Betcha don’t know about these little known tricks to optimize sleep😉
Sleep is one of the most overlooked factors for optimal health. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need at least 8 hours of rest to achieve this goal. The largest study of over 1.1 million people showed that it’s quality, not quantity, that matters most. The researchers found that the participants who slept an average of 6.5 hours a night were able to function at a higher level than those who slept for 8 hours or more. This excludes teenagers however, as they do need 8-10 hours for growth. Among the numerous functions your body performs during sleep, these are the top 3.
1. During sleep, the flow of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain increases dramatically, washing away harmful waste proteins that build up between brain cells during waking hours.
2. Your body regulates and balances all your hormones
3. Your body gets rid of all wastes and replenishes all your fluids.
The participants who had the best quality of sleep also performed these functions more efficiently. You can mimic these results for yourself by changing a few things in your sleep routine. Therefore, improving the quality and reducing the quantity of your sleep. There are numerous articles out there to improve sleep. However, I have curated a list of the most unknown secret hacks from my own experience.
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Here Are My Personal Favorite Hacks for Optimizing Sleep
Know your chronotype
For the majority of us, we perform optimally when we go to sleep with the moon and rise with the sun. That is our ideal circadian rhythm. Your circadian rhythm is your internal clock that controls alertness, sleep, hormone production, body temperature, and organ function. We are what Dr. Micheal Breus describes as “bears” in his book, “The power of when” Although, there are 4 chronotypes and you will maximize the quality of your sleep by following the sleep schedule of your chronotype.
Bears – tend to sleep and wake according to the sun, feeling most energetic during the daytime and having no trouble falling asleep at night. Their peak productivity occurs in the mid-morning and dips during the mid-afternoon slump. They represent 50% of the population.
Wolves – (also known as night owls) go to sleep and wake later than others. Their peak productivity happens in the middle of the day and in the evening after everyone else has already logged off. Wolves represent 15-20% of the population.
Lions (also known as early birds) wake up early and are most productive in the morning. They get most of their productivity in before noon, so they’re naturally tired by the evening and go to sleep early. Lions represent 15-20% of the population.
Dolphins – are light sleepers who have difficulty following a regular sleep routine due to more frequent nighttime awakenings. They’re most productive in the mid-morning to early afternoon. Dolphins represent 10% of the population.
2. Use of Breathwork (Pranayama) to induce sleep
Sometimes we can’t fall asleep because our minds are too busy worrying about what we need to do the next day. That means you are in a sympathetic state. (fight or flight) You want to switch over to a parasympathetic state (rest and digest) to calm your nerves. Pranayama is an amazing natural way to do this. The following modalities were invented from the combination of different ancient yogic techniques.
4, 7, 8 breathing – This technique was developed by Dr. Andrew Weil. The 4-7-8 technique forces the mind and body to focus on regulating the breath, rather than replaying your worries. It works like this:
- First, empty the lungs of air.
- Breathe in quietly through the nose for 4 seconds.
- hold the breath for 7 seconds, then exhale forcefully through the mouth pursing the lips and making a “whoosh” sound, for 8 seconds.
- Repeat the cycle up to 4 times
Box breath – This was invented by Mark Devine who was a Navy Seal. Now it’s part of this elite group’s protocol to switch rapidly to a parasympathetic state. Now you can implement this amazing strategy for yourself. This is how it’s done:
- Close your eyes. Breathe in through your nose while counting to 4 slowly. Feel the air enter your lungs.
- Hold your breath inside while counting slowly to 4. Try not to clamp your mouth or nose shut. Simply avoid inhaling or exhaling for 4 seconds.
- Begin to slowly exhale for 4 seconds.
- Repeat steps 1 to 3 at least three times. Ideally, repeat the three steps for 4 minutes.
- Start with a count of 4 and increase count duration and rounds when you get better
Both are great for when you find yourself in stressful situations or if you have anxiety. The minute you are aware of situations like these, stop what you are doing. Take a step back to reset. Pick the breathwork you are most comfortable with. Start doing it. You will find that your nerves will calm rapidly. This will allow you to handle any stressful situation in a much calmer state and with a clearer mind.
3. Taping your mouth – An odd sleep hack that really works
Have you heard of taping the mouth for optimizing sleep function? This was researched and invented by Dr. Patrick G McKeown in his book, “The oxygen advantage. ” Studies reveal that nasal breathing is far superior to mouth breathing. It promotes better focus, memory, and concentration. Meanwhile, mouth breathing causes high blood pressure, heart problems, and sleep apnea. How so, you may ask? It’s all about the right kind of oxygen content in your blood. Nasal breathing increases nitric oxide production in the sinuses. This is linked to healthy blood pressure levels, reduced inflammation, improved sleep, greater gains in endurance and strength, better memory, and even improved immune function. Don’t knock it till you try it. Please consult a physician before trying this to determine if it’s safe for you.
4. Sleeping on the floor or yoga mat to improve posture, eliminate back pain and more
Eliminates/reduces back pain
sleeping on the floor is one way to promote a neutral posture for your back during sleep. The hard surface forces your body to keep in line. By aligning the spine with no pressure or stress on any part of it, the back is able to support itself and function normally. Back pain is mostly related to a misaligned spine as the spine is a critical component of the nervous system. A properly aligned spine resolves this issue.
Helps to correct posture
Thanks to that added alignment assistance, sleeping on the floor also helps with posture. This can be attributed to two things, the straightening of your back through proper support and because of the decrease in pain. People often slouch because standing up straight causes them pain. This is due to sleeping on a poor mattress or having developed bad habits.
Faster recovery time from workouts
Sleeping on the floor is a form of massage for your aching muscles. As you roll around, you massage your muscles in the process. It also improves blood circulation by you doing this. This combination aids in quicker recovery time.
5.. Liquid Magnesium for optimizing the quality of sleep
Most of us are deficient in this vitamin already and need more of it. For sleep, magnesium increases gaba, a neurotransmitter that regulates stress, mood, and relaxation. Low gaba levels are also the main cause of insomnia. In addition to this, magnesium also:
- Increases energy. Magnesium activates adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in the body. This helps to create energy in the body.
- Reduces muscle aches. If you’ve been experiencing muscle aches or spasms, a supplement may assist in relaxing them. This is because magnesium plays a vital role in neuromuscular signals and contractions.
- Improved heart health. The majority of magnesium in the body is stored within the heart’s left ventricle. Working alongside calcium, it regulates blood pressure levels and prevents hypertension.
- Cure for migraines. If you suffer from migraines, a magnesium supplement may be your saving grace. Magnesium plays a role in blood circulation and neurotransmitter function and can help control pain by releasing pain-reducing hormones and constricting blood vessels.
- Improves digestion. Muscles within the digestive tract are relaxed by magnesium. This improves digestion, as well as counterbalances stomach acid. It also aids in advancing stools through the intestines.
- General relaxation. If nerves get the best of you, you’ll be pleased to hear that magnesium is essential in hormone regulation. This includes releasing serotonin (the “happy” hormone), promoting relaxation, and calming the mind.
The best way is to use magnesium is in liquid form as its the most bioavailable for the body. It absorbs straight into the bloodstream. Pills are not as effective as most of the magnesium gets eaten up by your digestive system before this can happen.
6. Supplementing with activated coconut charcoal to improve the release of toxins
When you poison yourself and have to go to the hospital, this is usually the first procedure. They pump you full of food-grade, activated coconut charcoal. It acts as a binder for all toxins and you release it through your digestive tract hours later. I recommend getting the pills as it can get very messy if you spill it in powdered form. You can buy it in powdered form at all health food stores or online for the most economical solution. Since one of the major functions of sleep is to remove toxins from your system, this will rapidly improve this process. Therefore, you need less time, aka sleep to do this. You only need a quarter teaspoon of activated coconut charcoal before bed. Take it with water before you brush your teeth as it gets around in your mouth. A good tip is to exhale and drop it near the back of your tongue and drink water immediately. This will prevent the coughing reflex from the powder. It’s also known as a teeth whitening agent so that’s an added bonus! You can also use it as toothpaste and brush your teeth with it. If you don’t want to deal with the mess of the powdered form, you can also get capsules online. Take it only at bedtime as it will also bind with nutrients after you eat. With that said, it’s also a wonder cure for food poisoning.
What are your own cool sleep hacks that work and are not very well known? Please comment below to share with the community.
AFFILIATES DISCLAIMER The Site and our mobile application may contain links to affiliate websites, and we receive an affiliate commission for any purchases made by you on the affiliate website using such links. Our affiliates include the following:
● CJ Affiliate by Conversant● ShareASale
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated websites.
