Sleep Deprivation

You will eventually hear me talk about the power of the mind throughout the streams if you listen long enough. It is the focal point of my whole philosophy on self improvement and leadership training. But if the mind is housed in a body unfit for lasting and sustained success, all of the flowery language in the world would be for naught. In order to develop an excellent mind one must first be in possession of an excellent body.

I usually surmise the areas that the body needs attention into three parts; sleep, diet and physical activity. The last two areas are ones that can typically improve through force of willpower alone; sleep however cannot. In a world where we are taught to work endlessly and feverishly it can be easy to find yourself in a state of mind so excited it seems impossible to calm down. The need to get that last couple hours of sleep before the next long, dreaded day can work to keep us awake and suffer even more. In these suggestions below, let me try and provide the tips and tricks that have helped me find appropriate levels of sleep throughout my years working night shifts and balancing family life.

1. Block out all sources of light in your bedroom.

Some suggestions would be to use black out curtains on windows and a night mask for your eyes. If those are not available you could try taping down existing curtains if it will help create a seal to block the light. A last ditch effort would be to put up some bed sheets or towels around the window to block out whatever light you can. If you do not have a nightmask something as simple as a thick headband or a winter toque to pull over your eyes will do the trick. The last thing to do is block out the light from either your phone or alarm clock if you still use one. Even just the smallest bit of light coming from that source will be enough to trigger the wrong responses in your brain as you try to sleep.

2. Hydrate.

If the last sleep that you had was a bad one, I would bet that this is most likely the main cause. Drinking a couple glasses of water about an hour before you intend to go to bed would be my recommended practice. The body still needs food and water to operate even while you are asleep, so it makes sense to stock up on supplies while you turn the lights off. Ever find yourself awake late at night with a serious case of the munchies? Instead of grabbing a snack, try having a few sips of water. Usually your body is not in the state where it needs sustenance to survive, it is just your stomach telling your body it is empty. A few gulps of water is all you need to hit those sensors in your stomach and trick it for long enough for you to fall back asleep. Having a snack requires energy to be spent to digest it, that wakes your body up. If possible, try and put a glass of water beside your bed. That way all you need to do is roll over, have a gulp and go back to sleep without disturbing your REM cycle at all.

3. Stretch.

This one almost needs no explanation at all. When you stretch you promote blood flow which makes it easier on your heart. Easier on your heart means easier to fall asleep. If you are rolling around for fifteen minutes or more, get up and stretch those limbs out. You really will feel more relaxed when you crawl back in for another shot. Some helpful stretches that you can do in bed are bringing your knee up to your chest / collarbone or touching your toes with your legs fully extended.

4. Write out your thoughts.

If you are too busy with thoughts racing around your mind, help quiet that inner voice by writing it down. By putting it from pen to paper you are using your senses to consolidate the ideas you have in your head making it easier for your mind to let them go. DO NOT TYPE THESE THOUGHTS! You must use a pen and paper. Not only do you want to avoid the blue light from back lit screens, it does not provide the same visceral feeling that allows your mind-body connection to satisfy it’s curiosity. Sometimes while we are about to fall asleep we get some of the most amazing ideas. This is normal for everyone. So if you are the type of person that has trouble quieting these amazing thoughts, write them down in order to set it and forget it.

5. Exercise during the day.

I won’t get too much into this one either. It is a simple and quick fix to having too much energy at night. Work your ass so hard during the day that you have nothing better to do than collapse into bed each night.

6. Go to sleep at the same time every night. Wake up at the same time every day.

This one sounds like a bit of a pipe dream to anyone who got this far and actually has insomnia related problems. If only, right? I must admit, this is the one suggestion I have a hard time following myself. But the point remains true, a regular sleep schedule is a great way to ensure healthy sleeping habits. Ever get that sickening feeling when you realize you slept through your alarm and are now late for school or work? Did you know that has a lot to do with the fact your mind is still counting the seconds while it is asleep? The body is designed to run on daily patterns as defined by our circadian rhythm. So, in practice try to set a two hour window in which you will go to sleep and wake up each day. The expert level version of this suggested practice is the person who wakes up five minutes before their alarm and falls asleep within five minutes of reaching bed each day.

7. Try for fifteen minutes, take a break, try again.

Rolling around in bed getting frustrated is one of the worst things you can do while forcing yourself to sleep. If you notice that fifteen or twenty minutes has gone by, get out of bed and go relax in another room or another part of the bedroom if applicable. This will allow your mind to reset and relax in order to give yourself the best chance at falling asleep when you get back into bed again. DO NOT TURN ON YOUR PHONE! Any blue light from a back lit source will trigger your circadian rhythm and any sleep that you might end up getting that night will not be a full and complete sleep. I would suggest reading a book, writing in a journal, drinking a sip of water or sitting in quiet meditation.

8. Keep the bed and bedroom for sleeping activities only.

Now all married life jokes aside, this mental image trick has many applications outside of sleep deprivation. The idea is to make the space for sleeping only for sleeping. Make the place you do your study only for studying. If you are the type of person who likes to read, play games or any kind of stimulating activity before bed make sure to do that someplace that is not the bed or in the bedroom. When you are doing work in the place where you need to be sleeping, the mind will associate this space with the action of work and not sleep. If you are the kind of person who studies while in bed, you will find you are most apt to study right when you get into bed. Take the study or the video games outside of the bedroom and especially outside of the bed.

9. Use a white noise generator.

There are a ton of free apps across the interwebs, so I won’t suggest any here. But I would suggest that you play around with lots of different noises to see if you can find one that suits your personality. I very much prefer having something that plays rolling thunder with rain or a campfire soundtrack. Music is not recommended, especially if they have lyrics. The idea is to give your mind something to focus on that will not create more thoughts. Songs will always remind you of something that holds the attention of your mind. Give your mind sounds that help it drift away.

10. Breathe through your nose.

Now it sounds like old Byski has lost his mind now doesn’t it? This again is one of those recommended practices that spills over into other areas of life to provide benefit. Breathing through your nose is just overall healthier for you once you get past it being slightly uncomfortable. It may feel uncomfortable and may not even work in aiding sleep while first starting out, but if you strengthen your breathing muscles to the point where you do this unconsciously it will have tremendous overall health implications. In simplified terms, it is easier to get a full breath quicker while breathing through the nose. This results in more oxygenated blood which will have many health benefits with sleeping easier being one of them.

11. Wear yellow tinted, polarized or otherwise blue-light blocking glasses.

To help keep your circadian rhythm in order, you can prepare your mind for a quieting down period by blocking out light about an hour before you want to fall asleep. By wearing these glasses you are blocking the light that would otherwise stimulate your mind and body into daytime activity mode while still living a life in the 21st century. You do not need to spend a wild amount on top tier glasses, the ones that I use I bought from a local supermarket for about five bucks. Remember, the blue light that you get from back light screens mimics the light that you receive from the sun during the day. This is the reason why we tend to stay up later while looking into our phone. The light is tricking our brain into believing it is either sunrise or midday and as such will tell the body to wake up.

12. Keep the bedroom cool.

This suggestion may be a little harder for others than it is for me because all I have to do is open the window. But if you live in warmer climates where this is not a useful option the one practice that I could recommend would be to keep one foot out from under the covers. Having one foot out exposed to the conditions in the room will help the body regulate its internal temperature without waking you up.

Well, those are all the ideas that I have in my head. These are all practices that I use myself to fight just the same problem that many of us have, falling asleep quickly. There are many recommended don'ts that I could suggest as well, but if you follow these Byski approved suggestions I think you will steer far clear of those obstacles. I hope you all enjoyed this first of many Byski Talks moments. If you have any further questions, please comment in this thread in discord here. We can always talk about it on stream some more, but I would love to have the Q and A be part of the written record for many more future Byski fans to benefit from. 

As always, be the best you that you can be and keep the questions coming!

Quick shout out to crazynixson for asking me about this last stream.