Biohacking your bedroom for the best rest ever.
With the added stress of the global situation, vast uncertainty and scary media messaging, its even more crucial we take steps to safeguard our health.
The most important thing you can do to thrive under difficult circumstances is optimise your sleep.
While we didn’t mention it in the video, we need to keep in mind that great sleep begins at dawn!
Watching the sunrise and getting morning light is still by far my number one sleep hack.
Here is my prescription for optimizing your sleep environment:
Black out blinds, black polythene covering windows and covering LED’s with black duct tape. Darkness is KEY for deep sleep. If you can see your hand help at 12 inches in front of your face with the lights out - its too bright. Studies show that even the amount of light from a street light outside your window, can disrupt sleep, lead to weigh gain (light at night stimulates insulin and stress hormones) and potentially our risk of chronic diseases such as cancer. For women the sleep hormone melatonin keeps estrogen levels in check. When we don’t have darkness at night, our melatonin levels fall and our estrogen rises. This could be one reason that young girls in cities with a lot of ambient light at night go through puberty earlier.
Eye mask. If you cant get all of the light out of your bedroom wear an eye mask. I prefer to use ones that have cups over the eyes. Research shows that our subcutaneous fat also has light receptors, so if you cannot get your room dark, be sure to cover your eyes AND body with a heavy blanket.
Blue Blockers. These are key for melatonin release at night. Adequate melatonin levels programs our immune system, balances our hormones and reduces our risk of cancer. Melatonin is released when the light goes away or it gets dark after sunset. If we are exposed to light at night- from screens or home lighting, our health will suffer. It’s amazing, when you become accustomed to wearing blue light blocking glasses, being without them in the evenings is almost unbearable. You can literally feel your whole body relax when you put them on.
Ear Plugs. Ambient sounds during the night can disrupt sleep cycles and spike stress hormone levels preventing deep sleep. I have used all shapes, brands and sizes. I tend to lose them in the bed so opt for cheap foam ones with the highest NRR rating i can find. I so also like the silicon ear plugs.
Portable Red light. We had a friend make us some amazing portable tri-color lights, that can be made to be white, amber or red. Not only does this allow me to read and work without my glasses on, the red light spectrum can be used for spot red light therapy treatments. I had these made for myself but am happy to share them with followers at cost.
Temperature. Our body needs to be cool for optimal sleep. Most experts agree that 16-18C will give you the best sleep. i like to crack my window, even in winter for fresh air and to keep my bedroom cool.
Grounding mats. When im travelling or sleeping in different locations, its not always possible to check my EMF environment or move the bed to avoid sources of potential exposure. Some studies show that like light at night, certain non-ionizing electromagnetic field from wiring, phones of wifi may disrupt melatonin secretion and impact sleep. Grounding mats connect us to the earth via the ground of an electrical socket or metal pole and have been shown to help relieve inflammation and benefit sleep.
Essential Oils. I quite like diffusing essential oils before bed. The sense of smell bypasses the conscious brain to affect our emotions and stress response. Terpenes such as are found in lavender essential oils help us to relax by binding to GABA receptors in a similar, but safer way that sleep medications work. Breathing essential oils of lavender, chamomile, ylang-ylang and bergamot all have relaxing qualities. No matter why you are feeling stressed, diffusing or dabbing on essential oils on your temples (or on the front of your eye mask if you don’t have a diffuser) works well.
Heavy or weighted blanket. I have an 11kg weighted blanket that i love. Initially used for anxiety and calming autistic children the weighted blanket stimulates deep touch receptors in the skin. When stimulated these have a relaxing effect on the body, dropping stress hormones and helping us to relax. Weighted blankets help with pain, anxiety and sleep.
Meditation/breathing before bed. As a yoga teacher i cant talk sleep and relaxation without discussing breathing. Any form of meditation/mindfulness or breathing will be beneficial to rpepare your body for sleep. When we breath deeply from our abdomen we stimulate the vagus nerve, which turns off stress and puts us into relaxation mode. Try breathing only through your left nostril for 5 minutes, or placing a heavy book under your ribcage and inhale to try and raise the book. As you slowly exhale allow the weight of the book to encourage a full exhalation. Focus on moving the book up and down as you learn to breath from your belly. If you ahve trouble falling asleep try Binaural meditation tracks, or Yoga Nidra.