insomnia or do not feel well-rested after waking up in the morning. Many factors go into our quality of sleep and most of these can be adjusted to prepare for a healthy and productive morning. 

Why Is Sleep So Important?

Sleep is one of the most important aspects to promote optimal health and wellness. It is our body's chance to repair damaged cells and rejuvenate the body & mind after each day. A good night's sleep supports a healthy body weight (1), improves brain function & memory formation (2), allows for healthy aging (3), improves athletic performance (4), allows for healthy immune function (5),  and provides many other brain & body benefits.

Strategies to Improve Sleep Quality

Simple changes to your evening routine can make all of the difference when preparing for a restful sleep. In addition to the benefits mentioned above, these changes combined with some easy morning routine strategies will help boost mood, productivity, and help you feel your absolute best throughout the day. 

 

1. Avoid Sleep Disrupting Substances:

 Avoiding substances that may prevent you from falling asleep or disrupt normal sleep patterns like caffeine and alcohol for several hours before bedtime. Unsurprisingly, those who avoid caffeine have better sleep quality and less difficulty falling asleep (8).

Avoiding eating at least 2 hours before bed can also help improve sleep. When we are full, our body is focused on digestion and usually has a more difficulty time falling into a restful state.

 

2. Practice Good Sleep Hygiene: 

The process of "Sleep Hygiene" consists of several steps which focus on the proper way to prepare for sleep. It is a simple process that may make a huge difference in the quality of sleep for some people. Examples of ways to improve sleep hygiene include the following: 

  • Get out of bed within 15-20 minutes if not falling asleep and return when drowsy

  • Cover all sources of light before bedtime (alarm clocks, night lights, electronics, etc)

  • Go to bed and wake up around the same time every day

  • Keep sleep environment clean and comfortable

 

3. Exercise Regularly

Regular exercise at least 4 times per week has been shown to improve sleep duration, sleep onset, and sleep quality (9). In addition to simply wearing us out, a good exercise routine can help release a "feel good" hormone which calms an overactive mind while reducing stress and anxiety. 

In order to give your mind and body a chance to calm down before bed, it may also help to schedule your exercise routine several hours before bed if possible. 

 

4. Relaxation Techniques: 

Relaxation techniques not only help with stress and anxiety, they can also be a good strategy to implement for sleeping problems. Mediation, yoga, and other relaxation techniques were shown to improve sleep patterns in people with long-term insomnia (10).

One simple way to relax before bed is taking a walk while performing box breathing. This involves going for a short, slow-paced walk while focusing on the following breathing technique throughout:

  • 4 Second Inhalation

  • 4 Second Hold

  • 4 Second Exhalation

  • Repeat

 

5. Avoid (Blue) Light Before Bed:

This one could be grouped with sleep hygiene, but is so important and often not thought of that it deserves it's own paragraph. Blue light is a high energy type of light that is emitted from most TVs, laptops, cellphones, and other electronic devices. Since our sleep cycle is on an evolutionary natural clock (called the circadian rhythm) that is dictated by the amount of light we are looking at, any un-natural light can throw off this sleep clock and "trick" our body into thinking it should be awake. People commonly use their cellphones or watch TV directly up until bedtime and end up not being able to fall asleep because their body (and hormones) are tricked into thinking it's daytime. The elimination of any artificial light within the hour before bed is a great start to naturally help your body realize it is time to sleep and regulate your circadian rhythm. 

In addition to limiting blue light, another strategy that may be helpful is turning your cellphone to airplane mode before falling asleep. This allows for peace of mind without worrying about who may be contacting you. It also can help by reducing the electromagnetic frequency that cell phones give off from wifi and cellular signals, this will help to decrease the amount of disruption to the body's normal processes. 

Tip: If you must use your cellphone up until bedtime, there is an option to decrease the blue light emitted from the device on most cellphones. For iPhone users, a tutorial on how to turn on this "nightshift" feature can be found

 

6. Turn Down The Thermostat:

Our bodies are built to naturally cool down before and during sleep. This process is part of our normal circadian rhythm and allows for the cooling air temperature at night to signal to us that it is time for bed. By turning down the thermostat to 68-70 degrees before bed, we can help facilitate this circadian instinct and let our body know that it is sleep time. This may be difficult to adapt to at first, but over time our body will get used to sleeping with a colder temperature and sleep quality will improve. 

 

BONUS: SUPPLEMENTAL STRATEGIES

In addition to these strategies, here are some nutritional supplements and natural strategies to help improve sleep. 

1. Melatonin Supplementation: Although somewhat controversial, melatonin is likely a much better option than some of the dangerous pharmaceutical drugs that are prescribed for sleep disorders. Contrary to what some may say, melatonin is currently thought to be very safe and is already naturally made inside the body to regulate your sleep cycle (11). Melatonin supplementation is known for improving sleep quality/duration and some studies have shown that the extended-release form can improve sleep quality in certain populations (12, 13, 14). Many people take melatonin only when needed in order to reset their sleep cycle after sleep deprivation or jet lag. Doses between 500mcg and 5mg are common for sleep cycle regulation. It is also important to note that melatonin is not dose-dependent and taking more will not help you fall asleep faster. 

2. Valerian Supplementation: This is an herb that has relaxing effects and is commonly used to calm anxiety and make it easier to fall asleep. Although the results are mixed, some studies also indicate that valerian may improve perceived sleep quality (15,16). For relaxation and sedation before bedtime, 450mg has been shown to be optimal while higher doses may cause drowsiness the next morning (17). Valerian is also found in many sleep-promoting teas, which provides a soothing way to calm the mind and prepare for a good night's sleep. 

3. Acupuncture: Acupuncture can help with a wide variety of other conditions and insomnia is just another one to add to the list. There is a large amount of evidence that acupuncture can help improve sleep quality and reduce daytime sleepiness. (18, 19)

4. Aroma Therapy: Aroma therapy has become popular lately in the form of diffusing essential oils. The most common oil that is diffused for relaxation and sleep promotion is lavender. Although the diffusion of essential oils' most common evidence is anecdotal, there have been studies showing aroma therapy to have sleep-promoting abilities (20).

The Big Picture:

Optimizing sleep quality is not black and white and will not be something that can be done immediately, especially if you already suffer from insomnia. With the use of these strategies, you should notice some benefits over time with the restfulness of your sleep and energy upon waking. Combining these strategies with ways to optimize your circadian rhythm and improve your morning routine can be an excellent choice when looking to boost productivity and feel your absolute best.

 

Blake Pennock