top of page
Search

HOW TO SLEEP BETTER, FASTER, DEEPER, EARLIER

pranavmachingal2

💡What is sleep?


Sleep is this tremendously important period of time that resets our ability to be focused, alert & stable in the wakeful period I'd say it is the singlemost important yet the most underrated thing you can do for your health


💡What determines when we fall asleep/be awake


◻️One is a chemical force: adenosine Adenosine creates a "sleep hunger" It's very low when you wake up & builds up throughout the day

• More adenosine= feel more sleepy


◻️Caffeine is an adenosine antagonist, i.e it makes adenosine inactive as long as Caffeine is in the system (why you feel less sleepy when you drink coffee)


• Hence it's important to time your Caffeine/coffee intake

•Coffee earlier in the day= great

• Coffee later in the day (for most people) = bad


◻️ Second is a circadian force: light

•Something as simple as viewing light(esp sunlight) has a dramatic effect on your level of wakefulness & when you fall asleep


◻️Viewing sunlight earlier in the day and around sunset regulates your levels of alertness in the morning & helps you fall asleep faster later in the evening


💡Why sleeping at the right time matters

◻️ We all know that getting enough duration of sleep (6-8hrs) is absolutely critical for optimal functioning


But is getting the 6-8hrs of sleep the same whenever we go to bed?

TURNS OUT ITS NOT!!


◻️We sleep in cycles, these cycles are about 90mins long (7.5 hrs of sleep= 5cycles) These cycles are further divided into REM sleep &non REM sleep


◻️ The first half of your sleep comprises of more non-REM sleep ,Non REM sleep has four stages & stage 3&4 are called deepsleep


◻️Deep sleep promotes restoration to the musculature,motor learning, blood pressure regulation, bloodsugar regulation influenced by insulin


When you sleep closer to the sunrise (2-3am) you experience less non-REM/deep sleep & all these markers &more takes a hit You are less optimised for the day & frankly it's detrimental to your health


💡Why we experience less non-REM sleep when we sleep late is due to the circadian forces. We have a "clock" called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) that regulates behaviour & mechanisms


◻️SCN regulates behaviour & mechanism with respect to the day (hence refered to as the circadian clock) So by sleeping later than you should, you're effectively impairing both these mechanisms

Your body is smart,it will adapt to anything but you're definitely underoptimising if you don't work on it


•Things to avoid if you want to sleep faster


💡Bright lights/bright overhead lights


◻️Light exposure is great early in the day to the evening but after dark it's probably best to keep it minimal


◻️(optional to read) Studies shows that bright light exposure b/w 11pm-4am suppresses dopamine release by activation of the habenula


◻️ Also the cells that activate the neurons that set the body's clock (using mainstream appealing words ik)


• reside mostly in the bottom half of the retina & they view the upper visual field So dim down the lights at night, use floor lights, candlelights etc


💡Screenlights/ smartphones


◻️This is a no brainer, could explain with science but I think all of you know, cut off Screenlights atleast 1-2hr before sleep


• What I do is I cut off phone use pretty early(I try my best) (I mess up frequently)


💡Alcohol


◻️Alcohol is a drug that comes under a class called sedatives &that's exactly what it does, it sedates your cortex and makes you lose consciousness & losing consiousness is not sleep


◻️Alcohol fragments your sleep & disrupts REM sleep It'll make you wake up throughout the night (most of which you won't remember) leaving you not restored the next day


• Dr.Matt walker,sleep scientist from UC Berkeley refers to REM sleep as a self generated therapy so that's all you need to know.


💡Masturbation &sex as a sleep aid


◻️Post orgasm increase in prolactin is considered to be a naturally occurring sedative (need more data)


◻️ Sex resulted in orgasm

(consensual,age appropriate,species appropriate,context appropriate)

Seems to promote sleep due to the release of oxytocin with respect to pair bonding (need more data)


💡Diet & supplementation for better sleep

◻️Melatonin is a hormone that promotes the onset of sleep but I'd advise against taking supplemental Melatonin (post coming soon)


◻️I'd rather get my light viewing behaviour in check & eat carbohydrates on the last meal


◻️Carbohydrate sources & meats are usually rich in tryptophan which is a precursor to serotonin which downstream converts to melatonin


💡why you feel a crashin energy in the afternoon after eating a carbdense meal

◻️Eating a reasonable amount of carbs, 1-2 hrs before bed is what I do personally but this is individual preferance

◻️There are a ton of sleep aids out there and the one I recommend is magnesium threonate & magnesium bis-glycinate as it's relatively benign & well tolerated amongst everyone

◻️Getting 1000mg EPA through diet or supplementation throughout the day has antidepressant effects so I would assume that would contribute to better sleep


197 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page