Put yourself in this situation:
You’ve had a long day. Actually, a better way to put it would be that you spent five hours in front of a computer, four hours trying to keep your two-year-old nephew from biting the couch or wandering out of the house, and, by the time you finally got home, you felt as if you’d just finished an uphill marathon.
After a day like that, the only thing to do is to crawl into bed and collapse into a deep, deep sleep. Except you don’t. For some reason, you can’t get your mind to stop running at the speed it was going all day long. You’ve wanted to be in bed asleep all day, but now that you’re here it’s just not happening.
In this scenario, there’s one question you’re probably asking. Okay, maybe two. Can I cancel all my plans for tomorrow, and, why is this happening?
Well, it boils down to the somewhat surprising fact that sleep is not just the absence of thoughts, the absence of stress, or the absence of brain activity. And the secret to getting a good night’s rest is a little more complicated than doing nothing.
Learning to sleep
The above scenario was something that I struggled with more than a few times in my life. When I was in grade school, I just wasn’t tired when my strictly enforced bedtime came around. But when my alarm rang the next morning, I wished I’d been able to go to sleep then anyway.
My often-failed quest for a good night’s sleep seemed to transform for a while when I became a college student. Like many college students, I scheduled all my classes in the afternoon so that, even if I didn’t fall asleep until late (like, Jimmy-Kimmel-and-Jimmy-Fallon-have-already-gone-to-bed late), I’d still get enough sleep before it was time for class.
That worked, but it wasn’t sustainable. Some semesters, my dream schedule didn’t work out. And after I graduated, I got a job that forced me to wake up from the blissful dream of my unorthodox sleep schedule. TIP is pretty nice to me, but not so nice that I can come it at 2 p.m. Plus I have a wife and family to see, weights to lift, and a goldendoodle, Chester, that is very demanding.
I like my life now—I’m happier and more fulfilled—but it wouldn’t be possible if I hadn’t made a few intentional changes to my sleep strategy.
So, what did I do to ensure I get the proper sleep?
Sleep strategies
First things first, let’s clear one thing up: unfortunately, a busy lifestyle doesn’t guarantee a good night’s sleep. It just makes a good night’s sleep that much more important.
Instead, I had to create a combination of healthy habits. First, I cut out something that permeates today’s culture: smartphone usage. Well, I didn’t cut it out altogether—just in the hour or so before I go to bed. According to Harvard Health, exposure to the blue light emitted by phones, tablets, and computers at night can throw off our circadian rhythm (the body’s natural clock), meaning that when the clock on the wall says it’s time for sleep, your brain says, Let’s watch YouTube videos about blue whale migration patterns. (You watch those, too, right?)
I also stopped eating heavy snacks in the hour or so before bed. Even if you deserve a chocolatey reward, you shouldn’t take it right before bed. Even more savory foods can hinder your ideal sleep cycle. Instead, the National Sleep Foundation says you should find a good balance of a little bit of protein and a little bit of carbohydrates for a non-sleep-hindering snack. Avoid ice-cream or prime rib, and stick to crackers and peanut butter.
Lastly, I made time in my day for exercise. It may sound dreadful to squeeze in another activity, let alone one that isn’t always super fun, but there’s some solid science to back me up. I won’t even go into the ways exercise is good for your physical health—I’m just talking about how exercise specifically can improve your quality of sleep. Sleep.org, powered by the National Sleep Foundation, details how a little bit of daily exercise can help you fall asleep more easily. I’m not talking about marathons and weightlifting that would make the Hulk think twice, either—just an hour a day of light exercise will do.
Maybe these things won’t work for you. That’s OK. The point is that someone (me!) with a very specific daily routine can adopt habits that promote healthy sleep. The important thing is that you find a match between your unique lifestyle and the advice from health experts. That’s how you find what’s best for you.
So no matter whether you’re fighting your bedtime, cramming for a college final, or balancing your adult responsibilities, pay attention to the kind of rest your body is getting. Don’t sleep on sleep.