Sleep: The Foundation for Health & Happiness
Happiness Encyclopedia III from the Happiness PhD Project...
Early to bed, early to rise, makes you healthy, wealthy, and dead…
Sleep is probably the most important, highest-ROI activity for happiness and high performance.
And it’s most neglected. Every time I think about investment bankers and consultants billing their clients upwards of $200 per hour whilst running on 5 hours of sleep, it makes me shudder. When I hear about our most elite special forces operators running on a few hours of sleep for weeks at a time (when it is not a tactical demand or part of intentional training), I have the same reaction.
What if we just lit our money on fire instead? At least it would be a bit more enjoyable than walking around like a sleep-deprived zombie…
Christie Aschwanden is a journalist with a focus on science writing. She said in one interview: “If I could give you my Top 3 Recovery Strategies they would be: sleep, sleep & sleep.”
Top sleep scientist Matthew Walker said, “Sleep is the greatest legal performance enhancing drug that most people are neglecting.”
And a less “scientific” reference here, Robert Heinlein, an aeronautical engineer and one of the most prolific science fiction authors of all time quipped, “Happiness consists in getting enough sleep. Just that, nothing more.”
So why are the experts (and one random but super brilliant guy) saying this? (1)
⅔ of adults worldwide do not get the recommended 8 hours of sleep per night.
“This study [sleeping 5 hours per night over 5 days] found that skipping sleep reduces a young man’s testosterone levels by the same amount as aging 10 to 15 years.”
An observational study of 23,000 adults in Greece showed switching from an afternoon nap to a traditional Western schedule led to a 37% increase in heart disease.
Roughly 1.2 million car crashes occur in the US each year from drowsy driving.
Less than 6 hours of sleep per night causes a 40% increased risk of cancer.
The sleep-deprived ate, on average, 300 more calories per day translating to an extra 10-15 pounds of body weight per year
SAT tests for one school district rose 26% when they moved start time back 65 minutes.
Overall, short sleep predicts higher incidence of mental health issues and all-cause mortality (e.g. likelihood of death).
It’s hard to be happy when you’re sick, dumb, and dead. So prioritize sleep.
Here are the main things you need to know to optimize your sleep. (2)
Sleep needs vary from person to person but the minimum is 7 hours. Many need more like 9. If you are – or care for – school-aged children they need 10+ hours and preschool-aged children need 11+ hours. Newborns – should sleep 16+ hours per day. Another parenting note, due to the hormonal effects of puberty, teenagers have an altered biological clock pushing them towards wanting to stay up later and sleep in. Older adults have a shift in the other direction. But that said, we should bust an important sleep myth: there is no evidence that older adults need less sleep than younger adults (not referring to teens and children, of course).
Average sleep efficiency is about 85% for adults. This means that to hit your seven hour sleep goal you should be in bed for eight hours and 20 minutes.
Think you can cheat yourself on sleep and make up for it on the weekends? Think again. Recovering your sleep debt is better than nothing, but it doesn’t make up for physical and mental impairments from chronically insufficient sleep.
Quality of sleep is as important as quantity.
Caffeine has a half-life of about 10 hours, so your last sip should be about 10 hours before bed (Not-so-fun fact: diet cola has about 55 grams of caffeine in a can – that’s half a cup of coffee, and a full cup if you drink an entire bottle). Nicotine is also a stimulant that disturbs sleep. And alcohol, while it can make it easier to fall asleep, prevents REM sleep and often leads to waking in the middle of the night. Finally, as great as it is, avoid intense exercise within 2 hours of bed.
As the body falls asleep, core temperature lowers, so having a cool room can be helpful. Taking a hot bath or shower also helps as your core temperature drops when you get out which can produce sleepiness. Limit screens and stimulating devices as well.
Finally, your sleep regularity is important for sleep health. Try to keep a consistent bedtime and wake time. Consider designing a 30-minute wind-down routine triggered by a “bedtime alarm,” just like you have a wake up alarm. During this period, if you are a troubled sleeper, try a relaxation or mindfulness technique. Physiological sighs (I’ll explain later, but Google it if you want to try it), body scan meditation (same), and journaling (brain dump thoughts and to-do’s on paper) are helpful.
I know that many of us are not in the privileged position to maximize our sleep. If you’re pulling back to back shift work jobs just to make ends meet, or raising a newborn, all I can really say is – sorry, try to do your best.
Let’s get a practice set up.
Create your sleep routine or pick a sleep habit. Write out your plan and get it into your schedule.
Here is an example: Schedule your wind-down routine with an alarm at 9:30 p.m. Lights out (or dimmed). Do a relaxation technique, read for 10 minutes, then take a hot shower. You’re in bed in a cool, dark, quiet room by 10 p.m. Your wake-up alarm is set for 7 a.m. You do your best to do this every night and adjust as needed. Upon waking you immediately try to get sunlight in your eyes (outside) or turn on bright overhead lights.
Three bonuses on sleep…
Studies show even just light exposure impacts mental health. One study found exposure to blue light during sleeping hours was associated with impaired mental health. And others have shown bright light or sunlight in the morning is beneficial for regulating your hormonal rhythms. (3)
If you struggle with sleep apnea (chronic snoring), please get a sleep study done.
Sleeping pills are not the solution. See a summary here: HealthRising.org — Why We Sleep Pt II: Walker on the Dark Side of Sleeping Pills – Plus a CBT That Works?
References
These data points are from Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker. I can’t say he is the “best” because I’m not a world class sleep scientist, but he’s probably the most well-known expert on sleep science.
This draws from several evidence-based summaries: Health.Harvard.edu/topics/sleep, NHS.uk How to Fall Asleep Faster and Sleep Better, NIH.gov Healthy Sleep PDF.
This study is pre-print meaning it still needs peer review: doi.org/10.1101/2022.10.16.22280934
