Issue 78: Getting Quality Sleep
THE LEAP
BY QUANTUM ORANGE
GROW, EXPAND & EVOLVE
ISSUE 78 | GETTING QUALITY SLEEP
Each week The (Quantum) Leap summarises a key aspect of success into what you need to Think, Feel and Do to create a personal shift.
Sleep is the best meditation.
~ Dalai Lama
THINK
Research into the science of sleep has revealed several specific benefits that it brings us: sleep is important for physical growth and repair; muscle growth, protein synthesis, tissue repair, and the release of growth hormones. Sleep also helps us maintain a healthy weight and avoid diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
One of the main functions of sleep might be neural plasticity - changes to the structure and organisation of the brain during rest. The major impact of sleep on our state of mind is obvious: most of us feel a lot better when we’re well rested.
Sadly, many people have trouble getting what we’d call high quality rest. The potential causes are numerous: the stress of daily life sending our brain into overdrive, heightened emotions we haven’t processed, even a body that is restless. That’s not to mention the possible issues caused by poor lifestyle choices like screens right before bed, caffeine, sugar and alcohol.
While you’re not going to sleep like a baby every night, it is worth pausing and applying some common sense to your evenings to make sure you’re getting the best rest you can.
Reflect on the following:
- Do I regularly struggle to fall asleep?
- Do I feel restless during the day and wide awake at night?
- How difficult do I find it to get out of bed in the morning?
- What are my thoughts doing when I lie down in bed at night?
- Do I struggle with memory and problem solving?
- What do I usually do in the hour before bed?
- What better choices could I make in that regard?
FEEL
One of the fastest ways to wake up ‘on the wrong side of the bed’ is to not spend enough time in it. Researchers have reported that after sleep loss, people are much more likely to report feeling less happy, excited, or content. They were expecting study participants to report feeling more angry or anxious, but the evidence indicated it’s actually the positive emotions that suffer when we’re not getting enough rest.
Sleep loss can affect your mood and, frustratingly, your mood can also affect how much and how well you sleep. Sleep deprivation not only increases the response of our emotional centres, it also decreases the strength of the connection between the emotional centres and the parts of our brain that are supposed to put the brakes on our emotions.
Not getting enough sleep also impacts REM, the stage of sleep in which we handle processing emotions, and can make people’s faces appear more hostile.
Less than eight hours of sleep per night causes a build up of sleep debt and reduces the frontal cortex’s ability to calm the amygdala’s big emotional response to small inconveniences like a late bus or an insensitive comment.
The message behind the science is this: if you’re not getting enough sleep, expect yourself to become a reactive, emotionally charged drama machine.
In good news, positive psychology research has also shown that interventions to promote gratitude, self-compassion and optimism lead to better sleep.
- When you’re tired, does your ability to control your emotions go out the window?
- When you’re tired, do your emotions become amplified? For example, instead of being a little annoyed at things do you find yourself on the edge of full blown anger?
- What are your predominant emotions when you’re lacking sleep?
- When you’re overtired, do you fixate on negative emotions more?
DO
Obvious as it may sound, the most crucial preparation for a good night’s sleep is to relax (physically, mentally and emotionally) and get comfortable.
If you’re uncomfortable, physical restlessness will cause your mind to become restless as well. Try the following tips to help you drift off to a peaceful, refreshing sleep.
- Make your bedroom dark.
- Ensure you’re comfortable - make sure your mattress supports your body, your pillow supports your head and neck, your clothes are comfortable and the temperature is ideal.
- Breathe deeply - this relaxes your body and if you focus on your breath it will also still your mind.
- Use your bed only for sleep - don’t watch television, eat or play video games.
- Don’t eat for several hours before bed - not only will sleep interfere with digestion, but it will also contribute to you feeling uncomfortable, and you may need to get up more to use the bathroom.
- Hide the clock - watching the clock will only make you aware that time is passing, which will most likely increase your frustration at not being able to sleep.
- Meditate as you fall asleep - deliberately relax each part of your body, beginning with your toes and slowly moving up to your head. Doing so will relax your body and focus your mind, silencing internal chatter so you can rest.
Read. Watch. Listen.
