The key to a restful night’s sleep? Science!
We’re rounded up a few science-backed hacks that can help you sleep longer and deeper, charging you up right for the next day. Try these tonight.
Set up the right sleep environment
You don’t need to be a scientist to know that decent sleep just won’t happen if your room is too hot, too cold, too bright, too loud or just too uncomfortable.
Make like goldilocks and get your sleep environment just right by investing in a good mattress and ensuring your bedroom is cool, dark and quiet.
Scientists reckon it can also help to use the bed for two bed-related things only, and do your TV watching, email answering and TikTok scrolling elsewhere.
Time it right
Try going to bed and getting up at a similar time each day. This helps your body regulate its circadian rhythm – essentially our hormone-driven clock that tell us when it’s time to rest and when it’s time to get up and go.
And speaking of timing it right, while naps are a non-negotiable for some folks, try not to have them in the few hours before you go to proper bed.
Similarly, try not to hit the hay until you really are tired, so your brain doesn’t start associating ‘time for bed’ with ‘time for staring at the ceiling’.
Get some sunshine
Another science-backed way to get those circadian rhythms in sync is to make sure you’re getting some sunlight during the day, especially in the morning.
This is because your body's circadian clock actually responds to light as a signal to be awake, and dark as a signal to fall asleep. Neat!
So, it makes sense that the same goes for avoiding bright lights just before bed. Yep, that means laying off the pre-sleep Insta scroll.
Avoid caffeine in the afternoon and evening
Many of us love (read: cannot function without) our cup of joe in the morning. Some of us love a few more cups throughout the day.
And while coffee consumption (within reason) is generally fine, caffeine close to bed can really mess without sleep. This is because caffeine blocks the receptors in our brain that make us feel relaxed and sleepy. Great at 10am. Not so much at 10pm.
Lay off the booze
Ever experienced that 3am wakeup call after one too many drinks? It’s definitely a thing!
Yes, alcohol is a depressant, so you might find a few drinks knocks you out initially. But booze also wreaks havoc on your sleep hormones, meaning sleep will likely be lighter, shorter and of lower quality than if you hadn’t partaken.
Alcohol especially takes a toll on our melatonin production, which is our key sleepy time hormone. If sleep is an issue for you, notice how you feel after a short period off the wines.