Getting Better Sleep: Part Six

Here we are at the end of our sixth week together discussing your sleep and how to improve it. Throughout this process, you have set a sleep related goal, worked on identifying barriers that get in the way of your best sleep, and practiced changing sleep related rituals. You may have changed some things in the course of your waking hours so that you could have better sleeping hours and lastly updated some things in your sleep environment to make for a more conducive sleep zone.

Last but not least

I mentioned this last barrier in passing in an earlier blog, but it’s a big enough problem that it bears repeating and it’s own place in this series. Technological distractions. You may have already heard the studies talking about how “blue light” that comes from our digital devices has been showing an effect on our ability to sleep, especially night time exposure. What they say, is that blue light keeps your brain stimulated and can suppress the production of melatonin, the hormone that controls your sleep/wake cycle. Many of us now have technology that we have to use at work in addition to the ways we use it at home for leisure; this constant inundation of light might be a big culprit for your bodies struggles with sleep!

Finding ways to reduce your exposure could be helpful, whether that’s at work, school, home or all of the above. In particular, reducing exposure before bed time and adjusting electronic settings to filter out blue light could be especially helpful in regulating melatonin levels. Further, for glasses and contact wearers, there are now glasses as well as contacts that have a special coating to filter out blue light so you don’t see it at all. Though they haven’t hit the shelves everywhere, select retailers are selling them and some insurance companies are even covering the added cost.

In addition to its effects on sleep, it’s worth noting that one retailer I researched shared that: “The blue light emitted by screens reaches deeper into the eye and its cumulative effect can cause damage to the retina. Prolong exposure to blue light also causes symptoms of eyestrain, eye fatigue, migraines, and dry eyes.” Physical health has a direct correlation to your mental health; if you’re feeling in more pain or discomfort, you’re more likely to be irritable, sensitive to emotions, and feel less yourself.

Aside from blue light, technology itself is a distraction. In addition to stimulating the brain with their light, your brain is also being stimulated by external forces and reminders of upcoming stressors, responsibilities, and agendas. Rather than wind down, access to these technologies tend to wind us up and keep us up. This is especially true if you can do work from home, as the temptation to get something done to reduce your workload or stress tomorrow could impact your sleep tonight.

A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for anything. -Irish Proverb

Reflecting on all of the information we covered in this series, it makes me happy that there are so many things that we can do to exert more control and have direct effect on our sleep life. There are things that we can each do to better help our sleep and set ourselves up for success. In High School, I had a Computer teacher who made us learn the phrase “If it is to be, it is up to me.” Though it still makes me roll my eyes, it says something that in the creation of this blog, that the quote did come to mind. I think it’s because there is comfort in knowing that the world doesn’t just happen to us willy nilly and leave us without a choice to do something about it. We have the ability to reflect, respond, and adjust; we have the power to cause change, for the better, in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

I love feedback!

Both as a person and as a professional, one of my core values is Growth. I want to strive to learn and expand my understanding of the world and the people in it. Getting feedback on things that I got right as well as things that I didn’t get at all or got kind of wrong is all helpful, both for myself and for the work that I do. After your work on your sleep the last six weeks, you might have something you’d like to share with me. Here’s your formal invitation: please do so! Send me a message about your experience, good, bad, and ugly, and give me an opportunity to reflect and change just as I’ve asked you to do.

All my best.