Sleep Supporters

1. Create and commit to sleep rituals prior to bedtime to habitually remind your body that it is time to sleep soon (brushing teeth, stretching, journaling, reading, meditating, breathing).

2. Get sunlight into your eyes as soon as possible after waking up. This cues the body to wake, providing energy that can reduce fatigue early in the morning. It can be even better to go outside and take a 10-30+ minute walk.

3. At evening/night, use dimmer/warmer lights in the room. Set your devices/screens to automatically switch to a warmer light after sunset (Apple Night Shift; Windows Night Light; Android Night Mode; Samsung blue light filter; f.lux app for computers/phones).

   It is even better to use red lights in the room and red color filters on screens at night (dimmer the better). This effectively reduces blue light emission, minimizing the suppression of melatonin production and supporting our ability to sleep. Many smart lights or nightlight accessories are capable of this. On your phone or computer, you can turn on “color filters” to red and adjust to your needs.

4. Be productive during the first few hours of the day, that way you have less to stress and worry about night (with a lot less to shame yourself with). This contributes to a sense of accomplishment, allowing your mind to feel like it can clock out for tonight. It also contributes to the necessary fatigue our mind/body needs to easily sleep. At minimum, be productive during the first few hours of the day.

5. Move your phone and devices away from the bed. Whether you're bored, stressed, or agitated, stop making it so easy to just mindlessly and impulsively grab it… Strengthen your chances to avoid going on it during bedtime by simply keeping it out of reach. Remove stands, docks, or charging cables that encourage it to stay there.

6. Regular exercise helps improve sleep quality (just avoid anything intensive 2 hours before sleep). Morning walks are a good way to start the day and get energy.

7. Regular stress management or psychological work/support (therapy, mindfulness, meditation, prayer, support groups) can help in learning how to manage our problems and worries, things that are easy to get hooked by and contribute to rumination while trying to sleep (this can include therapy, mindfulness, reframing, radical acceptance).

8. Reduce and balance overall consumption of content/information/news. While there is potential value to these things, you are always taking a risk of the long-term impact they may have on you later (e.g., your mind may dwell and focus on all of those things when you are trying to sleep > can’t sleep > go on phone to learn more > get more stressed and ruminate deeper > lose even more sleep). Minimize this risk by setting better boundaries around what content you consume.

9. At some point during the day, spend at least 30-60 minutes with yourself where you are not mentally occupied (walking in silence, mindfulness meditation, journaling). This is critical for emotion regulation and stress management. We use this time to process our emotions and thoughts rather than playing catch up and processing them in the middle of the night when we would rather sleep.

10. Stop trying to force yourself to sleep. Do what you can and let go of the rest. The more you stress about needing to sleep, the more you will stay awake, the more you will about how much sleep you will lose, right back to the more you stress about needing to sleep. If this stress gets bad enough, you will go on your phone or use substances only to fall back into the vicious cycle. Accept you won’t get as much sleep as you would prefer and focus on committing to the 20-minute rule above.

11. As an extension of cognitive, mindfulness, or meditation work: practice defusion/non-judgmental noticing and acceptance with your internal experiences (“I notice I am having this thought/feeling… It will come, stay, go as it pleases. I can see that it is trying to be helpful by reminding me about… Thanks, brain”). Fighting with, trying to change or stop intrusive and unwanted thoughts usually results with becoming more frustrated or worried. Notice how and when your mind gives you the thought that “you must fall asleep, or else it will be the worst tomorrow!” That’s just it trying to be helpful but obviously not really changing much. It is what it is. Just notice the mind doing its job and go back to following the Sleep Plan. Practice this type of attention to your thinking during your waking time and bedtime to get better at not getting hooked by unhelpful thoughts or feelings. While making space for the thoughts and feelings to come and go, you can pay attention to your body or breathing as a physical anchor.

12. Hot bath 1-2 hours before sleep can raise body temperature and cause you to feel sleepy as your body temperature drops again (associated with transition into sleep).

13. Certain supplements are known to promote relaxation or sleepiness, including melatonin, valerian root, L-Theanine, tryptophan (5-HTP) or warm milk, magnesium glycinate, chamomile, lavender, CBD.

14. Worry list: if you notice something and are worried about forgetting it, write down things you need before sleep.

15. Keep track of all these behaviors, what you are adherent to and when you are not, and notice the impact it has on your sleep. This data is very helpful when working with a healthcare professional.

Sleep Architecture

This is our basic pattern of normal sleep:

1. Light sleep (non-REM Stage 1): body transitions from “awake” to “asleep”, decreasing body temperature and relaxing muscles. It’s easy to be awakened at this stage!

2. Transition to deep sleep (non-REM Stage 2: body prepares for deep sleep by continuing to decrease body temperature and stabilize breathing and heart rate.

3. Deep sleep (“slow-wave sleep”, non-REM Stage 3): the most restorative phase, crucial for physical and psychological recovery and growth, muscle development, feeling energized and refreshed.

4. REM Sleep: dreaming, memory consolidation, learning, cognitive/emotional processing and regulation.

Sleep disruptors:

1. Prevent you from getting into light sleep (stage 1) at all (e.g., agitation, anxiety, coffee, ADHD medication, street noise) or

2. Help you get to sleep quickly (Xanax, Benadryl, alcohol) but disrupt sleep architecture, reducing deep and/or REM sleep, affecting overall sleep quality, energy, recovery, memory, learning, cognition, and mood.