Nov. 16, 2021
How can we sleep better? People nowadays are said to sleep far less than those in preindustrial days. And quite a few feel it is not an entirely ideal situation, but at the same time do not know exactly what to do in order to enjoy the kind of deep, and sound sleep that used to be so natural when they were little.
So what should we do about it?
I, as someone who feels that his sleep has been negatively affected by his so-called modern way of life, consider two things vitally important here:
1) Why is poor sleep quality is bad?
2) How can we make it batter?
As far as the first question is concerned, unless you have this awareness that poor sleep quality is bad for you, you won't in the first place try to make it better?
As for the second question, even if you want to achieve a deep, and sound sleep, unless you know how, there won't be any change in the way you sleep.
These two questions were first brought to my attention when I listened to a TED presentation by Matthew Walker. It was so interesting that it immediately led to me buying his international bestseller "Why We Sleep".
From what I read, there are at least 3 potentially horrendously bad consequences associated with chronical shortage of sleep.
I also learned 12 tips to achieve better sleep.
The purpose of this post is to share with you these two findings of mine.
<Why Poor Sleep Is Bad>
Here are three bad consequences of chronical poor sleep that I learned from the book. I am sure the book says far more implications, but theses are at least what I thought most shocking and where their social consequences are far-reaching:
1) You die young.
2) Your net worth goes down.
3) You become unhappy.
Wow! What else could I possibly say? They are enough to make me take "sleep" seriously. And I hope you feel the same, because after all we all hope for healthy longevity, social contribution, and personal happiness.
<How We Can Sleep Better: 12 Tips>
For someone who has some intellectual interest in sleep, the book should be tremendously exciting and eye-opening, but for those who simply want to do something about their chronical insomnia, some kind of practical tips are all they need. So, here are 12 tips that are easy to implement. They are shown in Appendix entitled "Twelve Tips for Healthy Sleep".
1) Stick to a sleep schedule. To make it easier, set an alarm for bedtime, not for wake-up time. (Unexpected and interesting!)
2) Exercise, but not later than 2~3 hours before bedtime.
3) Avoid caffeine and nicotine.
4) Avoid alcohol before bedtime.
5) Avoid large meals and beverages late at night.
6) Avoid medications that disrupt sleep.
7) Don't take naps after 3.
8) Relax before bed. A relaxing activity such as reading is recommended.
9) Take a hot bath before bed.
10) Make your bedroom dark, cool, and gadget-free (smartphones included!).
11) Expose yourself to sunlight at the right time.
12) Don't lie in bed awake. If you cannot fall asleep in bed, it's better for you to get out and do something until you feel sleepy, like myself now who decided to read a book, review a book, and write this post after being unable to fall asleep for half an hour!
They all sound so simple and easy to implement, don't they? I don't think you need to work on all of them all at once. Picking up one tip at a time to see how it goes for you seems more fun. If it doesn't work easily for you, it's still not the end of the world. You still have 11 more to work on. Sooner or later, you may find something that works more easily for you than the rest on the list. Then, once one tip starts getting results, you may want to build on it.
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