How to sleep like a baby
Hi gang! This time from sunny Mallorca. I’ve been here for mostly running and swimming camp with a bit of cycling. If you’re a cycling fan, Mallorca is your go-to place! It really is a cycling paradise.
Let’s move on to today’s topic – sleep. Don’t expect any complicated scientific article. Just simply the best tips I’ve been testing for years.
One of the important thing is definitely to have a tool to measure your sleep. As I mentioned in the previous post, I use Oura. Oura is a really comfy device. It’s a ring easy to wear everywhere. I know also watches can measure sleep, but it’s uncomfortable for me to sleep with my watch on plus Oura is definitely more accurate because your finger provides the most accurate reading for over 20 biometrics like heart rate, body temperature, blood oxygen, and more. When I wake up in the morning I only sync the ring with an app and see all my sleep analysis. Oura also measures your temperature during the night, which is helpful for detecting an illness in an early stage. Also, I like to monitor my temperature during the cycle. It’s super interesting to discover how my body works in different parts of the cycle. Thanks to Oura I can master my sleep schedule everyday, cause I’m able to see what effected my sleep. So here are the concrete tips I’ve found out work.
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Dinner
First, let’s talk about the last meal of the day. Unfortunately, I’ve discovered the worst meal for sleep is pizza! Nah, let’s not be so dramatic. Any food is okay for dinner. The important fact is timing. I try not to eat anything heavy such as pizza 2 hours before bedtime. It’s completely normal to be hungry later so don’t be afraid to have a light salad or a cottage for example.
Activity
This is a tricky one for the whole YG I guess! We’re all very active and I can imagine people working till late need to also do some physical activity after their job. Intense activities increase your heart rate (HR). For the best sleep and recovery, we try to have the HR as low as possible and when you workout just before your sleep, your body doesn’t have time to cool down and you HR remains elevated even during the night. To fix this, try a cold plunge and/or meditation after your training to help your heart to calm down.
Supplements
The key to a good sleep quality is magnesium. I have the best experience with one from Pillar. Then there are some amino acids which also help with falling asleep and also quality of it. I take Glycine and you can find it on brainmarket.cz. If you struggle with falling asleep or waking up during night more seriously, I would recommend a Sleep Faster also from Brainmarket. Just be careful, it contains magnesium itself so don’t combine it and not overdose yourself to prevent some digestive problems. You can’t do any harm with some herbal tea and herbs for sleep.
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Alcohol, caffeine
You all probably have heard to have a drink to fall asleep faster. Well sorry, it’s a myth. Or at least partly. You may fall asleep faster, but your sleep quality would be seriously affected by just one glass. Try to have your drink as soon in the afternoon as possible so your bloodstream won’t contain alcohol during the night.
Nothing new with caffeine. We are all different, but I like to have my last cup of coffee no later than 2 pm. The optimal recommendation is 8 hours.
Bedroom
Two hours before sleep I limit all blue lights. I like to wear red glasses from Brainmarket, but there are also special red light bulbs you can easily install. iPhones have a special blue light filter you can set from a certain hour and schedule it daily.
The ideal temperature for your bedroom is around 18 degrees. Yeah, sounds cold, but colder temperatures help to decrease your HR so it improves your sleep quality. Also, I don’t need to mention fresh air.
Last but not least, darkness. Especially during summer when sunrise is too early and you wanna sleep longer, it’s necessary to sleep in a completely dark environment. Our body is directed by the so-called circadian rhythm, so when the sun comes up, we naturally wake up. With all the artificial blue lights outside in cities, our bodies have lost track of this rhythm. By using red glasses in the evening and sleeping in completely dark room, we set it back on the right track.
Troubles falling asleep
We all have been there. Me too even doing “everything right” most of the time. So here are my tips for this unwanted situation. As I mentioned earlier, there are some natural supplements. If the situation is serious, find a health professional. Before I always try to relax more. We mostly can’t fall asleep from stress, because it increases our HR. I do some calming down breath work and body scan meditation to relax my whole body. Also, I like to take a hot bath with some candles on the sides.
Aromatherapy for better sleep from Aomu will be also your partner in crime, I have been testing for a few weeks and so far even our Oura ring is happy with the sleep so this one will be also a great tip to try and check out.
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My proven tip is not to stay in your bed for too long. When I can’t fall asleep for more than half an hour, I just go meditate/read to different room and come back tired. So my bedroom is not connected with just lying in bed, but only with sleep. Try to stick to this also during day and only use your bed for sleeping. Not studying, not watching movies.
And of course while having troubles to fall asleep, don’t use your devices. We all scroll a lot, but our brains need to calm down before bed and not to be overfilled with some tiktoks.
Remember, it's all about taking it one step at a time. Don't stress if your sleep isn't perfect – just focus on making small changes and the results will come.
Don't forget to let us know how did you like this article and how each one of the tips helped you.