Most people don’t get enough sleep. According to a recent survey, 42% of adult Americans get less than 7 hours of sleep a night, while 6% get more than 9 hours a night. This means that just 52% of adults fall within the recommended number of hours of sleep a night.
There is a small portion of the population that has a genetic mutation that allows them to need only 6 hours of sleep a night. Barring that, the number of hours of sleep you need depends primarily on age. Here are the ranges that a panel of scientists found after reviewing more than 300 studies:
As you can see, the average adult needs between 7 and 9 hours of sleep a night.
Getting too much or too little sleep has been associated with an increased risk of mortality, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, respiratory disorders, and obesity. Getting too little sleep has also been shown to cause a steady decline cognitive function. A new poll by Gallup also found that happiness levels closely tracked the 7 to 9 hours of sleep recommendation:
So, here are 12 science-backed tips that will help you sleep better:
1. Only Use Your Bed For Sleep
Many people watch television, read books and/ or spend a lot of time thinking in bed. However, these activities can cause the bed to be associated with arousal instead of sleep. The “gold standard” treatment for insomnia is to train patients to only use their bed for sleep. Here are the steps you can take:
- Go to sleep when you’re sleepy (your eye lids are starting to drop, etc.).
- Do not use your bed for anything but sleep.
- If you feel angry, frustrated or miserable, get up and do something else (other researchers recommend getting up after about 15 minute have elapsed and you’re still awake).
- Go back to bed when you’re tired.
- Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you’re asleep.
- As a final solution, consider a new mattress (such as the Emma [this mattress review]), as this can greatly aid in sleeping well.
2. Wake Up at the Same Time Every Day:
Your circadian rhythm, or body clock, is an internal system that regulates your energy levels over a 24 hour period. Your circadian rhythm also controls hormonal levels, body temperature, metabolism and your immune system. When you sleep at erratic times, your body’s functions become misaligned with the needs of the day.
The best way to get on a consistent schedule is to wake up on at the same time every morning (including weekends). This may require using an alarm at first, but it helps keep your circadian rhythm working smoothly.
3. Develop a pre-sleep routine:
Developing a consistent pre-sleep routine helps you wind down and sends an early signal to your body that it’s time to go to sleep. So, set aside 15 minutes or more to relax, read, take a hot shower, resolve anything that might worry you, or do any other non-stimulating activity. You might be in to using stress balm before bed for example.
4. Get Outside First Thing in the Morning:
Being exposed to light first thing in the morning also helps keep your internal clock on pace. One study monitored participants with insomnia, then exposed them to light in the morning for a week and tracked their sleep for 3 additional weeks. Half the participants were exposed to a bright light (2500 lux) while the other half was exposed to a dim light control (100 lux). The bright light group fell asleep faster and slept for 51 more minutes on average. The bright light group also reported less insomnia, less sleep related anxiety, less daytime fatigue and improved daytime functioning. So go outside first thing in the morning. Otherwise, open the blinds and turn on the lights in the house if you can’t make it out.
5: Avoid Bright Lights at Night:
On the other side of the spectrum, you should avoid light exposure as much as possible at night. One study had participants either read a book for 4 hours before bed or read from an iPad. The researchers found that reading from an iPad “prolongs the time it takes to fall asleep, delays the circadian clock, suppresses levels of the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin, reduces the amount and delays the timing of REM sleep, and reduces alertness the following morning.” So, try your best to limit your exposure to bright, blue light 2-3 hours before going to bed.
6: Limit/ Avoid Caffeine:
As most of you know, caffeine can keep you up at night. One study had participants take a 400 mg caffeine pill (about the equivalent of 32 ounces of coffee) either at bedtime, 3 hours before bedtime or 6 hours before bedtime. The researchers found that caffeine reduced sleep time when taken at bedtime, 3 hours and even 6 hours before sleep. Caffeine actually reduced total sleep time by an average of 41 minutes when taken 6 hours before bedtime. Taking caffeine 6 hours before bedtime also more than doubled the amount of time it took to fall asleep, increased wake time during sleep by 8 minutes, and reduced stage 1, stage 2 and slow wave sleep. Another study found that taking 200 mg of caffeine first thing in the morning (at 7:10 am) also impacted sleep later that night (although slightly). So if you’re having trouble sleeping, you might want to consider giving up caffeine altogether. If not, the earlier you drink caffeine the less it will impact your sleep. Don’t forget that caffeine isn’t just in coffee. Other common sources of caffeine include soda, tea, chocolate and energy drinks.
7: Limit/ Avoid Alcohol:
While alcohol can help you fall asleep, a review found that it can significantly disturb the quality of your sleep and cause you to wake up more frequently during the night. Most alarmingly, it reduces total REM sleep and increases the time it takes to fall into REM sleep. Lack of REM sleep can impact concentration, motor skills, and memory. It takes roughly an hour for your body to remove a drink from your system (depending on your weight). So if you have two drinks, stop at least 2 hours before hitting the sack (but not drinking at all is better).
8. Limit/ Avoid Nicotine:
Add sleep to the list of reasons you shouldn’t smoke. One study found that wearing a 16 mg nicotine patch reduced sleep time, sleep efficiency, subjective sleep quality and increased wakefulness throughout the night. The negative consequences were especially strong when wearing the patch at night. So, avoid smoking (and other forms of nicotine) before going to bed.
9. Use White Noise:
One review found that sound levels as low as 33 dB can cause physiological arousal (increased heart rate, etc.) during sleep. However, another study found that it isn’t the dB level that causes arousal at night, but the difference in peak dB from the baseline noise level. The study exposed participants to either noise from an ICU or noise from an ICU + white noise. They found that arousal was only increased in the noise from the ICU condition. So, if you live downtown in a city or are otherwise exposed to noise at night, a fan, white noise or earplugs are probably the way to go.
10: Exercise:
Another study found that patients suffering from insomnia slept 1.25 hours more a night, fell asleep faster, experienced higher quality sleep, and had less depression symptoms, less sleepiness and more vitality during the day after 4 months of exercise. When it comes to timing, the meta analysis found that participants went to sleep faster and woke less in the middle of the night if exercise was done 4 to 8 hours before bedtime. This shows that when you work hard and use the right products like, M3 pledge, that these results are achievable.
11. Turn Your Thermostat to 61 °F- 66 °F:
Your body temperature naturally declines right before you fall asleep. Turning down the thermostat can actually facilitate the process and induce sleep. Studies show that the ideal temperature for sleep is between 61 °F and 66 °F (given that you’re wearing clothes and have at least one sheet). Interestingly, having a lower core body temperature has also been found to facilitate deep sleep. Some research even supports that insomnia occurs partly due to having an elevated core body temperature at night.
12. Don’t Watch the Clock:
A final study found that insomniacs focused more on worries, things that had happened that day, noises in the environment and about the fact that they couldn’t sleep than good sleepers. Good sleepers, interestingly, thought most about “nothing in particular.”
Sleep is one of the more overlooked aspects of a healthy lifestyle. Aim for between 7 and 9 hours of sleep a night. If you aren’t sleeping well, work on the 12 tips above and you’ll be sleeping great before you know it.
Basner, Mathias, et al. “Auditory and non-auditory effects of noise on health.”The Lancet 383.9925 (2014): 1325-1332.
Cappuccio, Francesco P., et al. “Meta-analysis of short sleep duration and obesity in children and adults.” Sleep 31.5 (2008): 619.
Cappuccio, Francesco P., et al. “Quantity and Quality of Sleep and Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes A systematic review and meta-analysis.” Diabetes care33.2 (2010): 414-420.
Cappuccio, Francesco P., et al. “Sleep duration and all-cause mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies.” Sleep 33.5 (2010): 585.
Drake, Christopher, et al. “Caffeine effects on sleep taken 0, 3, or 6 hours before going to bed.” Journal of clinical sleep medicine: JCSM: official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine 9.11 (2013): 1195.
Ebrahim, Irshaad O., et al. “Alcohol and sleep I: effects on normal sleep.”Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 37.4 (2013): 539-549.
Ferrie, Jane E., et al. “A prospective study of change in sleep duration: associations with mortality in the Whitehall II cohort.” Sleep 30.12 (2007): 1659.
Gangwisch JE, Heymsfield SB, Boden-Albala B, et al. Short sleep duration as a risk factor for hypertension: analyses of the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Hypertension.2006;47:833–9.
Hirshkowitz, Max, et al. “National Sleep Foundation’s sleep time duration recommendations: methodology and results summary.” Sleep Health 1.1 (2015): 40-43.
Ikehara, Satoyo, et al. “Association of sleep duration with mortality from cardiovascular disease and other causes for Japanese men and women: the JACC study.” Sleep 32.3 (2009): 295.
Jaehne, A., et al. “The Influence of 8 and 16 mg Nicotine Patches on Sleep in Healthy Non-Smokers.” Pharmacopsychiatry 47.2 (2014): 73-78.
Kubitz, Karla A., et al. “The effects of acute and chronic exercise on sleep.”Sports Medicine 21.4 (1996): 277-291.
Lack, Leon, Helen Wright, and Damien Paynter. “The treatment of sleep onset insomnia with bright morning light.” Sleep and Biological Rhythms 5.3 (2007): 173-179.
Lack, Leon C., et al. “The relationship between insomnia and body temperatures.” Sleep medicine reviews 12.4 (2008): 307-317.
Landolt, Hans-Peter, et al. “Caffeine intake (200 mg) in the morning affects human sleep and EEG power spectra at night.” Brain research 675.1 (1995): 67-74.
Moon, H. S. “Sleep-Related Respiratory Disturbances.” Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology 2.1 (1995): 55-64.
Murphy, Patricia J., and Scott S. Campbell. “Nighttime drop in body temperature: a physiological trigger for sleep onset?.” Sleep 20.7 (1997): 505-511.
Nelson, J., and A. G. Harvey. “Pre-sleep imagery under the microscope: a comparison of patients with insomnia and good sleepers.” Behaviour research and therapy 41.3 (2003): 273-284.
Onen, S. H., et al. “[Prevention and treatment of sleep disorders through regulation] of sleeping habits.” Presse medicale (Paris, France: 1983) 23.10 (1994): 485-489.
Reid, Kathryn J., et al. “Aerobic exercise improves self-reported sleep and quality of life in older adults with insomnia.” Sleep medicine 11.9 (2010): 934-940.
Stanchina, Michael L., et al. “The influence of white noise on sleep in subjects exposed to ICU noise.” Sleep medicine6.5 (2005): 423-428.
Van Dongen, Hans, Naomi L. Rogers, and David F. Dinges. “Sleep debt: theoretical and empirical issues*.” Sleep and Biological Rhythms 1.1 (2003): 5-13.
[/emaillocker]