December 1, 2023 • 23 mins
Do you want to sleep deeper?
Do you want energy that will last you all day?
If you're grappling with consistent difficulty in achieving restful nights, then this episode can help you.
Today, we're diving deep into one of the most widespread challenges of our modern lives — the elusive, quality sleep that seems to escape many of us. We dive into the secrets to transform your bedroom into a sanctuary that promotes healthy sleep. You will learn to discover the power of location, the influence of time, and how to create an environment that embraces the soothing energy and memories of a restful night.
We introduce the first key to having good sleep: maintaining a sanctuary-like atmosphere in your bedroom. From adjusting the thermostat to match your body temperature to embracing cave-like darkness, these steps are game-changers for a good night's sleep.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
The best practices for a restful sleep
How to improve your sleeping habits
How to change your body clock
In this transformative episode, we walk through the essential keys to unlock the door to a better night's sleep. Your journey to restful nights and vibrant days starts right here.
With Love and Gratitude,
Jay Shetty
What We Discuss:
00:00 Intro
01:35 Who Doesn’t Need a Better, Deeper, Quality Sleep?
03:13 #1: Location Has Energy, Time Has Memory
04:34 How to Make Your Bedroom a Sanctuary for a Healthy Sleep?
06:18 #2: Include Drinking Warm Water in Your Morning Routine
07:55 #3: Lower the Thermostat at Bedtime to Match Your Body Temperature
11:22 #4: Create a Cave-Like Darkness
14:22 #5: Recognize Your Body’s Circadian Rhythm Clock
16:38 #6: Get a Comfortable Mattress
17:45 #7: Learn More About Yoga Nidra
19:39 #8: Know the Best Sleep Positions
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's almost like everything's modeled. Right. We're working from our
beds with our laptops, we're sleeping on the couch where
you're meant to be watching TV. You're eating in your
bed too, So the energy of our spaces get so
modled and mixed up that then when we get into
our beds to sleep, our mind and body don't know
how to react because they're used to eating there, They're
(00:21):
used to watching TV there, they're used to working there.
There's so many different energies and mindsets that you're experiencing. Hey, everyone,
welcome back to on Purpose. Thank you so much for
being here to listen, learn and grow. I want to
(00:42):
take a moment because I've been thinking about this a lot.
I have no idea how to thank you, and I
want you to know just how deeply grateful I am
and appreciative I am of each and every one of you.
I can't believe that I got to meet nearly one
hundred thousand of you this year while I was traveling
on my tour. It's insane to see how much your
(01:03):
love and support for me continues over the years. And
I want you to know that I deeply, deeply, deeply
hope that the work I'm putting out is having an
impact on your life and having an impact on your
relationships to the people you love, to the people you
work with, your careers. Your purpose and on purpose is
always going to be here to serve you and be
(01:25):
here to help you. And today's episode is all about
eight strategies for deeper sleep and boosting your energy all day.
How many of you, be honest, know that you want
to get better, deeper quality sleep. I have spent months
of my life in certain parts, getting really poor sleep,
(01:49):
and I've found that it completely drains me of energy
throughout the day. You could be eating right, you could
be working out, you could be doing everything, but when
you're not getting good sleep, it can feel like you're
pulling your body, pushing your body all day long. And
I know some of you can resonate and relate to that.
(02:10):
And how can we boost our energy through that healthy sleep?
How does that healthy sleep transfer into having more energy
for the things we love, the people we love, and
what we want to do throughout our days. So I'm
going to share with you these eight strategies. I've done
a lot of research online, so I'll be sharing with
you articles that I'm referencing. A lot of this will
(02:34):
be reading from really great sources that I've learned from
for this topic, because I wanted to give you the
headline or the billboard of the point that I want
you to practice, but I wanted to give you the
science behind it as well, So I'll be quoting a
lot of sources and a lot of articles which I
hope you can check out as well if you want
to really do a deep dive. And I've always found
(02:54):
that the science is important because it's important for you
to understand why you do what you do. When you
recognize what the benefits are by doing something so specifically,
it motivates you further. It inspires you further to actually
activate and practice and apply to that degree. The first
one I want to share is one of the themes
(03:16):
that I learned during my time in the monastery, and
it's location has energy. Time has memory. Location has energy.
Time has memory. When you do something in the same
place every day, it becomes easier. When you do something
at the same time every day, it becomes easier because
(03:39):
time has memory. Your body is used to that experience
and so it gets conditioned to know what to expect
and to be ready for it. When you do something
in the same space every day, that space starts to
embody that energy. Now, the challenge today is we work
where we're meant to sleep, we eat where we're meant
(04:01):
to work, and we sleep where we're meant to eat. Right,
it's almost like everything's muddled. Right. We're working from our
beds with our laptops, we're sleeping on the couch where
you're meant to be watching TV. You're eating in your
bed too, So the energy of our spaces get so
muddled and mixed up that then when we get into
(04:21):
our beds to sleep, our mind and body don't know
how to react because they're used to eating there, they're
used to watching TV there, they're used to working there.
There's so many different energies and mindsets that you're experiencing.
Let's talk a little bit about this. How can we
make our bedroom a sacred place, a sanctuary for healthy sleep.
(04:43):
How do we control the use of technology in there?
How do we make sure that we're not using it
for our other things? First of all, and I really
mean this, and I know this might be hard, but
I mean it, Try and take your TV out of
your bedroom. And you may say, Jay, I love watching
TV before I go to bed. If you really to
do that, use your laptop, but take your TV out
of your bedrooms so that you are not using your
(05:05):
bedroom as a space of just being wired into something.
And I know it's a lot to ask. I know
you're like, Jay, come on, start with something easier. But
if you want to get deep asleep, you want to
be in a place where it's not easy to consume
content that a could be giving you anxiety. A lot
of people say to me, Jeffel anxiety, And one of
the first questions I asked him is what did you
watch last night? Chances are you watch something that was
(05:29):
keeping you on edge. It's giving you what I call
Cliffhanger chemicals, that anxiety of what's going to happen next?
What about that character? Are they gonna where are they
gonna make it, what's gonna happen? Like that energy before
you go to sleep doesn't really help you. Another thing
that's really really important about location is if you're eating
in bed too. When you're eating too close to bedtime,
(05:50):
you're then having to digest that instead of using that
energy to be restorative. So the same energy that would
be refueling, renewing, restoring is now being used to digest food.
And that's why using your bed as just a place
to sleep and rest and relax and maintaining it that
way creates a sort of sanctuary, that's the word for
(06:14):
your body and mind. So I want you to give
that a go now number two, as part of your
morning routine. I'm not diving in a morning routine, but
I want to give you something because your sleep is
impacted by how you live when you're awake. I think
we think of sleep as like I need to improve
my sleep, I need to be better when I sleep.
And wait a minute, you can't even control that, but
(06:36):
maybe you can control how you start your day. Now.
One of the things that's really important, and I'm taking
this from some research that talks about the need to
drink warm water first thing in the morning. Of course,
it helps you hydrate and when we lose fluids during
our nighttime and while we're asleep, drinking a cup of
(06:58):
warm water when you wake up starts replenishing those fluids.
This is the big one that I came across from
Iravada about how drinking warm water can help you start
breaking down certain foods, and it kicks off your digestive
process in the morning. So if you've woken up bloated,
if you've woken up feeling like you haven't digested your
(07:19):
night meal well, or if you're just feeling some discomfort,
a slowly drunk glass of warm water right slowly can
clear out the waste, clear out the toxins, and that's
one of the biggest ones. Drinking warm water naturally raises
your internal body temperature, which then helps you sweat, and
(07:39):
which is one of your body's ways to reduce those toxins.
So warm, not hot, just warm water. Allowing that to
be part of your morning routine will help you feel
flushed out, which means when you get into bed, you're
again not carrying that throughout the day. You're letting that go.
The third thing I want to talk to you about,
which is often an overlooked part of a sleep routine,
(08:01):
is temperature. And this is research from the Sleep Foundation Online.
They have an amazing website with great resources. Highly recommend
you check them out. And so your core body temperature.
The National Library of Medicine Biotech Information says that it
generally hovers around ninety eight point six degrees fahrenheit, right,
(08:21):
which is thirty seven degrees celsius, but fluctuates by about
two degrees fahrenheit. Now, the drop in temperature starts about
two hours before you go to sleep, coinciding with the
release of the sleep hormone melatonin. During sleep, body temperature
continues to fall, reaching a low point in the early morning,
and then gradually warming up as the morning progresses. Lowering
(08:44):
the thermostat at night can work in tandem with these
natural temperature fluctuations, signaling to the body that bedtime is approaching. Right,
So two hours before you go to bed, if you
lower the thermostat to in between whatever, you feel comfortable.
But I'd say between sixty to seventy fahrenheit, right, Like,
that's what you want to aim between. Some people say
(09:06):
sixty three is optimal, some people say sixty five. I
think sixty is quite cold for me. I personally like
sixty seven. And so you're finding that sweet spot for
you by testing it out. Don't start are going too cold, right.
I don't want you to go to sixty immediately you
will freeze. But you're trying to match your body's journey
with what's around you, and especially if you started two
(09:26):
hours before, it starts preparing your body. A lot of
us feel we have to be cozy, we have to
be warm, and hey, you can still have an amazing duvet,
you can still tuck yourself in, whatever you want to do.
You can wear pajamas, knock yourself out. But the goal
is you want to make sure that the room is
in that space. Right. You don't have to feel cold,
you can tuck yourself in, but you want the room
(09:47):
to have that environment to prepare you for sleep. Now,
what I loved about what Sleep Foundation went on to
talk about is what happens when your bedroom's too hot.
So this is for all of you are listening to me,
going jay, I am never making my room sixty five
degrees right. I know some of you listen to me
right now, going Jay, You're crazy. This is never going
to happen. So Sleep Foundation says warmer temperatures can cause
(10:10):
discomfort and restlessness, and anyone who has slept in a
stuffy bedroom knows what that feels like. Right now. A
bedroom that is too warm can interfere with the body's
thermoregulation abilities and cause fatigue. I realized this when I
lived in New York. Often, obviously, it would get really cold,
and I would put the heat up so much that
(10:30):
I would wake up feeling dehydrated, and I would wake
up feeling more tired. And often a person who's tired
will feel physically and mentally tired but unable to fall asleep.
And I'm sure you can relate to that. Now. Sleep
Foundation goes on to say body temperatures also affect sleep
quality and the time spent in different sleep stages. A
(10:50):
higher core body temperature has been associated with a decrease
in restorative slow wave sleep. So I really want you
to be mindful of the temperature in your room. I
really want you to be thoughtful about the temperature in
your room because it can have so many big impacts
through something that seems so small and excessively hot. Ambient
temperatures also appear to lessen the time spent in rem sleep,
(11:15):
which is that deep sleep that we're trying to get into,
and of course your body can't access it if the
room is too hot. This segment about sleep rituals is
brought to you by dream Cloud Sleep, the world's most
affordable luxury mattress did you know that the quality of
your sleep directly impacts your overall health and happiness. That's
where a sleep ritual comes into play. By establishing a
(11:36):
soothing pre sleep routine, you signal your body that it's
time to wind down, promoting a smoother transition to dreamland
and ensuring you wake up each morning feeling fully restored
and eager to embrace the day ahead. But are you
finding it hard to switch off after a hectic day?
If you do, try some of these tips before lying down,
take a moment to unwind with calming practices that will
(11:59):
help you sleep better. Try deep breathing exercises, meditation, or
gentle stretching to relax your mind and body. A hot
bath or a cup of verbal tea can also do
wonders in preparing you for a tranquil night's sleep. Another
factor that can affect your sleep quality is the mattress
that you're using. Having a good mattress can give you
the proper comfort and support, which means you can sleep
(12:21):
deeply and wake up feeling refreshed, which is essential for
your overall health, reducing pain and feeling your best. With
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(12:44):
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(13:05):
dream Cloud, the world's most affordable luxury mattress. Number four
is cave like darkness. I know a lot of us
sleep with flickering lights. We sleep with like I said TVs.
We sleep with some sort of light from our phones.
Maybe you have an alarm system, maybe you don't have
blinds or blackout blinds. This is so important. There's an
(13:26):
amazing sight called my ey Sense. I highly recommend it
my Eyesense, and it says that, according to sleep experts,
darkness helps to stimulate the production of melatonin, a hormone
that helps you fall asleep quickly. It also helps to
keep you asleep until you complete all sleeping cycles. I
remember when I used to sleep with out blinds. Although
(13:47):
I loved waking up to the bright sun pouring in,
obviously I didn't get the deep sleep and the length
of sleep that I actually wanted. What I also found
was that when I had the light sources that were
flickering or coming on or whatever it may have been,
what that did is that it disturbed my sleep. And
(14:08):
on top of that, to go a step further when
you're in your home. This is something that annoyed me
for a long time with Radi. Radi really doesn't like
sitting in bright places, I as in, with the lights on.
She loves natural light. But then when it gets darker
at night, she'd always want all these dim lights. And
I really didn't like dim light. So I went and
got us some really nice lamps that I put on,
and of course candors. And I've realized that she's so
(14:31):
right that you can actually start preparing your body and
your mind for sleep the darker it gets. Now, what
we often do is we turn off all the lights
and we turn on the TV right and that blue light.
Of course we've heard about that before. That's not helping
us prepare for sleep. But if you're having a conversation,
if you're hanging out and you just have dim lights
on or a couple of lamps, it actually starts preparing
(14:53):
your body and mind for sleep. The study from My
Sense goes on to say. Additionally, darkness also promotes really laxation,
which helps you fall asleep quickly. The brain is very
sensitive and can detect even the slightest amount of light
and stop the production of melatonin, which plays a huge
role in helping you get quality sleep. Therefore, next time
(15:15):
you go to bed, ensure that you switch off all
the lights to make it easier to fall asleep. It
goes on to say that sleeping in darkness can help
to enhance your overall health and well being. Several studies
have shown that sleeping in light can increase your body
weight up to fifty percent, and according to experts, light
could alter your metabolic process by slowing it down. This
(15:38):
means that your body will not be able to convert
fat into energy. This could lead to weight gain. On
the other hand, sleeping in a dark room promotes fast metabolism,
meaning your body will burn more calories, thus allowing you
to maintain a healthy weight. Again, this is all about
living a healthy life, and I think it's so important
to understand how so many of these things are not
(16:01):
only making you feel like you're sleeping better, they're converting
that fat into energy and therefore having more energy throughout
the day. Now point number five is all about circadian rhythms,
and I think we've been hearing a lot about this.
Circadian rhythms, for anyone who doesn't know, are physical, mental,
and behavioral changes that follow a twenty four hour cycle.
(16:24):
These natural processes respond primarily to light and dark and
affect most living things, including animals, plants, microbes, and circadian rhythms,
the study says, can influence important functions in our bodies,
such as hormone release, eating habits, digestion, and body temperature.
So the way this works, and the fastest way it works,
(16:46):
is to recognize that your circadian clock is most sensitive
to light at the following times, about one hour after
waking up in the morning. This is one of the
reasons why I like to get out on a hike
in that time zone because I'm getting outdoors and getting sunlight,
and even though sometimes I have to wear sunglasses in
the morning, I'll make sure to spend a couple of
(17:06):
minutes exposing myself to the sunlight. Obviously not directly, but
the light that's coming. The second thing is about two
hours before your bedtime, and the third is throughout the night.
So when you get bright light in the morning, this
is from very well health. It can help you feel
more alert during the day and has a later effect
that helps you to feel sleepy in the evening and
(17:29):
fall asleep faster. However, if you're exposed to bright light
within two hours of your bedtime, it can make you
less sleepy and fall asleep later. Right, So you want
to focus on getting that exposure to sunlight one hour
from when you wake up, but not two hours before
you go to bed. Now, these are some of the
ways that sunlight affects your body. First thing in the morning,
(17:51):
your body makes a stress hormone called cortisol. Having too
much of this hormone at night can keep you awake.
Sunlight helps your body make a brain chemical called serotonin
that plays an important role in your well being. So
please do not underestimate the power of sunlight. And you
may be saying, Jay, I don't live in a sunny place,
but just being out there in the light is so important, right,
(18:14):
so needed, and please, please please don't underestimate it. And
hopefully you'll be able to find some sunlight on any
given day and just being outdoors will make a big difference. Now,
I also want to talk about comfort being such an
important part of getting better sleep, and one of the
biggest ways is genuinely getting a good mattress and a
(18:38):
few questions to think about, how long have you had it,
When was the last time you changed it? Now five
to seven years is the average life of a mattress.
And having a good mattress for your needs and preferences
will not only help with everything else I've said before,
whether it's the temperature, whether it's the comfort, whether it
makes you feel like you're relaxing, and investing in a
supportive mattress and pillow helps ensure that your spine gets
(19:01):
proper support to avoid aches and pains. And you want
to make sure that your sheets and blankets play a
major role, and therefore you want to make sure that
it's a material that you like I remember Raddi is
always testing out different materials, and there were some materials
that I didn't enjoy getting into bed at night, and
even changing the material made such a difference to my mindset.
And so I would highly recommend that. I know that
(19:21):
I've been using a dream Cloud mattress for a long
time and I found it to be really premium materials,
really good quality, and I'm really glad that we invested
in that. Now point number seven, this is one of
my favorite ones and I used this a lot when
I had my hernia surgery. So when I had my
hernia surgery, I really struggled to sleep because I couldn't
sleep on either on my sides, and I slept on
(19:43):
my back and I felt a lot of pain on
my back because my back was taking so much of
the responsibility of carrying me. And I really used yoga
needra more than ever. And yoga needra works with the
autonomic nervous system and the autonomic the nervous system regulates
processes of the body that take place without a conscious effort,
(20:05):
for example, heartbeat, breathing, digestion, and blood flow. And this
system also includes the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. Now,
if you just want to know more about it, I
honestly recommend just typing in yoga nedra on Calm. There's
a beautiful yoga edra there, or typing in yoga edra
on YouTube, and as soon as you find it, just
(20:27):
try it out. That's the best way to explain it.
It can get really heady to figure it out, and
you may want to precede this with a deep breathing
exercise to help you fall asleep. Breathing from your belly
rather than your chest can activate the relaxation response and
lower your heart rate, your blood pressure, and stress levels
to help you drift off to sleep. You could also
(20:48):
try a body scan exercise to help you fall asleep,
paying attention to different parts of your body, even expressing
them gratitude and letting them switch off, removing any tension
and breathe through them. So that's been a really, really
powerful way. What's really interesting is that the military sleep
method has been popularized on social media in recent years,
(21:09):
with many people claiming it can help you fall asleep
within two minutes. First appearing in Bud Winter's nineteen eighty
one book Relax and win championship performance. The Military method
combines several proven relaxation techniques like the deep breathing and
body scan exercise in case you want to check out more.
And the final thing I want to share with you
was a brilliant article I read on Healthline which was
(21:32):
all about sleep positions. Now, they had this brilliant table
that I'm going to walk you through in this article,
and he was saying, let's say your concern is lower
back pain. The positions to try are side, fetal or back,
and it says when sleeping on your side, try placing
a pillow between your knees to help with spine alignment.
I again use this a lot when i'd buy her
(21:53):
nia surgery. Putting them below my knees while I was
on my back allowed me to take some of that
strain off my back. Now, let's say your concern, health
Line says is neck pain. Positions to try a back
and side, and it says use a thicker pillow if
sleeping on your side, and a thinner pillow when sleeping
on your back. Again, this is something I've personally practiced.
(22:13):
I sleep on a Mutch's thinner pillow now, as I
usually sleep on my back. Now, let's say your concern
is sleep apnar or snoring. It recommends side, fetal or
stomach position, and it says if sleeping on your stomach,
try putting a pillow under your pelvis and consider using
a thinner pillow under your head. Now, let's say you've
experienced acid reflux. This is something I've had in the past.
(22:35):
It recommends sleeping on your side, and I would add
your left side. When you are struggling with the digestion
or bloating or acid reflux, sleep on your left side. Now,
let's say you're pregnant. Health Line says fetal or side,
experiment with using a body pillow or wedge pillow for
added comfort. Now, let's say you have sinus congestion. I
love this table from Healthline. It says sleep on your back,
(22:56):
prop your head up with an extra pillow to help
with drainage. And if you have hip or knee pain,
sleep on your back. Try placing a pillow under your
knees to take pressure off your spine. These are the
eight strategies for deeper sleep and boosting your energy all day.
I can't wait for you to try them out. Thank
you so much for tuning in, and I want to
(23:17):
remind you that this episode was brought to you by
Dreamcloudsleep dot com and you can use the code J
for forty percent off plus an additional fifty dollars off
any mattress purchase at Dreamcloud, the world's most luxury mattress
check it out
It's almost like everything's modeled. Right. We're working from our
beds with our laptops, we're sleeping on the couch where
you're meant to be watching TV. You're eating in your
bed too, So the energy of our spaces get so
modled and mixed up that then when we get into
our beds to sleep, our mind and body don't know
how to react because they're used to eating there, They're
(00:21):
used to watching TV there, they're used to working there.
There's so many different energies and mindsets that you're experiencing. Hey, everyone,
welcome back to on Purpose. Thank you so much for
being here to listen, learn and grow. I want to
(00:42):
take a moment because I've been thinking about this a lot.
I have no idea how to thank you, and I
want you to know just how deeply grateful I am
and appreciative I am of each and every one of you.
I can't believe that I got to meet nearly one
hundred thousand of you this year while I was traveling
on my tour. It's insane to see how much your
(01:03):
love and support for me continues over the years. And
I want you to know that I deeply, deeply, deeply
hope that the work I'm putting out is having an
impact on your life and having an impact on your
relationships to the people you love, to the people you
work with, your careers. Your purpose and on purpose is
always going to be here to serve you and be
(01:25):
here to help you. And today's episode is all about
eight strategies for deeper sleep and boosting your energy all day.
How many of you, be honest, know that you want
to get better, deeper quality sleep. I have spent months
of my life in certain parts, getting really poor sleep,
(01:49):
and I've found that it completely drains me of energy
throughout the day. You could be eating right, you could
be working out, you could be doing everything, but when
you're not getting good sleep, it can feel like you're
pulling your body, pushing your body all day long. And
I know some of you can resonate and relate to that.
(02:10):
And how can we boost our energy through that healthy sleep?
How does that healthy sleep transfer into having more energy
for the things we love, the people we love, and
what we want to do throughout our days. So I'm
going to share with you these eight strategies. I've done
a lot of research online, so I'll be sharing with
you articles that I'm referencing. A lot of this will
(02:34):
be reading from really great sources that I've learned from
for this topic, because I wanted to give you the
headline or the billboard of the point that I want
you to practice, but I wanted to give you the
science behind it as well, So I'll be quoting a
lot of sources and a lot of articles which I
hope you can check out as well if you want
to really do a deep dive. And I've always found
(02:54):
that the science is important because it's important for you
to understand why you do what you do. When you
recognize what the benefits are by doing something so specifically,
it motivates you further. It inspires you further to actually
activate and practice and apply to that degree. The first
one I want to share is one of the themes
(03:16):
that I learned during my time in the monastery, and
it's location has energy. Time has memory. Location has energy.
Time has memory. When you do something in the same
place every day, it becomes easier. When you do something
at the same time every day, it becomes easier because
(03:39):
time has memory. Your body is used to that experience
and so it gets conditioned to know what to expect
and to be ready for it. When you do something
in the same space every day, that space starts to
embody that energy. Now, the challenge today is we work
where we're meant to sleep, we eat where we're meant
(04:01):
to work, and we sleep where we're meant to eat. Right,
it's almost like everything's muddled. Right. We're working from our
beds with our laptops, we're sleeping on the couch where
you're meant to be watching TV. You're eating in your
bed too, So the energy of our spaces get so
muddled and mixed up that then when we get into
(04:21):
our beds to sleep, our mind and body don't know
how to react because they're used to eating there, they're
used to watching TV there, they're used to working there.
There's so many different energies and mindsets that you're experiencing.
Let's talk a little bit about this. How can we
make our bedroom a sacred place, a sanctuary for healthy sleep.
(04:43):
How do we control the use of technology in there?
How do we make sure that we're not using it
for our other things? First of all, and I really
mean this, and I know this might be hard, but
I mean it, Try and take your TV out of
your bedroom. And you may say, Jay, I love watching
TV before I go to bed. If you really to
do that, use your laptop, but take your TV out
of your bedrooms so that you are not using your
(05:05):
bedroom as a space of just being wired into something.
And I know it's a lot to ask. I know
you're like, Jay, come on, start with something easier. But
if you want to get deep asleep, you want to
be in a place where it's not easy to consume
content that a could be giving you anxiety. A lot
of people say to me, Jeffel anxiety, And one of
the first questions I asked him is what did you
watch last night? Chances are you watch something that was
(05:29):
keeping you on edge. It's giving you what I call
Cliffhanger chemicals, that anxiety of what's going to happen next?
What about that character? Are they gonna where are they
gonna make it, what's gonna happen? Like that energy before
you go to sleep doesn't really help you. Another thing
that's really really important about location is if you're eating
in bed too. When you're eating too close to bedtime,
(05:50):
you're then having to digest that instead of using that
energy to be restorative. So the same energy that would
be refueling, renewing, restoring is now being used to digest food.
And that's why using your bed as just a place
to sleep and rest and relax and maintaining it that
way creates a sort of sanctuary, that's the word for
(06:14):
your body and mind. So I want you to give
that a go now number two, as part of your
morning routine. I'm not diving in a morning routine, but
I want to give you something because your sleep is
impacted by how you live when you're awake. I think
we think of sleep as like I need to improve
my sleep, I need to be better when I sleep.
And wait a minute, you can't even control that, but
(06:36):
maybe you can control how you start your day. Now.
One of the things that's really important, and I'm taking
this from some research that talks about the need to
drink warm water first thing in the morning. Of course,
it helps you hydrate and when we lose fluids during
our nighttime and while we're asleep, drinking a cup of
(06:58):
warm water when you wake up starts replenishing those fluids.
This is the big one that I came across from
Iravada about how drinking warm water can help you start
breaking down certain foods, and it kicks off your digestive
process in the morning. So if you've woken up bloated,
if you've woken up feeling like you haven't digested your
(07:19):
night meal well, or if you're just feeling some discomfort,
a slowly drunk glass of warm water right slowly can
clear out the waste, clear out the toxins, and that's
one of the biggest ones. Drinking warm water naturally raises
your internal body temperature, which then helps you sweat, and
(07:39):
which is one of your body's ways to reduce those toxins.
So warm, not hot, just warm water. Allowing that to
be part of your morning routine will help you feel
flushed out, which means when you get into bed, you're
again not carrying that throughout the day. You're letting that go.
The third thing I want to talk to you about,
which is often an overlooked part of a sleep routine,
(08:01):
is temperature. And this is research from the Sleep Foundation Online.
They have an amazing website with great resources. Highly recommend
you check them out. And so your core body temperature.
The National Library of Medicine Biotech Information says that it
generally hovers around ninety eight point six degrees fahrenheit, right,
(08:21):
which is thirty seven degrees celsius, but fluctuates by about
two degrees fahrenheit. Now, the drop in temperature starts about
two hours before you go to sleep, coinciding with the
release of the sleep hormone melatonin. During sleep, body temperature
continues to fall, reaching a low point in the early morning,
and then gradually warming up as the morning progresses. Lowering
(08:44):
the thermostat at night can work in tandem with these
natural temperature fluctuations, signaling to the body that bedtime is approaching. Right,
So two hours before you go to bed, if you
lower the thermostat to in between whatever, you feel comfortable.
But I'd say between sixty to seventy fahrenheit, right, Like,
that's what you want to aim between. Some people say
(09:06):
sixty three is optimal, some people say sixty five. I
think sixty is quite cold for me. I personally like
sixty seven. And so you're finding that sweet spot for
you by testing it out. Don't start are going too cold, right.
I don't want you to go to sixty immediately you
will freeze. But you're trying to match your body's journey
with what's around you, and especially if you started two
(09:26):
hours before, it starts preparing your body. A lot of
us feel we have to be cozy, we have to
be warm, and hey, you can still have an amazing duvet,
you can still tuck yourself in, whatever you want to do.
You can wear pajamas, knock yourself out. But the goal
is you want to make sure that the room is
in that space. Right. You don't have to feel cold,
you can tuck yourself in, but you want the room
(09:47):
to have that environment to prepare you for sleep. Now,
what I loved about what Sleep Foundation went on to
talk about is what happens when your bedroom's too hot.
So this is for all of you are listening to me,
going jay, I am never making my room sixty five
degrees right. I know some of you listen to me
right now, going Jay, You're crazy. This is never going
to happen. So Sleep Foundation says warmer temperatures can cause
(10:10):
discomfort and restlessness, and anyone who has slept in a
stuffy bedroom knows what that feels like. Right now. A
bedroom that is too warm can interfere with the body's
thermoregulation abilities and cause fatigue. I realized this when I
lived in New York. Often, obviously, it would get really cold,
and I would put the heat up so much that
(10:30):
I would wake up feeling dehydrated, and I would wake
up feeling more tired. And often a person who's tired
will feel physically and mentally tired but unable to fall asleep.
And I'm sure you can relate to that. Now. Sleep
Foundation goes on to say body temperatures also affect sleep
quality and the time spent in different sleep stages. A
(10:50):
higher core body temperature has been associated with a decrease
in restorative slow wave sleep. So I really want you
to be mindful of the temperature in your room. I
really want you to be thoughtful about the temperature in
your room because it can have so many big impacts
through something that seems so small and excessively hot. Ambient
temperatures also appear to lessen the time spent in rem sleep,
(11:15):
which is that deep sleep that we're trying to get into,
and of course your body can't access it if the
room is too hot. This segment about sleep rituals is
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your sleep directly impacts your overall health and happiness. That's
where a sleep ritual comes into play. By establishing a
(11:36):
soothing pre sleep routine, you signal your body that it's
time to wind down, promoting a smoother transition to dreamland
and ensuring you wake up each morning feeling fully restored
and eager to embrace the day ahead. But are you
finding it hard to switch off after a hectic day?
If you do, try some of these tips before lying down,
take a moment to unwind with calming practices that will
(11:59):
help you sleep better. Try deep breathing exercises, meditation, or
gentle stretching to relax your mind and body. A hot
bath or a cup of verbal tea can also do
wonders in preparing you for a tranquil night's sleep. Another
factor that can affect your sleep quality is the mattress
that you're using. Having a good mattress can give you
the proper comfort and support, which means you can sleep
(12:21):
deeply and wake up feeling refreshed, which is essential for
your overall health, reducing pain and feeling your best. With
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(13:05):
dream Cloud, the world's most affordable luxury mattress. Number four
is cave like darkness. I know a lot of us
sleep with flickering lights. We sleep with like I said TVs.
We sleep with some sort of light from our phones.
Maybe you have an alarm system, maybe you don't have
blinds or blackout blinds. This is so important. There's an
(13:26):
amazing sight called my ey Sense. I highly recommend it
my Eyesense, and it says that, according to sleep experts,
darkness helps to stimulate the production of melatonin, a hormone
that helps you fall asleep quickly. It also helps to
keep you asleep until you complete all sleeping cycles. I
remember when I used to sleep with out blinds. Although
(13:47):
I loved waking up to the bright sun pouring in,
obviously I didn't get the deep sleep and the length
of sleep that I actually wanted. What I also found
was that when I had the light sources that were
flickering or coming on or whatever it may have been,
what that did is that it disturbed my sleep. And
(14:08):
on top of that, to go a step further when
you're in your home. This is something that annoyed me
for a long time with Radi. Radi really doesn't like
sitting in bright places, I as in, with the lights on.
She loves natural light. But then when it gets darker
at night, she'd always want all these dim lights. And
I really didn't like dim light. So I went and
got us some really nice lamps that I put on,
and of course candors. And I've realized that she's so
(14:31):
right that you can actually start preparing your body and
your mind for sleep the darker it gets. Now, what
we often do is we turn off all the lights
and we turn on the TV right and that blue light.
Of course we've heard about that before. That's not helping
us prepare for sleep. But if you're having a conversation,
if you're hanging out and you just have dim lights
on or a couple of lamps, it actually starts preparing
(14:53):
your body and mind for sleep. The study from My
Sense goes on to say. Additionally, darkness also promotes really laxation,
which helps you fall asleep quickly. The brain is very
sensitive and can detect even the slightest amount of light
and stop the production of melatonin, which plays a huge
role in helping you get quality sleep. Therefore, next time
(15:15):
you go to bed, ensure that you switch off all
the lights to make it easier to fall asleep. It
goes on to say that sleeping in darkness can help
to enhance your overall health and well being. Several studies
have shown that sleeping in light can increase your body
weight up to fifty percent, and according to experts, light
could alter your metabolic process by slowing it down. This
(15:38):
means that your body will not be able to convert
fat into energy. This could lead to weight gain. On
the other hand, sleeping in a dark room promotes fast metabolism,
meaning your body will burn more calories, thus allowing you
to maintain a healthy weight. Again, this is all about
living a healthy life, and I think it's so important
to understand how so many of these things are not
(16:01):
only making you feel like you're sleeping better, they're converting
that fat into energy and therefore having more energy throughout
the day. Now point number five is all about circadian rhythms,
and I think we've been hearing a lot about this.
Circadian rhythms, for anyone who doesn't know, are physical, mental,
and behavioral changes that follow a twenty four hour cycle.
(16:24):
These natural processes respond primarily to light and dark and
affect most living things, including animals, plants, microbes, and circadian rhythms,
the study says, can influence important functions in our bodies,
such as hormone release, eating habits, digestion, and body temperature.
So the way this works, and the fastest way it works,
(16:46):
is to recognize that your circadian clock is most sensitive
to light at the following times, about one hour after
waking up in the morning. This is one of the
reasons why I like to get out on a hike
in that time zone because I'm getting outdoors and getting sunlight,
and even though sometimes I have to wear sunglasses in
the morning, I'll make sure to spend a couple of
(17:06):
minutes exposing myself to the sunlight. Obviously not directly, but
the light that's coming. The second thing is about two
hours before your bedtime, and the third is throughout the night.
So when you get bright light in the morning, this
is from very well health. It can help you feel
more alert during the day and has a later effect
that helps you to feel sleepy in the evening and
(17:29):
fall asleep faster. However, if you're exposed to bright light
within two hours of your bedtime, it can make you
less sleepy and fall asleep later. Right, So you want
to focus on getting that exposure to sunlight one hour
from when you wake up, but not two hours before
you go to bed. Now, these are some of the
ways that sunlight affects your body. First thing in the morning,
(17:51):
your body makes a stress hormone called cortisol. Having too
much of this hormone at night can keep you awake.
Sunlight helps your body make a brain chemical called serotonin
that plays an important role in your well being. So
please do not underestimate the power of sunlight. And you
may be saying, Jay, I don't live in a sunny place,
but just being out there in the light is so important, right,
(18:14):
so needed, and please, please please don't underestimate it. And
hopefully you'll be able to find some sunlight on any
given day and just being outdoors will make a big difference. Now,
I also want to talk about comfort being such an
important part of getting better sleep, and one of the
biggest ways is genuinely getting a good mattress and a
(18:38):
few questions to think about, how long have you had it,
When was the last time you changed it? Now five
to seven years is the average life of a mattress.
And having a good mattress for your needs and preferences
will not only help with everything else I've said before,
whether it's the temperature, whether it's the comfort, whether it
makes you feel like you're relaxing, and investing in a
supportive mattress and pillow helps ensure that your spine gets
(19:01):
proper support to avoid aches and pains. And you want
to make sure that your sheets and blankets play a
major role, and therefore you want to make sure that
it's a material that you like I remember Raddi is
always testing out different materials, and there were some materials
that I didn't enjoy getting into bed at night, and
even changing the material made such a difference to my mindset.
And so I would highly recommend that. I know that
(19:21):
I've been using a dream Cloud mattress for a long
time and I found it to be really premium materials,
really good quality, and I'm really glad that we invested
in that. Now point number seven, this is one of
my favorite ones and I used this a lot when
I had my hernia surgery. So when I had my
hernia surgery, I really struggled to sleep because I couldn't
sleep on either on my sides, and I slept on
(19:43):
my back and I felt a lot of pain on
my back because my back was taking so much of
the responsibility of carrying me. And I really used yoga
needra more than ever. And yoga needra works with the
autonomic nervous system and the autonomic the nervous system regulates
processes of the body that take place without a conscious effort,
(20:05):
for example, heartbeat, breathing, digestion, and blood flow. And this
system also includes the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. Now,
if you just want to know more about it, I
honestly recommend just typing in yoga nedra on Calm. There's
a beautiful yoga edra there, or typing in yoga edra
on YouTube, and as soon as you find it, just
(20:27):
try it out. That's the best way to explain it.
It can get really heady to figure it out, and
you may want to precede this with a deep breathing
exercise to help you fall asleep. Breathing from your belly
rather than your chest can activate the relaxation response and
lower your heart rate, your blood pressure, and stress levels
to help you drift off to sleep. You could also
(20:48):
try a body scan exercise to help you fall asleep,
paying attention to different parts of your body, even expressing
them gratitude and letting them switch off, removing any tension
and breathe through them. So that's been a really, really
powerful way. What's really interesting is that the military sleep
method has been popularized on social media in recent years,
(21:09):
with many people claiming it can help you fall asleep
within two minutes. First appearing in Bud Winter's nineteen eighty
one book Relax and win championship performance. The Military method
combines several proven relaxation techniques like the deep breathing and
body scan exercise in case you want to check out more.
And the final thing I want to share with you
was a brilliant article I read on Healthline which was
(21:32):
all about sleep positions. Now, they had this brilliant table
that I'm going to walk you through in this article,
and he was saying, let's say your concern is lower
back pain. The positions to try are side, fetal or back,
and it says when sleeping on your side, try placing
a pillow between your knees to help with spine alignment.
I again use this a lot when i'd buy her
(21:53):
nia surgery. Putting them below my knees while I was
on my back allowed me to take some of that
strain off my back. Now, let's say your concern, health
Line says is neck pain. Positions to try a back
and side, and it says use a thicker pillow if
sleeping on your side, and a thinner pillow when sleeping
on your back. Again, this is something I've personally practiced.
(22:13):
I sleep on a Mutch's thinner pillow now, as I
usually sleep on my back. Now, let's say your concern
is sleep apnar or snoring. It recommends side, fetal or
stomach position, and it says if sleeping on your stomach,
try putting a pillow under your pelvis and consider using
a thinner pillow under your head. Now, let's say you've
experienced acid reflux. This is something I've had in the past.
(22:35):
It recommends sleeping on your side, and I would add
your left side. When you are struggling with the digestion
or bloating or acid reflux, sleep on your left side. Now,
let's say you're pregnant. Health Line says fetal or side,
experiment with using a body pillow or wedge pillow for
added comfort. Now, let's say you have sinus congestion. I
love this table from Healthline. It says sleep on your back,
(22:56):
prop your head up with an extra pillow to help
with drainage. And if you have hip or knee pain,
sleep on your back. Try placing a pillow under your
knees to take pressure off your spine. These are the
eight strategies for deeper sleep and boosting your energy all day.
I can't wait for you to try them out. Thank
you so much for tuning in, and I want to
(23:17):
remind you that this episode was brought to you by
Dreamcloudsleep dot com and you can use the code J
for forty percent off plus an additional fifty dollars off
any mattress purchase at Dreamcloud, the world's most luxury mattress
check it out
Host
Jay Shetty
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