(MIND) Sleep Quality: Its not just about getting to bed early

The last thing you want to feel is like your life is going 100 MPH, mindlessly, day after day, slamming coffee and energy drinks to survive. Connections and relationships feeling empty. Mind pounding headaches. Lack of focus. High blood pressure. Sounds fun right?

We all want more sleep

Realistically, lets say the amount of hours you will be in bed is never going to change. You are going to lay in bed for ____ hours no matter what. The question is, how do we increase the QUALITY of those hours spent in bed?

Information Gathering

I listen to lots of Podcast episodes on optimizing the body and Mind (I try to be productive on my one hour work commute M-F). My personal favorite is “Ben Greenfield Fitness.” The show normally has a well versed scholar, doctor, scientist, or business owner on the podcast with Ben. He has inspired me to experiment and find out what works best for my body.

The Nighttime Discipline

I’ve noticed a trend among the healthiest and happiest people. They have solid nighttime and morning routines. They aren’t rushing to bed and they aren’t rushing out of the door when they wake up. Why? Because the start and end of a day is a transition for us mentally. They are time for our nervous system to prepare for what is upcoming. Staying away from the cell phone one hour before bed and one hour upon awaking has set me up for success. At night, it allows our minds to turn off and stay present. We aren’t developing racing thoughts based off perceived lives of others or cognitively challenging our brains with material. Pairing that discipline along with wearing blue light blocking glasses while home at night has been game changer. Both strategies set our bodies and minds up for a transition to sleep. Nothing to prevent a natural release of melanin. Allows for our cortisol stress levels to almost become absent, and we are telling our bodies that it is time to start turning off. Pairing those strategies with some sort of breath work routine will help optimize sleep. Your resting heart rate will start to go down over time, your mind will feel more clear, and next thing you know, your body and mind will feel better than they’ve every felt. Be Kind to the body. A nice Bath. A facial and so on. Sleeping with little clothes on and keeping the room cool. Some easy on the mind reading. A little Netflix. Something you really enjoy. Light a natural beeswax candle. Keep the lights dim. Incorporate Journalism, or even some reflection with your loved ones and watch your days become more fulfilling and complete then they’ve ever been before.

The morning Discipline

Lots of people struggle with racing anxiety to start the day. When I learn more about how they start their days, its no surprise that their minds are racing and their resting heart rate is above 60 beats per minute. Anxiety is for what is to come. The best way to slow that down is to put extra time and breath work toward WHAT IS NOW. The only way to do this is to allow enough time in the morning for a transition to your day. Some examples are: waking up and relaxing in the living room with a blanket. Focusing on breathing slow. Possibly sipping on some decaf tea or decaf coffee. Drinking water. Reminding ourselves to smile. Stretching/foam rolling. Calming activities. Going for a slow walk. Walking your dog outside. Focusing on being grateful for today and why today is special.

Proven results

I wear a “WHOOP” band on my wrist that monitors my resting heart rate, heart rate variability, sleep, body temperature, and other metrics. Since I’ve incorporated more restful activities to start and end the day, my numbers have all improved. I love the quantification device and the results its displays. REAL PROOF. Proof that my nervous system is operating in flow and I’m managing stress properly due to my disciplines.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, Some of us have more time than others. But, time is simply demands or priorities. Some that we can control and some that we can’t. Why not set ourselves up to feel the most energized mentally and physically, so the TIME that we do have is done with quality efforts?

Breath slowly…Turn overactive into reasonable…have a beautiful day