I’m a sleep doctor – the best way to get good rest has everything to do with your lights
A BAD night’s sleep can ruin your day.
When you wake up and still feel tired, you become cranky and dread the day’s work ahead.
Dr. Jade Wu is a Ph.D. and behavioral sleep medicine specialist who spoke to about how a sleep cycle works and offered tips to improve your sleep quality.
While she said that good quality sleep looks different for everybody, it’s important that you have a “normal sleep architecture.”
"[This means] you're getting approximately the right proportion of deep sleep versus light sleep versus REM sleep, and the vast majority of your sleep is happening at night, instead of during the day or broken up into chunks,” she explained.
"It's [a type of] sleep that might not feel refreshing right away when you wake up, but generally, you should be able to function well during the day, and not be super sleepy.”
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Many of us struggle with an issue that Dr. Wu said is actually very normal: waking up in the middle of the night at around three AM.
"Biologically speaking, the first half of the night is more slowly, non-REM sleep. And the second half of the night is more REM sleep.
“And those are two kinds of qualitatively different chunks of the night that are pretty common to be separated by a kind of an interruption in the middle,” she explained.
The reason why many of us don’t get quality sleep, however, has all to do with our light exposure.
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As a result of the pandemic, much of our time is spent indoors, without access to natural light.
And without enough exercise, time outdoors, or social interactions, Dr. Wu said our sleep can be negatively affected.
Thankfully, the expert put together a list of habits to improve sleep:
DAYTIME WALKS
The first tip was to take morning or early afternoon walks.
Dr. Wu recommended going for about twenty minutes or so when the sun is high in the sky.
RESTING THROUGHOUT THE DAY
The sleep pro said it’s also important to take breaks throughout the day—especially screen-free ones.
“Sometimes people are like, 'Okay, if I go really hard during the day, like physically and mentally, and always keep busy, then that means I'll get more tired and sleep better at night.' And to some extent, that's true," she said.
"But if you never get a chance to rest during the day, then you're just hyping up your body and mind, and you're going to hyper-arousal mode."
If you can engage in some light reading, draw a little, or even sneak in a 20-minute nap, you’ll likely sleep better at night.
LIGHT BOX
If you don’t have time to go outside, or if it’s too dark and gloomy during those winter months, Dr. Wu recommends using a lightbox.
She said to use it for 20 minutes to an hour each day.
CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE
As the doctor explained, it’s perfectly normal to wake up in the middle of the night—and it’s helpful to stop viewing this interruption as a bad thing.
It’s exhausting to be frustrated and angsty in the middle of the night, Dr. Wu said, and it will just make you more tired in the morning.
Better to try and relax.
ADJUST YOUR SLEEP ENVIRONMENT
The environment within your bedroom is of utmost importance.
“A sleep environment shouldn't interrupt sleep too much with loud noises, bright lights, or extreme temperatures," Dr. Wu said.
Through a process of elimination, and with some patience, you should be able to narrow down what may be causing you trouble at night—whether it’s the AC temperature or your dog’s constant movements.
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Dr. Wu’s final tip was to wake up and go to bed at the same time every day.
Repetition and routine can train your body to do its job, and it’s important to keep this up during the weekends—a harder habit for most.
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