Master your sleep

SO HERE IS MY LIST FOR HOW TO GET BETTER AT SLEEPING:

1. View sunlight by going outside within 30-60 minutes of waking{7am –9 am}. Do that again in the late afternoon, prior to sunset {between 5.45pm –6.45pm}.
If you wake up before the sun is out and you want to be awake, turn on artificial lights and then go outside once the sun rises.

• On bright cloudless daysview morning and afternoon sun for 10 min, cloudy days on 20min, very overcast days 30-60 min.
• Don’t wear sunglasses for this practice if you safely can, but contact lenses and eyeglasses are fine.
• No, you don’t have to look directly at the sun, and never look at ANY light so bright it is painful to view! That said, you can’t wear a brimmed hat, sunglasses and remain in the shade and expect to “wake up” your circadian clock.

2. Avoid viewing bright lights—especially bright overhead lights between 10 pm and 4 am.
Here is a simple rule only use as much artificial lighting as is necessary for you to remain and move about safely at night. Blue blockers can help a bit at night but still dim the lights. Viewing bright lights of all colors are a problem for your circadian system. Candlelight and moonlight are fine.

3. Limit daytime naps to less than 90 min, or don’t nap at all.
Long naps can decrease the sleep pressure needed for nighttime sleep. This can reduce nighttime sleep efficiency.

4. Avoid caffeine within 8-10 hours of bedtime.
Sleep experts recommend avoiding caffeine within 6–8 hours of bedtime to help you sleep well. For example, if you go to bed at 10 PM, you should stop drinking caffeine by 2–4 PM. Caffeine can disrupt sleep, even for people who don't think it stimulates them. People with insomnia are often more sensitive to mild stimulants than regular sleepers. Caffeine can affect you within 15minutes, and its effects can last 2–12 hours. Your bloodstream levels peak an hour after consuming caffeine, and half of it remains in your body about 6 hours later. Caffeine may not completely clear your bloodstream until after 10 hours. So, one should limit the caffeine consumption to no more than about 300–400 mg per day, which is about three to four cups of coffee. Women who are pregnant or nursing should consume even less caffeine or avoid it altogether.

5. Drinking alcohol messes up your sleep.
Most experts agree that drinking will mess with your sleep, no matter your age or gender. And because alcohol depresses the central nervous system, a couple of glasses of wine or a few drinks in the evening will probably make you fall asleep faster than normal. Who among us hasn’t left the dishes for the next morning or neglected a skin-care routine after a dinner party or festive night out?
But even if you fallinto a dreamland, there’s a good chance that too much alcohol will mean a fitfulnight of sleep. {FITFUL NIGHT" REFERS TO SLEEP THAT OCCURS IN SHORT PERIODS OF TIME, OR WHEN SOMEONE WAKES UP MULTIPLE TIMES DURING THE NIGHT.} That’s because alcohol disrupts what’s known as your sleep architecture, the normal phases of deeper and lighter sleep we go through every night. A night of drinking can “fragment,” or interrupt, these patterns, experts say, and you may wake up several times as you ricochet through the usual stages of sleep.

6. Expect to feel really alert ~1 hour before your natural bedtime.
This is a naturally occurring spike in wakefulness that sleep researchers have observed.
Don’t worry if it happens. It will pass!

7. Keep the room you sleep in cool,dark and layer on blankets that you can remove.
Your body needs to drop in temperature by 1-3 degrees to fall and stay asleep effectively, increase ina Body temperature are one reason you wake up. Thus, keep your room cool and remove blankets as needed. If it’s too hot you would have to use a cooling device and that’s harder than simply tossing off blankets if you get too warm.

8. If you wake up in the middle of the night (which, by the way, is normal to do once or so each night) but you can’t fall back asleep, consider doing an NSDR protocol when you wake up.
Physiological sigh (deep vigorous inhale through your nose until lungs are full, then sneak in a bit more air with another sharp inhale, then exhale until your lungs are empty).

9. Kids (and indeed all of us) have changing sleep needs over time. Adjust accordingly.
We might be night owls at 15 but become “morning people” as we age or need 6 hours a night in summer and 7-8 in winter. It will vary.
That’s it for now. Again, sleep is THE foundation of our mental and physical health and performance in all endeavors. Yet no one is perfect about sleep. The occasional night out or missing sunlight viewing here and there is not a big deal, so don’t obsess about that. However, if any of us drift from these and the other behaviors for too long, we start to suffer.So, whatever your life and goals and schedule, master your sleep. You’ll be so happy you did!