14 Scientific Hacks To Help You Get A Better Night's Sleep

28/11/2014
14 Scientific Hacks To Help You Get A Better Night's Sleep
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1. Use the 90-minute rule.
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When you sleep, your brain cycles through different stages, each lasting 90 minutes.
You will feel most refreshed when you awake at the end of a 90-minute sleep cycle
because you will be closest to your normal waking state, writes Professor Richard
Wiseman in Night School.
So, starting from when you want to wake up, count back in 90-minute intervals to
work out when you should fall asleep. Or let sleepyti.me do it for you. For example,
if you want to get up at 7am, try falling asleep at either 11.30pm or 10pm.
2. If you want to nap, do it between 1pm and 3pm.
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Your circadian rhythm makes you feel alert in the morning, peaking between 7am
and 9am, but after 11am your alertness levels start to drop, reaching a low between 1
and 3pm. (Meaning that your mid-afternoon lethargy cant be entirely blamed on a
lunchtime burrito.)
Use the slump to your advantage and take a quick nap, if youre able to. If you dont
have access to a bed, there are pillows you can buy to help you sleep on the go.
3. Drink a coffee before a quick nap.
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Caffeine takes 20 minutes to get going, so downing an espresso immediately

before a short nap will mean it kicks in as youre waking up, making you extra alert.
4. Get some exercise.
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Two and a half hours of moderate aerobic activity or one and a quarter hours of
more vigorous activity per week will help you sleep at night. Just dont do it directly
before going to sleep. Exercise can make you all hot and sweaty, and you need
time to cool down before heading to bed, writes Wiseman.
5. Avoid bright screens in the few hours before bed.
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Research has shown that blue light keeps you awake because it suppresses the
production of melatonin. Sadly, that means TVs, computers, and smartphones, as
well as providing you with things to do that keep you awake, could actually be
stopping you getting to sleep when you want to.
If you must work late, dim your phone screen as much as you can and use a program
such as f.lux to get rid of that blue glow from your computer screen. You could even
go as far as wearing amber-tinted glasses theyve been shown to improve sleep
quality and mood.
6. Use neutral sounds to tackle noise pollution.
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Even when youre asleep your brain is listening out for sounds that might mean
danger. Research has shown that white noise or nature sounds (think waves
crashing or rain falling) can drown out annoying noises, like those from rowdy
revellers or planes flying overhead.
Or you could use Wisemans specially created track.
7. Wear a pair of warm socks if youre too cold, or

stick your feet out of the duvet if youre hot.
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Just over 18C (65F), and about 65% humidity, is the ideal room temperature for
sleeping according to scientists.
But make sure you take care of your feet too. According to Wiseman: Blood flow
distributes heat throughout your body, and if you have bad circulation, your
extremities will get cold and cause sleeplessness. A pair of socks is an easy
solution to that.
On the other hand, if its too warm, sticking your feet out of the duvet will help. The
basic point is to use your feet to regulate body temperature, Wiseman told
BuzzFeed.
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8. Have a bath just before bed.
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A bath around bedtime has been shown to increase sleep quality. Scientists dont
quite know why, but it might be because it mimics how your body temperature tends
to fall slightly just before you fall asleep.
According to Wiseman: Lying in a warm bath artificially raises your body
temperature, but when you climb out of the bath this temperature abruptly drops
and sends a signal to your body that you are ready for sleep.
9. List your problems and how you might solve them.
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If youre having trouble sleeping because youre worrying about a problem at work
or in your personal life, get your problems out of your head and on to a piece of
paper.
In one study, published in Behavioral Sleep Medicine, scientists split volunteers into
two groups. Both wrote down three problems they had. But one group also wrote
down possible solutions, and those people were more relaxed when they went to
bed.
10. Eat a small, carb-filled supper before bed.

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Research shows that you can easily increase your chances of getting a good nights
sleep by eating a small portion (under 200 calories) of food that is rich in
carbohydrates, advises Wiseman. Try a slice of toast, or a small bowl of cereal.
11. Introduce something lavender-scented to your

bedroom.
Getty Images Tay Jnr
This one sounds like a myth, but, weirdly, there is research that backs it up. The Wall
Street Journal reported a study of 12 people presented at the European Sleep
Research Society in Glasgow in 2008, in which lavender oil sprinkled on bedclothes
helped participants to drift off easier. A Japanese study from 2012 had similar
findings. You could try using a diffuser or lavender-infused bed linen.
A word of caution, though: The US National Institutes of Health recommend avoiding
the use of lavender if you are pregnant as not enough is known about its effects.
12. Use your bedroom only for sleep (and sex).
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This is a well-known piece of advice, but might be hard to follow if, for example,
youre a student with just one room, or your bedroom is the only place you can get
peace and quiet to work in the evening. But you can try to at least keep your bed
sacred.
13. If you wake in the night and dont fall back asleep
within 20 minutes, get up.
Getty Images Todd Warnock
Find something to do to distract yourself but nothing involving bright screens.

Many people read, but its better to do something that uses your hands as well as
your brain.
And before you start worrying about losing sleep, remember that getting up in the
middle of the night used to be perfectly normal. In pre-industrial times, people took
a first and second sleep. Each lasted around four hours and was punctuated by a
period of about an hour. The time between the two periods was used for various
activities, including quietly thinking, reading, smoking, praying, chatting, having sex,
and sometimes even visiting neighbours, writes Wiseman.
14. Work out how much sleep you actually need every
night.
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Getty Images/iStockphoto DaveRi
This will take a couple of weeks, but itll be worth it. Choose a time you want to get
up in the morning (both on weekdays and on weekends). Then force yourself out of
bed at that time every day for two weeks. Only go to bed in the evening when you
are tired, but dont force yourself to stay up when youre sleepy.
Eventually your brain will adjust and make you feel tired in time to get you into bed
for the number of hours of sleep you need and youll know how many hours that is.
Sweet dreams!
lunatic-zombie.tumblr.com
Thanks to Richard Wiseman and his book Night

School: Wake Up to the Power of Sleep for these tips.
Tagged:sleep,hacks,science,sleephacks
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28/11/2014