Every Wednesday is Tip Day.
This Wednesday: 14 tips for getting more sleep - and why it matters.
Since I started my happiness project, I've become more and more convinced of the importance of sleep to happiness. That's why I proposed "Get more sleep" as the very first resolution of the 2010 Happiness Challenge (see the video here). Many researchers argue that not getting enough sleep has broad health consequences, such as raising your risk for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and even obesity. But in addition to those, it has a profound effect on happiness and energy level. We get accustomed to being sleep-deprived, and although at first, we notice the effect on mood and alertness, before long, we adjust to that state as normal. So even if you insist that you feel fine, if you got more sleep, you might feel a lot better.
I usually sleep well once my head hits the pillow, but until I started my happiness project, I would often stay up late to read, answer emails, watch TV, talk to my sister on the west coast, or cruise the internet. I had to wait until my children were asleep before I could start my real leisure time.
I was fine at night, but I suffered the next morning. I feel crabby when I'm jarred out of sleep by the alarm, and I dislike racing around on weekday mornings, with no time to spare. I realized that to have more energy and more calm, I needed to go to sleep earlier (and also to wake up earlier). I looked for ways to prod myself to turn off the light and to get better sleep:
1. Set a specific bedtime for yourself. Many people have no idea what time they "should" go to sleep in order to feel well-rested. Be realistic! If you have to wake up at 7:00 a.m., staying awake until 1:30 a.m. each night is unlikely to be sufficient.
2. Get ready for bed well before your bedtime. Sometimes, paradoxically, I feel too tired to go to bed. I try to wash my face, take out my contact lenses, and brush my teeth well before I plan to turn off the light.
3. Make your room very dark. Shut the blinds, block out the lights from your computer, clock, phone, etc. Even the tiny light from a digital alarm clock can disrupt a sleep cycle.
4. Stretch. A study showed that women who were having trouble sleeping fared much better when they stretched four times a week.
5. Keep your bedroom a little chilly.
6. If your mind is racing with worry, make a list of everything you need to do the next day. This really works for me. I can make myself crazy fretting that I'm going to forget to do something important; if I make a list, I can relax.
7. Tidy up your bedroom. It's not restful to be surrounded by clutter.
8. Exercise. Studies suggest that people who exercise fall asleep faster and stay sleep longer - and this is particularly true for people who have trouble sleeping.
9. An hour before bedtime, avoid work that requires alert thinking. I try to stop myself from checking my emails before I go to bed, because it wakes me up. I made this mistake just last night, in fact. I got some emails answered, but I was so wound up that it took me forever to go to sleep.
10. My personal sleep-inducing innovation: Slather myself with body lotion. This feels good and also, if I'm having trouble sleeping because I'm hot, it cools me down.
11. My other sleep-inducing innovation: Put on socks if my feet are cold. I feel frumpy, but my husband won't let me use his legs as a foot-warmer.
12. Yawn.
13. Tell yourself, "I have to get up now." Imagine that you just hit the snooze alarm and in a minute, you're going to be marching through the morning routine. Often this is an exhausting enough prospect to make me fall asleep.
14. Give up, and re-frame your sleeplessness as a welcome opportunity to snatch some extra time out of your day. If I wake up and can't get to sleep after 4:00 a.m., I get up and start working. Instead of starting the day feeling annoyed, I have a wonderful feeling of having accomplished a lot before my usual wake-up time of 6:00 a.m.
What other strategies have worked for you -- to get yourself to turn off the light, or once in bed, to get more restful sleep?
* I spent a leeeetle too much time this morning catching up on posts on To the Max -- "a blog about parenting, extreme honesty, chocolate ice-cream, and life with my little boy, who had a stroke at birth and kicks butt."
* It's Word-of-Mouth Day, when I gently encourage (or, you might think, pester) you to spread the word about the Happiness Project. You might:
-- Forward the link to someone you think would be interested
-- Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @gretchenrubin)
-- Sign up for my free monthly newsletter (about 33,000 people get it)
-- Buy the book
-- Join the 2010 Happiness Challenge to make 2010 a happier year
-- Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update
-- Watch the one-minute book video
Thanks! I really appreciate any help. Word of mouth is the BEST.
Follow Gretchen Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/gretchenrubin
LIVESTRONG.COM: Sleep: Good for the Brain and the Belly
Dr. Michael J. Breus: A Sleepless Couch Potato?
Lee Schneider: In Praise of Sleeplessness
Thank you!
You may enjoy an interview series about professional women in online journalism:
http://www.ourblook.com/Table/Gender-Studies-and-Media/
conducted by a Gender and Mass Media class at the University of Iowa this past fall.
The interviews offer a great deal of perspective into the future of online journalism and women.
For different perspectives on happiness as it relates to aging, you may want to visit happiness-after-midlife.com
Thanks for the tips about making the room dark. I'm going to show it to my husband---he doesn't think it matters, but I have always prefered a really dark room.
And like you, I do better if the room is chilly. I can't sleep if I am too hot.
Actually #10 sounds vastly more entertaining, if somewhat distaff. Maybe it could be modified to slathering up your partner instead... no reason wife or hubbie should sleep if you can't...
Not for everyone
For me personally I hate a totally blacked out bedroom. I need some light in the room.
Since co-founding a business I seem to have acquired a habit of waking up at silly hours, my mind racing. Like you, Gretchen, I just accept it and get up and be productive and you do feel you've achieved so much before people are awake.
The trick is to ensure you don't then stay up late the next light and get into a never-ending cycle.
Definitely no email or stimulating activities right before you go to bed, and reading really helps to just still your mind and focus in on the story, as does relaxing music.
The great thing about exercising is the quality of your sleep improves and you actually need less of it as you become more fit.
Natalie