The Science of Sleep: A Brief Guide on How to Sleep Better Every Night

This guide will walk you through everything you need to know if you want to get better sleep. It will explain the science of sleep and how it works, discuss why many people suffer from sleep deprivation without knowing it, and offer practical tips for getting better sleep and having more energy. You can click the links below to jump to a particular section or simply scroll down to read everything

The Sleep-Wake Cycle

There are two important parts of the sleep-wake cycle: slow wave sleep (also known as deep sleep) and REM sleep (REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement)

• Slow wave sleep: the body relaxes, breathing becomes more regular, blood pressure falls, and the brain becomes less responsive to external stimuli. This phase is critical for renewal and repair of the body.
• REM sleep: your brain dreams and re-organizes information. During this phase your brain clears out irrelevant information, boosts your memory, and facilitates learning and neural growth.

Age-Related Sleep Changes

According to Harvard Medical School researchers, “As people age, it takes longer to fall asleep, a phenomenon called increased sleep latency.”

• If your body gets less slow wave sleep to restore itself each night, then the aging process will accelerate as a result.
• Getting good sleep is one of your best defenses against aging quickly.

Daily Habits for Better Sleep

Get outside

• Turn out the lights
• Avoid caffeine
• Stop smoking or chewing tobacco
• Use the bedroom for sleep and sex only
• Eliminate TVs, laptops, electronics, and clutter
• Improve the choice architecture of your bedroom

How to Improve Sleep Quality and Duration

Intensity

• Timing
• What time do you go to bed?
• If you get in bed around the same time each night, it is easier for your body to develop good sleep habits
• Duration refers to how long you sleep
• The intensity of your sleep is managed by your body, so there is little you can do to change it

How Much Sleep Do You Need?

If you get 6 hours of sleep per night for two weeks straight, your mental and physical performance declines to the same level as if you had stayed awake for 48 hours straight

• Participants didn’t notice their own performance declines
• When participants graded themselves, they believed that their performance declined for a few days and then tapered off. In reality, they were continuing to get worse with each day

The Cost of Sleep Deprivation

In the United States alone, studies have estimated that sleep deprivation is costing businesses over $100 billion annually in lost efficiency and performance

• At what point does sleep debt start accumulating? When do performance declines start adding up?
• Generally speaking, experts agree that 95 percent of adults need to sleep 7 to 9 hours each night to function optimally
• Most adults should be aiming for eight hours per night

Keeping your bucket full

Refill your bucket on a regular basis

The Science of Sleep

The average adult will spend 36 percent of their lives asleep, and for one-third of their time on earth, we transition from the vibrant, thoughtful, active organisms we are during the day into a quiet state of hibernation.

• What is sleep, exactly? Why is it so important and so restorative for our bodies and minds?

Natural Sleep Aids

Exercise – it helps your brain and body to power down at night

• Temperature – sleep best in a cool room
• Sound – a quiet space is key for good sleep
• Alcohol – it reduces the quality of your sleep and delays the REM cycle
• Best to improve your sleep through other methods before resorting to alcohol

Purpose of Sleep

Restoration: During sleep, brain cells shrink by 60 percent, allowing the brain’s waste-removal system to essentially “take out the trash”.

• Memory consolidation: Sleep is crucial for memory consolidation, which is the process that maintains and strengthens your long-term memories.
• Metabolic health: Studies have shown that when you sleep 5.5 hours per night instead of 8.5, a lower proportion of the energy you burn comes from fat, while more comes from carbohydrate and protein, predisposing you to fat gain and muscle loss.

The Circadian Rhythm

A biological cycle of different processes that happen over a time span of about 24 hours

• Affected by three main factors: light, time, and melatonin
• Light: The rising of the sun and light striking your eyes triggers the transition to a new cycle
• Melatonin: This hormone causes drowsiness and controls body temperature
• Time: The time of day, your daily schedule, and the order in which you perform tasks can all impact your sleep-wake cycle

The 2-Process Model of Sleep Regulation

In 1982, Dr. Alexander Borbely published an article in the journal Human Neurobiology describing what he called the 2-process model of sleep regulation

• Sleep pressure: sleep pressure from the moment you wake up until you sleep
• Wake drive: wake drive is controlled by a 24-hour rhythm that repeats in a wave-pattern
• It’s important to understand this process because it helps reveal an important point about sleep in our modern world

Ok, But Can You Catch Up on Sleep?

Extra sleep can remedy some of the negative effects of several bad nights of sleep.

• But the best thing to do, both for immediate performance and for the long-term, is to prioritize sleep every night-not just on the weekends.

The Theory of Cumulative Stress

In your day-to-day life, there are things that fill your bucket up: sleep, nutrition, meditation, stretching, laughter, and other forms of recovery

• There are also forces that drain the water from your bucket: stress from work, school, relationship problems, etc.
• Cumulative: even a little leak can result in significant water loss over time

When Should I Go to Sleep?

The time of night when you sleep makes a significant difference in terms of the structure and quality of your sleep.

• There’s a window of several hours, about 8 p.m. to midnight, where you should go to bed
• Each person has a unique internal timing profile called a sleep chronotype that determines where on the scale from “early bird” to “night owl” we fall

How to Fall Asleep Fast

Develop a “power down” ritual before bed

• Shut off all electronics an hour or two before bedtime
• Use relaxation techniques
• Journal daily
• Deep breathing exercises
• Meditation
• Exercise
• Grateful journaling

Sleep Articles

Most of the best athletes in the world sleep at least 10 hours per night

• This is due to genetic variations that allow them to perform optimally on less sleep
• It can be easy for us to look for a quick fix, a “biohack” that allows us to somehow master the puzzle of sleep and get more done. But when you look at the world’s greatest performers you see that the answer is very simple: sleep more

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