Feel Unstoppable, Grow Bigger Muscles, and Learn to Relax
It was small stuff at first.
I'd put on mismatched socks in the morning, start to pour orange juice into my oatmeal instead of milk, or fall asleep for two-tenths of a second before snapping my head up, the mini-whiplash move we all used to do when our moms woke us up way too early for school.
A few bad nights of sleep, I thought. Nothing to worry about.
But after a few weeks it became obvious I wasn't sleeping well at all, as my energy levels plummeted. My girlfriend would walk into the office and I'd be sitting at my desk with a just-smoked-a-huge-joint expression, staring into space.
"What are you looking at?" she'd ask. "And why are you wearing my socks?"
My writing was suffering, my workouts were lackluster, and my libido – my girlfriend told me – resembled that of a "sad old man."
That did it.
So for the past few months, I've taken control of my sleep habits. I've meditated, made lists, disconnected myself from technology, tried late meals, cut off water, limited my caffeine intake, and a half-dozen other things.
Some of it worked incredibly well. Some of it backfired and kept me up longer than a male porn star who pops Viagra for fun.
But I've recently learned how to sleep well without using bourbon, barbiturates, or Internet porn (aka the Dinner of Champions).
Now that I sleep deeper, feel rested in the morning, and have more energy throughout the day, I figured it was time for me to share what I've learned.
Who knows? Maybe you resemble a sad old man more than you think.
7 Tips for Better Sleep
Plan your next day before dinner
The hardest thing for me is to shut off my brain in the evening, but doing this instantly improved my sleep.
Before you sit down to make dinner, grab a note card and write down every thing you have to do tomorrow. Every class, interview, project, paper, business phone call, workout, or meeting is going to weigh your thoughts down at night since you'll worry about 1) not forgetting about them, and 2) performing well.
This "brain-dump" is a great way to empty your mind onto paper, thus saving all of your thoughts for the next day while allowing some space to think about other stuff. (Namely, what you're going to cook for dinner and how you're going to relax afterward.)
I prefer doing this before dinner instead of directly before bed simply because all the tasks won't be fresh on my mind while I try to get to sleep.
Stop consuming caffeine in the afternoon
I love my Americano's and green tea but I knew I had a problem when I was downing double-shots of coffee at 5 P.M.
Now, a typical day looks like this:
8 A.M. 2 cups of drip coffee or a double-Americano
1:00 P.M 1 cup of green tea
No more jitters or staring at the ceiling.
Eat a small protein and fat-rich meal before bed
Most guys eat a big dinner but neglect to have a before-bed snack, waking up in the middle of the night with a grumbling stomach. Not too conducive for high-quality sleep.
I've been eating a couple hard-boiled eggs or a cup of cottage cheese with a handful of pecans, walnuts, and Brazilian nuts before bed for a few months now, and I've noticed the feeling of satiety lets me fall asleep faster.
(I generally stay away from carbs before bed due to the resultant insulin surge.)
Limit water intake in the evening
What, no protein-shake before bed?
I used to down a scoop or two of Metabolic Drive protein right before I hit the sack, but have recently realized my bladder is comparable to the size of a small rodent's.
Getting up in the middle of the night to pee disrupts sleep and generally makes it harder to fall back asleep. I'd rather avoid that.
Get some white noise
Whether it's cars on the highway or your girlfriend's snoring, any type of noise can make it difficult to fall or stay asleep. Plus, there's just something soothing about having a little consistent noise to focus on and doze off to. I haven't used a white noise CD but I regularly use a small fan.
It has the added bonus of keeping the room cool, which also helps me sleep better.
Buy an eye mask
Light may very well be the worst enemy for a good night's sleep. It throws off your circadian rhythm and triggers the release of different hormones and chemicals that will wake you up.
Get some dark curtains or a mask and make sure to unplug your clock, phone, or anything that's illuminated when you turn the lights off (glow-in-the-dark condoms excluded).
Read fiction before bed
I've found no better way of turning my mind off and relaxing than reading some light fiction before bed. This is something I do every night no matter what.
What about sleep aids?
A few things I've found to be effective (although I don't take them every night) are:
- 3 mg of melatonin, a naturally occurring hormone that regulates sleepiness.
- Four caps of Z-12. This supplement includes 5-hydroxytryptophan, a naturally occurring amino acid that's a precursor to the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine), which is implicated in sleep and general feelings of well-being.
+++++
The above is what works for me, but I'd like to hear your ideas too. What kinds of things do you do to get a great night's sleep? Also, how much sleep do you get per night?
Posted Jan 25, 2010 by Nate Green.
This entry is filed under sleep, recovery, and health.
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Comments for This Entry
Great tips as always Nate.
The brain dump is essential for those that have a hard time falling asleep--good one!
Another one I use on occasion is a hot Epsom salt bath. Dump about a whole quart of Epsom in and relax. Once you get out, head right to bed. Helps speed recovery a bit too.
Rock on!
Mike T Nelson PhD(c)
Not enough focus is placed on quality sleep habits- good work for keeping this subject alive! In addition to these great tips, I find that listening to talk radio through earbuds makes me sleepy. Caution however- if the subject matter is compelling, it might have the opposite effect
Awesome article Nate, too many people take sleep for granted and more than just their workouts suffer.
I'm the worst sleeper I know. I've been to 2 sleep doctors who prescribed useless remedies. One wanted to give me a lamp to carry around with me all day, even when driving - seems like a pretty realistic request no?
The other guy said I might have a different sleep clock than everyone else and suggested I go to be at 1a, and wake up at 11am everyday. Another useless request for a functioning human.
I've tried most of those on the list and I'd say that planning my day earlier, staying away from the computer and work later at night definitely had the best results. It's hard to shut my brain off when I hit the sack but those two things helped.
Thanks for the tips.
Chad
Great tips! I also think getting off the computer an hour or two before sleeping helps a lot!
You made this blog stand out from a typical entry about how to sleep better with humour. I actually laughed at a few of your jokes.
Honestly, since going back to work, I haven't slept as well as I used to. I'm not sure what's different. I'm finding myself not wanting to get up at 6, but at 6:45am. But, I got up at 6:30am today!
I'll give some of your suggestions a try. Reading fiction will be a hard one because I prefer non-fiction books so much more because I like learning from them and I don't feel that I can read enough of them with the little time that I have left at the end of the day.
I used to sleep with an eye mask, but gave up when I lost one and bought a new one. The new one was just too tight. So, I've just made sure that I keep my room dark.
White noise. I can't do it as it's not loud enough for me as I'm deaf. I've sometimes used music (songs like Trouble by Coldplay, Blue by Pasty Cline, the Forrest Gump soundtrack, etc.) to help me to go to sleep and then during the night, I take my hearing aid off, turn off the laptop, and get back to sleeping.
Sometimes I find that heavy blankets help me to go to sleep, while light blankets don't. I think it has to do with the fact that I need to be plenty warm when I go to sleep.
Sleep is definitely an emotional process. I've been pondering this one for a while now since my last real experience with this while commercial salmon fishing in alaska this summer.
Something I became aware of in Alaska that I've realized is applicable anywhere is that I sleep better when I'm not concerned with waking up the next day. For example, on days that I have to wake up at 5:00 am and be out the door within fifteen minutes or so, I'll spend at least a little bit of time preoccupied with that because I'll worry about what I have to do the next morning and fret over sleeping through an alarm. but in Alaska at the fish camp, I'd drift off in my little bunk completely unconcerned with waking up because I knew that Corey, the guy in charge, would always wake me up when it was time to go whether it was 2 hours or 12 hours later. I had no control over it, so I was free to let fate (or in this case, the salmon runs) take over my decisions.
The same thing applied in the military. In the states, sleep would often come with difficulty because I had to wake myself up early, but on deployments we would go to sleep never knowing when the next call would come for us to go. That meant that we'd crash wherever and for as long as we could if we had the opportunity because we knew that we had no control over when we'd have to wake up again. Quite often, we'd get spun up at two or three in the morning, so those few hours of sleep before that happened were precious.
In a way, sleep becomes a sanctuary from the chaos. I remember quite a few days during training; soaking wet, covered in sand and running sprints up and down a sand dune while someone with a bullhorn yelled disparaging observations about my parentage.
I would daydream in one of those far off, observing your body from above kind of ways, about finally sleeping when it was all over. The only immediate thing I had to look forward to was the fact that at some point in the future I would be laying warm, dry and relaxed in a bed, completely free from torment. The very idea of sleep became an absolutely wondrous concept.
It's one of those things that you never deeply value until it's taken away. Nobody loves breathing until they've almost drowned.
@ Mike
The Epsom salt bath is a great idea. Thanks!
@ Charles
I have nothing to say other than thanks for stopping by! I'm honored you read my blog, sir!
@ Everyone else
Thanks for the stories and insights. Craig, like I always say, you're one crazy motherfucker.
-Nate
Great post.
I'm a big believer in establishing a "sleep protocol"- starting at about 8pm, dim the lights, listen to relaxing music, and get away from the computer. A healthy dose of magnesium is a great idea too. Eases you nicely into La-La-Land.
Of course, knowing and doing are often two different things. It's currently 9:30 at night and I'm sitting on my computer sipping a coffee, and I have some pounding house music assaulting my eardrums.
That's right, I'm an enigma wrapped up in a dichotomy shell.
I'll second the epsom salt bath, but I find it works even better if you add some lavender bubble bath. Not the most manly thing by any means, but IMO the definition of manliness is screwed up. I'd even suggest shutting off your light and ligthing some candles.
I like reading fiction as well, an idea I picked up from Tim Ferris. Looking forward to buying a home in the next 2 years and buying huge bathtub that allows me to read comfortably with all the above.
Anyone ever try a natural light machine that wakes you gently from sleep? They gradually brighten your room and it peaks at the time your alarm is set to go off.
Great article Nate!
I have been trying to improve sleep quality for the last couple of months. Instead of an eye mask I bought a black out blind from Ikea for £20, I literally can't see my hand in front of my face when its down! Makes getting up a bitch though...
That coupled with a couple of ZMA and a 20 minutes reading works well. Will definitely try the planning before dinner and the white noise.
Cheers!
Nate,
I've had the sleeping troubles when taking Spike. Word of caution, never drink a Spike after 6 p.m.!!!
I've started taking Power to Sleep PM supplement which knocks me out and I get a great nights sleep. I don't take it on days where I'm sleeping less than 5 hours thoughs because it scares the shit out of me that I'll sleep through alarms (yeah it works that well).
Luka
Good stuff.
For me, it's all about routine. For a long time I thought sleep was an imposition, a neccesary evil. I went to bed late, got up early and burned the candle from both and and in the middle. For 15 years I worked in the music business not an industry known for it's superior sleeping habits. It took me three kids and no sleep to realise where I'd been going wrong.
Sleep is your friend. For me, a strict media diet is important. Life is stressful enough without invining the worlds woes into my living room. No TV news.
I try to settle by 10 pm. A combination of music ( preferably something with no rhythm, ie Brian Eno) and something to read that is not challening.
I love coffee but like you, I limit intake and only have the good stuff.
Finally ZMA. I take this on and off but I notice when I have it I sleep very, very soundly, straight though til dawn.
Oh and one other thing...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Sup Nate,
first really nice ideas :)
Your blog is great so please keep it up :D
Cause i have a 19h day, i get 4-5h sleep per day so its important for me to fall in sleep fast, what not works everytime, so i try to get a nice warm bath around 1 hour before i go to bed to relaxe.
Nice music works also really great.
And the ultimate trick from me is if i really cant sleep i go out in garden and work some minutes on my punshingbag or go in the pool (sometimes i sleep in the pool lol)
well thats what i do and for sure sex is also a good try ;)
wishes from germany Björn
PS: just btw how long did it take you to get your body? it looks great :D
@ Patrick, I have one of those alarms. I got it from this company: http://sunraintime.com/.
The bonus of using this alarm is that my eyes don't react so badly whenever I walk from a dark bedroom to a bathroom that is brightly lit when I put the lights on.
Why is it that every time I take an epsom salt bath before sleep and then get to bed my heart is racing like crazy?
Question for Nate and the masses...
How do you supplement caffeine around workouts?
I do not workout until 6-7pm. And to get pumped up after a long day of work, I typically drink a small cup of coffee before hand. Any ideas on how i can avoid this but still get the raging effects of caffeine to kill it in the gym?
-Jim
Cutting out caffeine in the afternoon has done wonders for me. Two other things that really helped me were:
- Taking ZMA (zinc, magnesium, B6) 45 min before bed.
- Always going to bed and waking up at the same time, even on the weekends (within reason of course.. we all have schedules that change)
Thanks everyone for the comments!
@ Trainerpack
I don't know for sure, but I think it has more to do with the hot bath water than the Epsom salts. I usually keep a cold glass of water for when I immediately get out of the bath. Also, standing in front of a fan or stepping out side for a minute is a good way to reverse the effects, at least for me.
@ Jim D
Try switching to green tea for a week or so. It has less caffeine but still gives a pretty good jolt.
@ Chris
The sleep schedule (going to bed and waking up around the same time) is incredibly important. In fact, many sleep experts think that having a consistent schedule -- even if it's six to seven hours of sleep -- are more important than the number of hours generally recommended (8 hours).
-Nate
A teaspoon of magnesium does the trick for me
I'll check it out. I drink GT throughout the day, but never tried pre-workout. I recall in the past you have sworn by Spike or other high caffeine products. What are you using now?
-Jim
Funny you should post this now. I'm in my 5th year of college and I've been finding it extremely difficult to fall asleep. Last night I just went out and bought some Melatonin (5mg), that really helped me out in last nights sleep. I'll try out some of those techniques. Thanks Nate!
@ Jim D
I'm still fan of Spike Shooters but usually only drink them when I'm traveling and have to get up way too early.
-Nate
Are there any risks to taking melatonin supplements? Like a decrease in endogenous melatonin production?
I've heard of studies that have found that even with an eye mask, small amounts of light reaching any part of the body can mess with people's sleep. I've found the best way to ensure a good night's sleep is covering the windows with tin foil. Not only has this helped me a lot with my workouts and my classes, everyone in my dorm now thinks I have a meth lab in my room. It's a win-win situation.
@trainerpack
Nate is probably right about the hot water being more of a factor than the magnesium. Being immersed in hot water will cause systemic vasodilation as your body attempts to regulate temperature.
When you get out of the water, your blood pressure will be lower because 1.) you've just been supine for a while which decreases the need for catecholamine-driven vasoconstriction because your body does not require it to pump blood through a horizontal body and 2.) the hot water causes further vasodilation throughout your body.
So when you first stand up, your blood vessels are wide open and the given amount of blood in your body will pretty much drop into your feet. To counter this, your heart must pump harder in order to maintain circulation to your brain and your body secretes small amounts of catecholamines in order to constrict the blood vessels in your lower extremities. Kind of the same thing as the "head rush" you get when you stand up too fast.
In the medical world they do something called a tilt table test to induce the same thing and test for blood pressure regulation problems or catecholamine fatigue. From my experience it usually just indicated a combination of overtraining and dehydration.
Like Nate said, you can counter the heart rate jump pretty well by returning your body temp to normal with cool/cold water. That, and just be really well hydrated so you've got enough blood volume to go around.
sometimes when i'm thinking too much of the following day and what I need to do and yet I need to sleep, I start counting backwards slowly from 100-1. It's like its just hard enough that you kind of have to think about the counting but monotonous enough that pretty soon your mind just shuts off and its bed time.
amazon has black out blinds. i've never even heard of these things before but now that I have, I"m going to get them. the light from the street lights outside really do bother me.
Great post Nate.
A question wrt "Limit water intake in the evening". I workout after work and normally take creatine after every workout. So I naturally want to increase my water intake for maximum creatine effect.
Would you suggest I take creatine at some other time?
Or drinking large quantities of water is not as important with creatine?
@ John
I think you're fine, man. Unless you're drinking so much that you have to wake up to pee in the middle of the night, I say keep drinking the water.
That said, you don't need to super-hydrate yourself for the creatine to take effect.
-Nate
This article is a big time help....thanks. I'm going to try out your techniques and I'll let you know how it goes.
Great article!
I really like the part about planning your next day. The worst is staying awake worrying about what needs to get done the next day. I learned in college to plan the next day even set out my clothes, supps, etc get everything ready.
I have always wanted to buy an eye-mask I just haven't yet. Our room isn't dark enough so I think that would help a lot.
The nighttime supp I like to take is called Bullet Proof by MusclePharm (click on my name and it'll take you to it) I sleep a lot better with it and wake up refreshed. Now if my little girl would quit waking up at 2 or 3 every morning!
Things that help me get good sleep are:
Making sure my room is completely dark, turning off everything and making sure there is NO light coming from any electronic device. I just cover up my alarm clock display.
Try to get to sleep around the same time every night.
Workout first thing in the morning. I work from 2-10pm and I used to work out after work but would end up getting shitty sleep because I would either wake up constantly or have trouble falling asleep. I thing it was from my CNS being too fired up.
Use earplugs. This helps me sleep so much better since I have annoying neighbors and live pretty close to a highway. I use them every night.
I take magnesium every night and sometimes I take 3mg of melatonin. I also just got some Z12 and that seems to help me get a really deep sleep and stay asleep. I used to use ZMA and that seemed to work pretty well too.
Not hitting the snooze button on my alarm. I used to do this and realized it was a waste. Now I just set my alarm for the latest I would want to wake up and sometimes i'll end up waking up earlier. It's pretty useless getting another 5-15 minutes of sleep becuase it's the deep sleep that counts the most and you can't really get deep sleep within 15 mins. If I don't work the next day I usually wo'nt even set my alarm and will try to get as much sleep as possible. The other day I slept 11 hours.
Make sure my room is just the right temp. If it's too warm I might wake up in a sweat and if it's way too cold It could take a while to get to sleep.
Not doing anything too exciting right before bed.
I make sure I get some fat and protein before bed so I don't wake up hungry or have a hard time falling asleep because Im hungry. Sometimes I'll just pulse with MAG-10 before I go to sleep and then again right when I wake up.
I usually get between 8-10 hours sleep.
Great article - my tip? listenening to the sounds of a rushing stream or river on your iPod as you fall asleep. works a treat.....although I awoke the next day with my old ear-buds BURIED in my ear!
Hey Nate,
Great post, I have trouble sleeping and have tried EVERYTHING to get better sleeps. I find meditation along with listening to these sounds does the trick...
http://www.soundsleeping.com/
Great info Nate. A lot of people fail to see how important sleep is for their health and well being.
we have a fan for when we sleep and it does wonders. I can't sleep without it. Even when it's 15 degrees out that fan is going strong.
Great post! I think people forget that sleep is just an important component of their healthy lifestyle as exercise or diet. Leave out the sleep and you're going to be in deep trouble. Thanks for highlighting an altogether forgotten aspect of healthy living.
Nate,
Awesome tips for a better night sleep, I always got a lot on my mind and just using a few of those really help me to sleep like a baby.
Here are some other things I find helpful to get that perfect nights sleep:
1. Meditation and deep breathing
Try this like a half an hour before bed and you'll feel super relaxed and ready to hit the pillow
2. Use your bed only for sleep
Don't make it a habit to do a lot of things in your bed (actually I can think of maybe one other thing besides sleep :) . But for the most part make your bed a sacred sleeping area, you'll put yourself in the right state for sleep and your brain will know bed=sleep. Instead of video games and note taking.
3.Go up to bed 8 and a half hours before you need to wake up. You'll get to sleep on time.
4. Don't eat starchy foods
You don't want a blood sugar rush before your getting some shut eye
5. Lavender scented candles
It bring upon relaxtion and you look like Cassanova when chicks enter your bedroom
Chris
I definitely had (and still often have) a lot of problems with racing thoughts at night. The one and only thing that's made a huge difference (apart from darkening my room, which is great for sleep quality) is... doing whatever I'm supposed to get done, on a daily basis.
If you're up half the night worrying about everything you didn't get done, and have coming up tomorrow, it could be anxiety, and you being wound too tight. It could also, however, be a pretty natural and normal response. If you goofed off and ignored several major assignments, it would be abnormal to NOT lose a little sleep over that. And if you're completely unprepared for whatever's coming up tomorrow, chances are it's not sleeping pills you need, it's an attitude adjustment and a kick in the pants.
Getting my life together, and my career on track, has done much, much more for me in terms of sleep quality and quantity than herbs, scents, candles, baths, massages, meditation, and everything else combined. For resetting your sleep schedule, a couple of nights of melatonin do seem to help a bit.
1. Use Tiger Balm! rub some of it into your nose - you'll get the breath of your life! Especially when you have a cold/diffiuculties with breathing in general!
Other things that have been recommended to me are "badger sleep balm" and Lavender/Japanese mint that you can rub or drop onto you pillow.
2. Before you go to the Bathroom for the last time, open the windows in your room, fresh air will come in - helps a lot.
3. I always take a COLD bath, when i come into my warm bed, it feels a lot more comfortable.
4. Spooning with your girlfriend. Well, no explanation needed. As long as you don't get an errection of it it's ok. That is an other thing, if you did not have sex until then, you should do so, otherwise you could be too excited to sleep.
5. Stop watching TV when in bed. If you really want to stop this also stop buying TV guides. It'll prevent you of being seduced by that evil machine to stay awake.
Does your body adapt to Z-12 at all over time? I think it does...I think it does the same thing when you take melatonin. Called up-regulation or something I think....anywyay, hopefully someone reads this and knows the answer.
I'm a big fan of eye masks, especially when taking naps during the day.
Anyone else notice how sleep just seems to LAST much longer when you're well-rested? On many occasions I've woken up 4 or 5 hours later feeling like I've slept for 8-10 hours and missed my morning class!
Sex works good. But not boring missionary sex. Sex that leaves you sweaty, tired and out of breath.
That and not staring at the TV until you fall asleep.
I also like 5-HTP & Valareian root.
@ Peter
I wouldn't take either every night as I'm sure your body would get used to the effects. Try it a couple times per week.
-Nate
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