By Nikhail Thakker, Dr. Christine Wong, PhD
Welcome back to our 2 part series on Sleep science, and tips that you can easily instill to improve your sleep so you can have your best rest, while also keeping your mind clear and sharp. In case you need a refresher, check out Sleep Science: Proven Tips for Better Rest and Health (Part 1), to read about the different phases and brain wave activity that happens during your sleeping hours.
Science-backed Tips for Better Sleep
Align with you Circadian Rhythm (Dimming lights)
It refers to our daily cycle of slumber and wakefulness, much of which is regulated and influenced by our exposure to light sources (3). The hypothalamus in your brain is the orchestrator of these rhythms. It contains receptors which receive a signal sent from the retina in the eye communicating light exposure, or lack thereof. The hypothalamus forwards this signal to the pineal gland, and in the absence of light, secretes natural melatonin to stimulate sleep.
That’s why it is particularly important to start dimming lights and avoiding blue light and screens before bedtime. The blue light waves emitted from electronic devices - such as phones, tablets, and laptops, all mimic the effect of sunlight and trick your brain into thinking it’s daytime, which prevents you from getting the melatonin you need for quality shut-eye. Instead, reading a book or doing some journaling in the hour before bedtime would facilitate a more sound sleep.
Similarly, it might be in your favor to get outside early in the morning, to calibrate your circadian rhythms for the day - and likewise, it helps to take a walk outdoors as the sun sets to induce melatonin production and get you ready for bed.
PHOTOGRAPH BY OLEG GAPEENKO, VECTEEZY
Regulate your Adenosine and Bedtime (Avoiding Caffeine)
Quite similarly to light, the levels of the neurotransmitter adenosine play a key role in regulating sleep. Simply living your life and going about your daily activities stimulates the secretion and accumulation of adenosine in the brain, which stimulates its receptors to eventually promote sleep once the amount of adenosine has reached a certain threshold (4). We know this as, well, bedtime. It’s critical that your adenosine levels are regulated during the day, so that you can get to sleep on time, enabling you to maintain a routine as well as consistent rest.
An important way to ensure proper adenosine receptor regulation is to avoid caffeine at least 6 hours before bedtime. This is something you might have heard before if you follow our Spark Your Mind blog- don’t drink coffee at night. Or any highly caffeinated drink, for that matter. Caffeine blocks your adenosine receptors, which as you now know are crucial in regulating rest.
PHOTOGRAPH BY AITTHIPHONG KHONGTHONG, VECTEEZY
Restful Sleep for Brain Detoxification (Prioritize your zZZz)
An unsung hero to our vitality, the lesser-known glymphatic system is hard at work while you’re asleep. In its essence, the glymphatic system works to eliminate waste from within your nervous system (5). Interestingly, and uniquely compared to the rest of the bodily system, it is most active during sleep. This makes sense though, as in order for your brain to be ‘cleaned,’ it needs to be in a state of dormancy.
In turn, this process of eliminating waste molecules from your brain helps with removing ‘brain clutter’, heightening mental clarity, improving memory, and enhancing cognitive function.
Even though it might feel like nothing’s happening while you sleep, your brain is actually hard at work! Skipping rest may be tempting, but sleep is essential for brain detox and keeping your mind sharp and functioning smoothly during the day.
PHOTOGRAPH BY FLOJO DRINKS
Combining your best sleep with Flojo during the day for your optimal productivity
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Works Cited
- Patel, A. K.; Reddy, V.; Shumway, K. R.; Araujo, J. F. Physiology, Sleep Stages. Nih.gov. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526132/ (accessed 2024-08-24).
- Abhang, P. A.; Gawali, B. W.; Mehrotra, S. C. Technological Basics of EEG Recording and Operation of Apparatus. Elsevier eBooks 2016, 19–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-804490-2.00002-6.
- Circadian Rhythm | Definition, Examples, & Facts | Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica; 2024.
- Good Sleep Recipe. Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine. Yale School of Medicine. https://medicine.yale.edu/internal-medicine/pulmonary/news/national-sleep-week/good-sleep-recipe. (accessed 2024-08-25).
- Nadia Aalling Jessen; Sofie, A.; Iben Lundgaard; Maiken Nedergaard. The Glymphatic System: A Beginner’s Guide. Neurochemical Research 2015, 40 (12), 2583–2599. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-015-1581-6.
