Sleep: The Underrated Habit
In my previous article ‘The Early Bird Gets Stuff Done’ - I spoke about the enjoyment and benefits of waking up early. Nothing ever beat the peace, quiet and serenity of such mornings. My mornings were totally free of distractions. With the smell of freshly brewed coffee by my side, I felt like I could conquer the day’s tasks with no problems. As I continued with this routine over a period of a few weeks, I felt like I had more time. I was more productive! I was a machine that could power through anything.
I never noticed the subtle changes in my behavior though. I got sluggish during the day. Sometimes, I felt tired for no reason. My mood swings were erratic. I was hungrier - and had weird food and sugar cravings all the time. I was still exercising regularly as per normal, so I didn’t think this strange. Perhaps it was just the time of the month as well.
What I didn’t realize at the time, was that I was only sleeping an average of 5.5 hours everyday, which meant that I probably got less than 5 hours of quality sleep time each night. I would only hit the sack around 12.30 am, and I would force myself to wake up around 6AM to get stuff done, because I told myself I had to be disciplined about this routine!
All this changed when I read Not A Diet Book by James Smith, followed by Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker.
Check out all the health risks that are related to the lack of sleep
I was mind blown! 🤯 Before reading this, I had no idea how incredibly important sleep was. I made a commitment to start prioritizing my sleep, and forced myself to have at least 7-8 hours of sleep every. single. day. It became a non-negotiable for me, and continues to be till this day.
A few months down the road, the improvement in both my physical and mental health was evident. I woke up refreshed, and was not tired when I hit the gym. I was sharper and happier at work, and I stopped getting weird, uncontrollable food cravings! No more mood swings! (Okay, maybe a little when it was lunch and I was hangry!)
Tips on how to improve your sleep
1) Have at least 7 - 8 hours of quality sleep every. single. day.
If I know I’m headed out to meet friends, I will make it a point to call it a night by 10PM so that I can head home, shower and wind down before sleeping by 12 or 1AM. I’ll always check my calendar for the week and plan out my time to ensure that I get to bed by a certain time. Before I sleep, I’ll try to make sure I set my alarm for at least 8 hours of sleep as well. Prioritizing sleep takes consistent commitment and dedication. Sounds like a old woman preaching, but I’m completely serious about this!
2) Watch your caffeine intake timings!
Caffeine stays in your body for 8-10 hours before it is fully removed from your system, so if you want to consume it, do so no later than 12pm. This is a hard one for me, and I actively break this rule, because I can’t resist my Teh C Siu Dai (Singapore Milk Tea) after dinners! I also tend to have another cup of black coffee post lunch, which is around 2pm. For me, my current ‘cut off’ for coffee is no later than 3pm, because I tend to go to bed around 12AM anyway.
However, this works differently for everyone as caffeine sensitivity differs from person to person! Of course, if you want to ensure you get good sleep, just be mindful of your caffeine intake timings!
3) Avoid your electronics that emit blue light 1 hour before bed!
Another hard one for most folks because we live in a world where we are all addicted to our phones.
The reason we should avoid electronic screens is because the light is one of the factors that interfere and affects our circadian rhythm. (A circadian rhythm is a natural, internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle and repeats on each rotation of the Earth roughly every 24 hours)
I try my best not to use my phone once I get to bed. Unfortunately, my phone acts as my sleep tracker and alarm, so it’s hard not to have it in the room with me. Instead, I try to instill the habit of winding down with reading in my Kindle. I try to think ‘Bed = Kindle time’, no phone scrolling allowed - so far, it’s been working for me!
Reading my Kindle has brought me so much joy because I enjoy reading, and using it doesn’t emit any sort of blue light! It’s the perfect way to wind down after a long day. Check out my previous article on why you should ‘Start Reading, Get A Kindle’!
Sleep is NOT for the weak, it’s is, infact, for champions! According to neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett, ‘if there was only one thing that you could do to improve your life, only one, it would be to sleep a decent amount every day.’
Don’t get me wrong, I still love my early mornings. To me, it’s all about planning in advance. If I want to have an early morning, I’m simply get myself to sleep earlier. But as we all know, it’s definitely easier said than done.
Prioritizing sleep takes consistent commitment, and is a health habit everyone should pick up. So, get more sleep! isn’t that one of the greatest piece of advice you’d want to hear? Who doesn’t want to sleep more?!
