TN50 #89, SLEEP: The Good the Bad and The Ugly, 19 September 2022
Hi Team,
Happy Monday and welcome to The Next 50 #89. Tonight, we’ll focus on the ups and downs of SLEEP based on feedback from my call for help a couple weeks ago, TN50#87.
Here’s how you rated sleep promotors and detractors.
The GOOD – Biggest positive SLEEP Promotors:
Top Rated #1: One of the top mentioned reasons for getting good sleep is, being very active throughout the day. One person specifically mentioned taking a long walk before bed. Getting a lot of physical energy out can be a game changer for promoting good sleep, this makes a lot of sense when you understand how our body produces adenosine (which we’ll cover in a bit) and adding a nice relaxing stroll in the dark is a great way to wind down before bed even after a very physically active day.
Top Rated #2: The other top-rated reason for getting good sleep is, a cold room, this is not surprising as most studies indicate that a room temperature of 65-to-67-degree F produces the best sleep across study groups. I love a cold sleep chamber, we kept our team room, overseas, so cold that when the mosquitos would fly in, to feast on us while we slept, their wings would ice up and they’d fall to the group immobilized.
Lots of second place mentions as well, like: relaxing in lower light, reading real books, sleepy time tea (not alcohol, not caffeine, not calories). A lot of this falls into having a good pre bed ritual, funny how we move mountains as parents to make sure our kids didn’t miss their bedtime rituals but we somehow don’t always remember that bedtime rituals work for adults too!
The BAD – Biggest negative SLEEP Detractors:
Top Rated: A few people mentioned, eating and/or drinking right before bed as one of the issues messing with their good night sleep (save that one dude I mentioned last week). If this sounds like you, remember your better off having at least a 2-hour break between calories and bed, AT A MINIMUM. I know a lot of people who track their sleep and eating close to bed time leads to:
- Higher Heart Rate
- Higher Body Temperature
- Higher Respiratory Rate
- Lower HRV
These are all indicators of missing good restorative sleep, regardless of whether you subjectively felt like you slept well.
A Close Second: Another popular one messing with good sleep is, stress, or monkey mind. I think we can all relate to this one, I know I can. For me an early “electronics sunset” with an hour or more of time with no tech stimulation and a good pre bed ritual seem to be the best things in my SLEEP toolkit that helps calm the monkey mind and allow me to get to sleep.
3rd Place: Another common issue that can mess with your sleep, not getting enough energy out during the day. Here is some of the science on why this is the case:
One of the most important functions of adenosine is sleep regulation. Adenosine is produced during both intense physical work and mental work. It slowly builds up in the body over the course of the day, eventually making you sleepy. As adenosine gradually attaches to adenosine receptors, it begins to promote muscle relaxation and tiredness, which is why you start to get tired later in the day (https://selfhacked.com/blog/adenosine-health-effects/)
And Finally, The UGLY:
One honest soul, simply said, “TV in the bedroom is BACK”
Oh the humanity!
As always share the post with your team or anyone who might find it useful and let me know what you think.
Have a good one, Alex
