Winding Down for Sleep

In this article, we will look at what does winding down means, why is it important to wind down before sleeping and how can you wind down for a great night of sleep. In the end you will find some easy to use actionable steps that you can incorporate in your life starting today.

Buckle up for a informative and life changing journey.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO WIND DOWN?

Straight from the dictionary, winding down means “to gradually relax after doing something that has made you tired or worried”.

Considering the stressful lives most of us have these days, it becomes necessary to go an extra mile to make sure our mind and body are primed for a night of quality sleep, so we can crush the next day!

WHY TO WIND DOWN BEFORE SLEEPING?

Although I wish it be like that, but sleep is not something that comes easily after a day filled with stress of work and personal commitments.

Our mind is always racing with thoughts such as”what tasks was I not able to finish today?”, “what do I have to do tomorrow?”, “Oh, I’ve got a meeting at 11 AM?”.

This makes it harder for us to to a get quality sleep at night once our head hits the pillow.

Even if you try to sleep, the body takes a while to reach a tranquil state where it can begin the much needed cycles of deep sleep, where it repairs the muscle tissues and clears toxins from the brain (most of which are generated by the millions thoughts you have been having the whole day).

What this racing mind does is that it reduces the time you would have spent in deep sleep just because your body had to relax itself before it could start cleaning and repairing. And, the result is less quality sleep which leads to daytime sleepiness, grogginess, lowered ability to focus and concentrate and issues we discussed in the Sleep Deprivation article.

A 2018 study showed that just ONE night of sleep deprivation in healthy adults significantly increased β-amyloid (Beta Amyloid) accumulation in their brains compared to their baselines. β-amyloid is a metabolic waste product found in the fluid between brain and neurons (brain cells). Build of this waste product is linked to impaired cognitive function and memory related diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Sleep plays an important role in clearing this product from the brain, especially Deep Sleep.

HOW TO WIND DOWN FOR A GREAT NIGHT OF SLEEP?

I like to divide the process of winding down into two parts.

Factors to take control of after sunset.
Before bed rituals.

Let us take a look at why and how to do the above.

Factors to take control after the sunset

The reason to take control of the factors mentioned below is that not only its your mind that can stop you from getting that valuable deep sleep, your body can too.

There are three factors after sunset that decide how relaxed and ready to sleep your body will be when you go to bed at night. These are:

Light
Food
Temperature

Light

Light is one of the most important variable that affects our body’s sleep clock (our sleep-wake cycles) and interferes with both the quantity and quality of our sleep.

Sunlight contains light rays of blue, red, yellow, orange, green and many other shades of these colors. It has a direct effect on our circadian rythm (sleep-wake cycles and other bodily process such as digestion).

Sunlight is a major and natural source of blue light, which cues our body that it daytime and suppresses Melatonin production.

Nowadays, once the sun goes down, our bodies are still in the daytime alertness mode due to all the blue light producing artificial lightning we are exposed to and thus our Melatonin (the hormone that makes us sleepy and is a potent antioxidant) production is suppressed.

Therefore, after sunset, the human body needs to be in as much as a dark environment as possible to produce a sufficient amount of Melatonin (the hormone that makes us sleepy). A “dark environment”, mean minimal to no blue light and bright light exposure.

How to control?

Install blue-light filter apps on your devices. Set the color intensity to as close as possible to red and brightness as low as you feel comfortable.
Some of my favorite apps are: Twilight for Android, F.lux (Free) from Laptop and Iris (Paid) for Mobile or Laptop.
There are built-in night-shift options in laptops such as Apple there days, but since they do not reduce enough blue light to help with sleep.
Checkout this post on Flux’s Forum where the difference is compared and explained in detail.
Use dim yellow/red light bulbs in your bedroom and the washroom (f you happen to wake up in the night to use it)
- Because, our skin also has light receptors.

Food

WHAT we eat and WHEN we eat has a noticeable effect on our sleep quality.

Not eating heavy meals 3 hours prior to bed is recommended to make sure our digestive system has to not work hard late at night and will not interfere with the deep sleep cycles.

If you are hungry, a low calorie tryptophan rich food with a carbohydrate source would be ideal.

Tryptophan is an amino acid that our body uses to make Serotonin. And the brain (Pineal Gland) then converts the Serotonin into Melatonin, which we learned above, makes us sleepy.

Some sources of tryptophan include – Turkey, eggs, chicken, fish and nuts.

The reason to add a carbohydrate source is that it makes the tryptophan more available to the brain.

Personally, if I am hungry after 8 PM (which happens occasionally), I enjoy a tablespoon or two of unsweetened almond butter with a few drops of honey.

Temperature

Body and room temperature both are factors which play a crucial role in helping you fall asleep early and also get more deep sleep.

Lower body temperature in the evening also triggers more melatonin production.

As per the studies conducted by National Sleep Foundation, the best temperature for sleep is 60-67 degree Fahrenheit. (15-19 degree Celsius).

It has also been found that room temperature over 24 degree celcius and below 12 degree celcium impair both deep and REM sleep.

Some ways to control the body temperature after sunset are:

Do not exercise prior to 4 hours before bed
Take a warm shower before bed
Use breathable blankets and bedsheets

I personally keep the room temperature at 19 degree Celsius at sleep time and wear socks to keep the feet warm.

Before bed rituals

Now comes the main part of this article.

By taking control of light, food and temperature after sunset, your body should prepared for a great night sleep with enough Melatonin being produced.

But what about the racing thoughts still occupying your mind?

Well, there are 3 things that have benefited me the most when it comes to calm that monkey mind empty it.

Breathing Exercises:

Correct style of breathing can help the body and brain to calm down from stress, which is either the response to or the cause of thoughts racing in the mind.

In the book “The Relaxation Response”, Harvard Researcher Herbert Benson shows that meditation (while focusing on breath) can alter the body’s stress response and can even change the expression of genes.

Two potent exercises I have been using in times of stress or to empty the mind before sleeping are as follows:

Box Breathing: Box breathing is a technique often used by Navy SEALs to quiet the mind during periods of extreme stress.

Now you do not have to be in an extremely stressful situation to practice this. You can do this while stuck in traffic, when stuck at a frustrating problem at work or for the reason we are discussing it, before sleeping.

To do Box Breathing, close your mouth, inhale through nose for 4 seconds, hold for 4 second, exhale through mouth for 4 seconds and then hold for 4 seconds. Repeat this a few times.

I have found doing 8 of these does the job for me.

4-7-8 Breathing: 4-7-8 breathing is developed by Dr. Andrew Weil and is also known as the Relaxing Breath.

To practice it: Place the tip of your tongue against the ridge of tissue just behind your upper front teeth, and keep it there through the entire exercise.

1. Exhale completely through the mouth, making a whoosh sound.
2. Close your mouth and inhale through the nose (quietly) for a count of four.
3. Hold for a count of seven.
4. Exhale completely through the mouth, making a whoosh sound to a count of eight.
5. Now inhale again and repeat the cycle three more times
Journaling

A 2018 study found that participants who wrote to-do lists 5 min prior to bed time fell asleep significantly faster than participants who wrote about completed activities.

Jotting down what you have to to the next day empties most of the stuff your mind is occupied with and helps you relax and sleep.

Now, writing to-do list is not exactly Journaling, but I believe it is a part of it.

I usually start out by writing any thought that is bugging my mind from the current day, moving on to tasks to do tomorrow.
Affirmations

The day has ended and no matter how it went, you cannot do anything about it at bedtime. Feeling bad or not satisfied will only make it harder to sleep which might ruin the next day as well.

That is where positive affirmations come in.

They can make you feel good about the present and hopeful about the future, which in turn helps you get that quality sleep needed to crush the next day.

Before your head hits pillow, sit with your back straight on the bed and speak out or say the affirmations quietly in your mind.

You can find various affirmations on the internet or can even make your own (choose whatever feels more in tune with your ideal life).

Some examples are:
I am grateful for the amazing life I have.
I am healthy, wealthy and successful at what I do.
I did my best today and will do better tomorrow.
I forgive anyone who has done wrong to me, as the resentment/grudge is only holding me back from unleashing my full potential
I am thankful for this chance of getting quality restorative sleep

This instagram page (quote_like_that) is also a good place to find affirmations.

ACTIONS TO TAKE

To make sure you get some value in your life from the time invested in reading this article, make sure to take these next steps:

After sunset
- Turn on blue light filter on all your devices. Making the screen as red and brightness as low as you possible for you.
- Turn off the blue light emitting LED/Fluorescent bulbs and stay in yellow/red bulbs with light temperature less than 2700 Kelvin (should be written on the bulb box) (prefer incandescent bulbs)
- Do not 3 hours prior to sleep. If hungry, eat light low carb snack
- Do not exercise 4 hours prior to sleep.
- Optional: Take a warm shower 30 min – 1 hour before going to bed
- Sleep in a cold room (ideally less than 24 degree celscius)
Before Bed
- Practice 4-7-8 breathing 4 times
- Write down any thoughts bugging you or things to do tomorrow in a notebook kept aside your bed.
- Sit with your eyes closed and say some affirmations to yourself.

The before bed ritual should not take make more than 10 minutes.

PRO TIP: Before starting the bed ritual you can sip on some chamomile tea while reading a page or two of a book while playing calming music.

REFERENCES

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Himanshi Sharma

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