6 'Sleep Strategies' to Improve Sleep Depth & Quality

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In this episode, Farnham's leading over-50's physiotherapist, Will Harlow, reveals 6 simple strategies to improve your sleep depth and quality that you can put into action as soon as tonight!

[flyo]

Here are his 6 tips, *and a dozen more* ...
1) Don't drink caffeine after noon
2) Limit blue light exposure (device screens, LED bulbs, etc) for 1.5 hours before sleep, or use blue light-filtering glasses
3) Do a 5-minute stretch of major muscles -- especially legs -- before sleep
4) Avoid eating for at least 2 hours before going to bed
5) Take a hot bath or shower 45 minutes before bed
6) Keep you bedroom cold.
*Other tips* (from the excellent book "Why We Sleep, " by Dr. Mathew Walker)
7) Keep your bedroom dark - use black-out curtains if needed, and get motion-sensitive nightlights that turn off
8) Make sure your bedroom is quiet -- if you can't eliminate noises that interrupt your sleep, use white noise to mask them
9) Use a short meditation or breathing exercise to quiet & calm your mind before going to bed (info available on the web)
10) Eliminate alcohol -- contrary to what some people think, alcohol does NOT enhance sleep ... it disrupts it
11) Go to bed and get up at roughly the same times each day -- helps regulate circadian rhythms
12) Go outside and look into the bright sky for 5 to 10 minutes shortly after waking -- helps regulate circadian rhythms
13) Avoid daytime naps. If you must nap, use an alarm to keep it SHORT -- don't allow yourself to go into deep sleep
14) Don't work, read, watch TV, or use a phone in bed -- train your brain that your bed is for sleep and for ... well, you know
15) If you find yourself having to get up to pee at night, don't drink liquids for a few hours before bedtime
16) If you've had poor sleep for a long time, you snore, or you wake up frequently at night, ask a doctor about sleep apnea.
17) Don't use sleeping pills -- they DON'T produce good sleep, and can create other problems.
18) Plan to get 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night -- some people say they can get by on 5 or 6, but it's not healthy at all

* It's VERY important to do everything you can to get 7 to 9 hours of good-quality sleep each night. Not only will doing so enhance your life in innumerable ways, research now shows that the health implications of poor or insufficient sleep are STAGGERING. It even appears to increase the likelihood of dementia disorders. As we get older, our ability to get enough continuous, good-quality sleep diminishes, so it pays to do everything you can to counter or slow that trend.

[stever]

Thanks for this video. I am not getting enough sleep and will try your suggestions. One thing people who like to watch a bit of tv before going to bed can do to help without getting blue colour blocking glasses is to select the ‘warm’ colour temperature setting on their tvs. Many people are used to looking at computer/laptop screens that have a ‘cool’ colour setting, which is too much into the blue end of the colour spectrum, and those people normally gravitate to the same colour temperature on their tvs. But this setting does not present colours accurately. The ‘normal’ setting is better, but ‘warm’ is better still. It might take some getting used to but once you have you will not be able to go back to ‘cool’. And of course people with Apple iPad can set a very warm Night Shift, and when this will automatically come on.

[markkukainulainen]

Thank you for the tips, just what I have been looking for. I have poor sleep quality due to long lasting personal stress and can already notice that it affects my health. Some of these are in use already, will try the others as well !

[wandabrady]

This was so helpful and informative…I inadvertently am guilty of doing all the wrong things 🙏🏻

[kathym]

Way cool on the video, Doc. I'll be saving the list. The stretching and the shower may make a difference. The explanation of stretching at 5:09 is something everyone should know. I've been looking for something for the body being out of sorts and this may be it.

[erica]

Thanks, can't wait to try the stretches before bed.

[jonahu]

Thanks that you do a video about this Will. My sleep already longer time bad and too short. daily headache and feel like have a jetlag.

[jn]

doing good job. Stay at it. You are doing good and giving comfort and confidence to folk who need it as becoming over 50 is new. : Greetings from Cz Rep,

[aracelibasilio]

Thank you so much Will for sharing these tips. I'll take them into action.

[theclapaolini]

The exercises you tell us about certainly work for me they also make sense
I can always tell when I am rested .I have a bio. Clock in me and all is really happening the same time each day.7 hours I get and I know I am rested because my body tells me.😊God bless you
you know your profession.

[chaffaitekfi]

Extremely useful tips. Many many thanks.

[rosemaryjane]

I am keeping the bedroom cool as you advise. Do I need to be cool when I am in bed as well? At the moment I have a quilt and put on a blanket if I feel cold.

[Liz]

Your videos are very helpful.Thank you.I sleep 7 to 8 hrs bu do not feel refreshed, shall try your tips.

[stephaniecole]

16°C is still quite high. I understood that it should be 6-10°C. I live in Oz so no central heating and rely on the sun to warm up the house. Tropics min temp should probably in the range of 16-18°C as your blood viscosity is thinner than people in cooler climates.

[mgsru]

I fall asleep very quickly but wake multiple times during the night (usually while I am dreaming.) Do you have a video to help with that?

[okamsug]

Hmmm, 16C is freezing for me. I'll be shivering at that temperature. My room is set at 20C and I'm still using a comforter.

[jackrook]

Question: As per bathing before retiring, does it cause us to be tired, or does it cause us to relax? Thank you. I truly love the videos, and I follow your advice with quick successes, so thank you always.

[VictoriaLangelott]

As to the coffee I'm not with you, dear Will....why? Because I prefer tea in the morning and treasure my cup of coffee at 4 p.m. Kaffee und Kuchen (German tradition of coffee and cake in the afternoon) is something I'm simply not prepared to miss. And at 67 I don't want to spend the rest of my life creating more and more don'ts which narrow my circle until I land up being a very unhappy creature.... Nothing to say against the other tipps though...thank you Will

[thepvporg]

1. I don't drink coffee with exception to once a week for breakfast at a cafe where I have breakfast with my son.
2. Blue Light from man made objects hasn't got the power to disturb sleep, I have no phones or tablets in my bedroom and I have a light blackout blind.
3. Stretching, tried it.
4. I eat one or twice a day, morning and early evening
5. Tried hot showers.
6. I don't have heating on in the bedroom at anytime, not even in the coldest of winters.

I have tried all those things and still I get 2 to 4 hours light sleep. My neighbour upstairs can fart and I wake up, thats how light my sleep is.

[HenryMildenhall]

I've tried all 6 sleeping tips and am now 😴 too sleepy to write