A better sleep that won't cost you anything, but rearranging your current lifestyle. This is something we can all achieve.

We all know how important sleep is but…

Yeah there’s a big but and I’m going to confess that I too know it’s importance, but I need to continually work on it. 

Before we get into the deeper science of sleep and all the amazing super powers it provides, let’s just talk about how we feel when we get it and when we don’t get enough.

I’m sure everyone reading agrees they feel amazing after a good long, deep, quality sleep. Let’s agree on that.

We don’t feel our best when we have broken, short and/or low quality sleep. Let’s agree on that as well.

From that conclusion, we know we need to get enough quality sleep, but…

Here’s what I implement to give myself the best chance of quality sleep.

Getting active in the morning sun:

Huge benefits here and my favourite is shirtless Yoga under the morning sun. I always sleep better that night and plus I have set my range of motion for the day ahead to improve overall mobility. Not to mention to huge various benefits to overall wellbeing and mental health by getting active each morning can have.

Meditation before bed:

This allows my head to clear before bed. I fall asleep easier and have a better quality sleep. Plus doing this consistently, the normal daily stressors and triggers that would frustrate me, don’t seem to affect me as much and most of the time don’t upset me at all. If I don’t meditate consistently, I feel my frustration is triggered much quicker.

Stop eating an hour before bed (at least):

I’d rather have an early dinner than a late one. I sleep better. As you’ll realise if you try this as well, you’ll go to bed a little lighter and also much cooler (yes your body temperature will feel a little cooler as you’re not trying to move a heap of food and trying to fall asleep at the same time).

Now besides those 3 points, my usual clean lifestyle of good clean whole food nutrition, sufficient water intake, an active lifestyle, daily breathing exercises and meditation is the foundation. All of the above will help create a better sleep.

Now why is all this so?

Here’s the basis of why the above helps produce improved consistent sleep quality.

Morning Sun provides the rays on your body and the sunlight in your eyes. Sun on your body for Vitamin D. Sun in your eyes for Serotonin and Melatonin production.

Both the sun on your body and in your eyes kickstarts the production of Melatonin which is the sleep hormone secreted in the evening to move you to a relaxed state and drift off to sleep.

If you’re meditating before bed, you’re giving yourself the best chance to drift away to dreamland. With enough melatonin (from morning sun and clean lifestyle) and a clear mind, you’re in a good place for shut eye. Go to sleep before 10pm as Melatonin is secreted most during 10pm and 2am. Use this time wisely.

As you can appreciate a clean lifestyle overall helps this whole process along. But as I said, I continually have to re align myself to get better sleep behaviour but I am getting much better at it. I’m amazed at how what you do during the day consistently, dramatically impacts your sleep behaviour and quality.

A stressed state for a long percentage of your day isn’t going to help you sleep. This boils down to perception and how you manage those stressors. Daily meditation plays a huge role here.

As an example; even financial difficulties can cause poor sleeping habits. It’s a bit hard to just relax and sleep when the financial house isn’t in order. Remove a layer out of Maslow's Hierarchy of Basic Needs and it’s very difficult to be at ease and move into a relaxed state to try sleep. So poor sleep can also be an indicator that life is a little too stressed at current and can cause you to re-evaluate. Cut this, rearrange that, eliminate this or do more of that.

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Sometimes it isn’t a lifestyle factor that’s creating poor sleeping habits in your life. As you can imagine, if stress is high due to being in a sort of ‘survival mode’ then poor sleep will be a result. It’s impacting your emotional and mental wellbeing, which is creating more stress and it’s now going into a deep perpetual cycle of declining wellbeing and increasing levels of stress.

Looking at the root causes of poor sleep patterns can be an indicator of what may be affecting other areas of your life. So because sleep affects all areas of your life, fixing your sleep could have amazing positive effects on you, your life and the whole household.

As Matt Walker explains, sleep really is a human super power that promotes optimal health, prevents mental decline and various other brain and metabolic diseases and drastically improves longevity.

Here’s why you should listen to Matt Walker on sleep:

Dr. Walker earned his degree in neuroscience from Nottingham University, UK, and his PhD in neurophysiology from the Medical Research Council, London, UK. He subsequently became a Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, USA.

Currently, he is Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. He is also the founder and director of the Center for Human Sleep Science.

Dr. Walker’s research examines the impact of sleep on human health and disease. He has received numerous funding awards from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, and is a Kavli Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences.

His research examines the impact of sleep on human brain function in healthy and disease populations. To date, he has published over 100 scientific research studies.

A recent Ted Talk from Matt Walker explains in detail on the importance of sleep and the health declining impact it has when we don’t get enough.

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Let’s go back to the Sun as this is where some amazing things happen when we realign our lifestyle. Align it with our natural circadian rhythm. Just by choosing to eat all your meals during daylight hours, this changes your total hormonal response from the meals you eat. The Nobel Prize was recently awarded for this amazing research.


Amazing that the same diet consumed at different times dramatically changes your biological age, body fat percentage, level of silent inflammation, mental health and even the function of your vital organs.

Who knew a diet during daylight would be good for weight loss and liver function.

Here’s another Ted Talk to watch. Consuming these 2 videos will put you ahead of the sleep game. The one below is on your circadian rhythm and why it’s so important to align your lifestyle with the sun.

This professor is Dr. Satchidananda Panda. A professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California. Satchin’s amazing work deals specifically with the timing of food (meal timing) and its relationship with our biological clocks, governed by circadian rhythm and also the circadian rhythm in general.

It’s an amazing insight into a simple change and maybe ony a simple rearrangement in lifestyle that can have dramatic effects and provide insight into why some of your lifestyle and diet changes previously or currently have not been working. With small, simple adjustments, these can radically change your hormonal response from the lifestyle you live.

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In Summary:

Morning Sun for Vitamin D, Serotonin and Melatonin production as well as infrared light for your energy factories (mitochondria) in every cell of your body. Morning sun to optimise insulin secretion which results in more energy and efficient, effortless weight control and improved body fat percentage.

Meditation to clear the mind before sleep and to better deal and handle everyday stressors which we experience. Along with improving mental and emotional wellbeing.

Circadian Rhythm as a focus to re-align your current lifestyle with the sun. Even not changing anything you do and consume, but only the times in which you do and consume, will have massive benefits.

We’re all on this path together, living stronger, cleaner lifestyles.

Kind Regards

Adam Phillips

Life Grip