What is SOL?
Not feeling sleepy at night?
Staying up too late?
Cant fall asleep when you try?
Sleep onset latency (SOL) is the length of time it takes to transition from full wakefulness to the early stages of sleep. SOL is a massive problem in the modern world and one of the main culprits is over exposure of blue light and general use of technology after dark. Staring at screens and monitors when the lights have gone down is generally a bad idea and this is not helping our efforts to get better sleep. Blue light from our devices:
1) Raises cortisol levels, increase alertness... Bad news.
2) Delays release of sleep-inducing melatonin... More bad news!
Put simply, Blue light exposure after dark could be seriously affecting the quality of your sleep.
"Plan your sleep and exercise first, then everything else around them"
Unknown
How do we improve SOL and sleep when we want to?
Below I have created a basic 'sleep hygiene' list. You can try 5, you can try 10... or you may already be doing 3 and have no issues - everyone will have a different response to certain methods. I can only share what has worked best with me over the past 2-3 years. The list in the order of importance in what has worked best for me - you may have a different order or even additional items on your list.
Sleep hygiene list
1. Turn off technology 1 hour before your planned sleeping time.
For me this was the hardest habit to change but seems to make the biggest impact. Switch your phone/TV off earlier and commit to 60mins of winding-down and giving your eyes a break. Ive been experimenting with phone off at 8pm the past week and I haven't missed anything important.
2. Lights out/down
Do your best to dim the lights in your home as much as possible, this will help signal to your brain that you are in wind-down mode. Try to match the natural light outside.
3. Leave your phone outside the bedroom
From what ive heard from friends and clients, a lot people have an issue with this. Be like your caveman ancestors and create your 'cave' environment where you only sleep and XXXX in the bedroom! If you need more convincing, here is an article on 11 reasons why its NOT a good idea to not have technology in your bedroom:
4. Use a foam roller and or stretch
Foam rolling and/or stretching feels great during the 1hr wind-down and can help reduce physical and mental stress. This can increase dopamine and serotonin levels which may improve sleep quality for you.
5. Talk to your spouse/partner/housemate
I still laugh at a (married) woman's reaction when I suggested this to to her a few years ago at a Clean & Lean sleep seminar. She was clearly disgusted at the prospect of chatting to her husband in bed (LOL!) all I could reply was "Well you married him!". Be careful what you wish for with this one, you may get to know your partners again :)
6. Drink chamomile tea
Chamomile Tea is known to have sleep and relaxation benefits.
7. 5htp and Magnesium
These are 2 supplements that I really felt work for me in terms of achieving deeper sleep. 5HTP may help increase Seratonin levels - which helps create melatonin needed for good sleep. Magnesium is well know to promote deep sleep by maintaining healthy levels of GABA (a neurotransmitter that promotes sleep). I felt these work for me almost immediately and I would highly recommend them.
8. Warm shower/bath
Everyone will be different but I prefer a cold shower in the morning and hot in the evening. A hot bath at night can help by 1) relaxing the body and 2) allowing a rapid cooling of body temperature afterwards which helps falling asleep.
10. Read 10-20mins (until sleepy)
Some studies have show that reading just 6 minutes before bed can reduce stress by 68%! Even if that number is wrong by 30% its still a great end to your wind-down period.
The above list represents an ideal wind-down period for me on any given day. I DO NOT manage to do this every day as plans change, I watch TV, I read online sometimes and I have a wife who may leave me through pure boredom! If you struggle with SOL try some of the steps above and let me know how you get on.
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Nate.