This blog post has been adapted from the transcription of the above video. FYI: The information and other content provided in this blog post are not intended and should not be considered nor used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment by a licensed professional.

Sleep is the foundation of our health. Someone can be doing everything else but if they're not getting really good quality sleep, that can still have a huge impact. Personally, I’ve experienced this when I was working in the emergency department. There were times when I was doing night shifts, working from 10pm to 7am And then a few days later, I would do a morning shift from 6am to 3pm and my circadian rhythm was completely off. When I don’t get enough sleep, I’m not the best version of myself. This is why I did a deep dive into sleep to get a better understanding of how important it really is.

Today, I’m going to talk about the 9 practices that I personally observe regarding sleep.

Number 1: Get Early Sun Exposure

If you are a late sleeper and you have a hard time getting up, one of the things that you can do is to have early sun exposure first thing in the morning. By doing that, you're giving your brain a message that this is the time to wake up. Back when I was still doing night shifts, I was used to going to bed at 3 a.m. So when I’d try to go to bed at 10 p.m., it was difficult at first because I couldn’t fall asleep. What I’d do is I’d gradually expose myself to the sun first thing in the morning (with my eyes closed of course to protect my eyes). By exposing myself to the sun, a signal is sent to my brain and into the pineal gland, which sends a message to my body saying that this is the time to wake up.

Number 2: Watch The Sunset

One of the fascinating things is that when we're literally seeing the sun set over the horizon, that also sends another cue to our brains that it's bedtime. If you imagine fifty thousand to a hundred thousand years ago, we didn't have our lights and gadgets. So we would typically wake up with the sun and go to bed around sunset. It’s a great practice to leverage the power of the sun’s setting and rising. Doing so is going to send these powerful autonomic signals to your brain to help you reset that circadian rhythm.

Number 3: Stop Caffeine Intake 12 Hours Before Your Sleep Time

I love coffee, but it can also impact my sleep tremendously. One of the things that I do is if I want to go to bed at 10 p.m., then I should give myself a 12-hour break between caffeine as a stimulant because it's going to be in my body for quite some time. This means that the latest time that I should be drinking coffee is at 10 a.m. Caffeine is a really powerful stimulant and it can be long-lasting. One of the nice options that I've been doing recently is switching to decaffeinated coffee. I still get a lot of those antioxidants and the health benefits of coffee minus the caffeine.

Need some help getting to sleep? In My 8 Favorite Sleep Tools blog, we go over, well, some of my favorite tools!

Number 4: Turn Down The Lights

This tip, in particular, refers to overhead lights. When we are exposed to overhead lights, it’s almost like a signal that the sun is above our head, which is going to keep us awake. What you want to do is dim those lights instead. Another cool hack would be even to put lights around ground level. 100,000 years ago, we were using campfires, and so placing lights at this level tricks our brains into thinking that, “This is a campfire. It's not coming from the sun. It's from below. It's time to go to bed and wind down."

Number 5: Avoid Screens Before You Sleep:

Avoid screens: your iPads, your iPhones and other bright gadgets around three to four hours before going to bed. When we get exposure to any bright light source, it's going to start sending an artificial message to our bodies that it's time to wake up. This can be challenging because I know that for a lot of us, we're on our phones late at night. We're checking emails and our social media accounts or watching videos on YouTube. However, when you're doing that in the evening, that's going to send the wrong message to your body. Why don’t you try taking a break from your phone and charging it in another room. Maybe read a book instead or listen to music rather than exposing yourself to bright light and see how it affects your sleep.

Number 6: Use The Bed For Only “The Two S's”

You really want to use the bed for only two functions: sleep and sex. Sometimes, when we're in our bed doing other activities, whether it's reading a book or checking our phones, that's also another signal. You're going to start thinking that when you’re in bed, it’s the time to check your notifications and not rest. This can lead to you having trouble falling asleep because now your body has associated being in bed with doing other activities.

Number 7: Have A Consistent Wake Up & Sleep Time

Develop the habit of waking up and going to bed at the same time. Our bodies are very dependent upon habits. You can leverage that by regularly going to bed at the same time. One of the other things to note is that some people are early birds while some are night owls. Use that to your advantage and choose your bedtime that works best for you. Choose a reasonable time depending on what feels good for you and make an effort to keep that same schedule of waking up and going to bed.

Number 8: Get In Your Physical Activity

It's really important to get physical activity sometime throughout the day. When we physically exert ourselves, that allows our body to release some tension and excess energy. This can be something as simple as going for a walk around the neighborhood or doing a little yoga. This lets me think about my dogs who get antsy and restless if I don’t walk them on a regular basis. Just like dogs, we too need our exercise, especially if we’re always sitting in front of a computer.

Number 9: Do Deep Breathing

Last practice is to take deep breaths, specifically 10 deep breaths. Nice and slow inhalations, and longer exhalations. Our breath is a really powerful tool and is one of the things that are both within our conscious and unconscious control. When we're doing these nice, deep, slow inhalations and expirations that's giving our body a message, in particular the parasympathetic system, to be calm and relaxed. How I practice this is that when I lay in bed, I take these 10 deep and slow breaths which really helps me relax.

Catching Z’s For a Healthier Mind And Body

These tips have greatly helped me in getting quality sleep. Do note, however, that although I am a physician that is writing all of this advice, I am not your physician. This means that I recommend that you still consult with your doctor for any additional guidance if you are having trouble sleeping.

Quality sleep not only helps your physical health, but your mental health as well. This is why, as ketamine doctors, we always recommend that our patients get the right amount of sleep. It pays to really know your body and trust your intuition when choosing which tips you want to begin applying in order to help you get a better night’s sleep.