Sleep for self-improvement: why it’s important, how to improve it, and how to enjoy it

2022 was a year of self-improvement for me, and one of my resolutions was to improve my sleeping habits. Here is why, and how, I came to accomplish my goals.

Getting enough sleep is crucial for maintaining good physical and mental health, and it has a significant impact on your overall well-being. While you may be tempted to sacrifice sleep in favor of other activities, research has shown that sleep is essential for your well being. In this post, I'll explore the importance of sleep and provide tips for improving your sleep quality.

Why Sleep Is Important:

Getting enough sleep can help you feel more energized and focused during the day. It improves your physical performance by increasing muscle growth and fat burning. Research shows that sleeping 8 hours per night increases muscle growth and fat burning by 50%, compared to sleeping 5 hours per night.

Sleep is also essential for mental health and has been shown to improve problem-solving and decision making skills and enhance memory. Additionally, poor sleep has been linked to impaired brain function and an increased risk of developing mental health conditions such as depression.

Sleeping fewer than 7 hours per night has also been linked to an increased risk of obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

Tips for Improving Sleep Quality:

• Be consistent by going to bed and waking up at the same times every day, including weekends. Getting enough sleep is more important than going to bed at a certain time, so choose a time that allows you to get at least 7 hours of sleep.
• Create a comfortable, quiet, dark, and relaxing bedroom environment with a temperature around 68-70 degrees. Keep in mind that everyone is different, so you may need to experiment to find the best temperature for you.
• Avoid consuming liquids, screens, big meals, alcohol, and caffeine close to bedtime. Aim to have your last drink of water at least an hour before bed, avoid screens and big meals two hours before bed, limit alcohol to four hours before bed, and avoid caffeine at least 8 hours before bed.
• Stay active during the day and maintain a healthy diet to help you fall asleep more easily at night. However, be mindful of the timing of your workouts, as exercising too close to bedtime may make it harder to fall asleep.
• Go to bed only when you’re tired and if you can't fall asleep within 20 minutes, get out of bed and do a quiet activity without a lot of light or screen exposure.
• Develop a relaxing bedtime routine and limit the use of your bed to sleep and sex.
• Avoid bright light in the evenings and if you wake up earlier than usual (less than one hour), resist the temptation to go back to bed. Bright light during the day and as soon as you wake up, even if it's artificial light, will also improve your sleep.
• Limit irregular or long naps during the day, and consider taking melatonin or other supplements like ginkgo biloba, glycine, valerian root, magnesium, L-theanine, or lavender an hour or two before bedtime, ideally after eating.

How to enjoy it:

Lucid dreaming is the act of becoming aware that you are dreaming while you are still in the dream. Some people use lucid dreaming to explore their unconscious mind, to solve problems, to have fun, or for personal growth and self-discovery. Here are a few tips that may help you lucid dream:

• Keep a dream journal: Write down your dreams as soon as you wake up, as this can help increase your awareness of your dreams.
• Set an intention to become lucid: Before you go to sleep, tell yourself that you will become aware that you are dreaming while you are in the dream.
• Reality check: During the day, practice checking whether you are dreaming or awake by looking at your hand and counting your fingers. When you do this in a dream, you may discover you have 6 fingers or your hand is a lobster claw, etc… It can help you become aware that you are dreaming.
• "Wake Back to Bed": This involves waking up after 5-6 hours of sleep, staying awake for a short period (15-30 minutes), and then going back to sleep. This increases your chances of lucid dreaming because it takes you into the later stages of the sleep cycle, when lucid dreaming is more likely to occur.

Remember that it may take some time and practice to have a lucid dream, and not everyone is able to do it. Don't get discouraged if you don't have a lucid dream right away, it often takes lots of practice.

Conclusion: Sleep is very important yet often overlooked. It was both mental and physical benefits and by focusing on improving the quality of your sleep, you can gain these benefits. There are many different ways to improve sleep quality, some require little effort while others need substantial effort. Even if you can't make all the changes I outlined, doing even just some can make a big difference. And if you want to try something new with your sleep, look into lucid dreaming! It can be fun and makes me look forward to sleeping every night.