Have Questions? Call Us! Hey it’s Luke and I'm here with five crucial principles to help you wake up refreshed and energized in the morning.
Last week, I created a post with my top biohacks for brain fog and mental clarity, and I got a couple questions asking me to dive deeper into SLEEP.
So today I’m going to share with you how I went from sleeping less than 2 continuous hours per night (when I was having my health crisis) to sleeping like a baby and waking up refreshed almost every morning.
#1 - Blue Light Blocking
I know you’ve heard this one before but sometimes it helps to come from someone who’s NOT trying to sell you blue light blocking glasses. Lol.
Blue light blocking glasses work. At least the red colored lenses do.
A lot of people focus on blocking blue light through the eyes, and you should, but our skin has light receptors too…
Back in 1998, researchers at Harvard exposed the back of peoples' knees to a low-intensity light (about the same intensity as a typical TV screen) and found that the participants' circadian rhythms shifted by as much as three hours.
This showed that light doesn't have to be perceived by the eyes to affect our biological clock; rather, our bodies interpret the signal of light as a queue to wake us up, too.
I love watching Netflix, youtube on my laptop, and scrolling Instagram on my phone at night, but I have noticed a significant difference in my sleep quality, both in how I feel, and in my sleep tracking results, when I avoid blue light exposure after sundown.
#2 - Switch to Amber/Red Light in the Evening
Studies have shown that amber or red light can promote better sleep. Unlike blue light, amber or red light doesn't suppress melatonin, a sleep-promoting hormone, which can lead to improved sleep onset.
So the quick hack here is to consider swapping your regular bulbs for amber ones or using an amber or red light filter on your electronic devices in the evening.
I recommend using a red LED panel in the bedroom bathroom (the most used light at night) so you can flip that on without interfering with your circadian rhythm.
You can buy expensive panels like the JOOV brand or just grab a cheap one from amazon for about $30 like I did. It works fine and I sleep great.
And if you realllllly want to watch TV or scroll your phone without blue blocking glasses, you can run these red LED panels in the room to balance out the light in the room and you’ll still notice better sleep and waking up feeling more refreshed.
#3 - Yin Yoga/Yoga Nidra Before Bed
Rest and relaxation are simpler words we use for a more complex term; parasympathetic nervous system activation.
When you’re in fight or flight mode (working or working out) or simply chronically stressed, your sympathetic nervous system is dominantly active.
When you’re chillin out, your parasympathetic nervous system is the main driver.
If you struggle to wind down in the evening, you can gently coerce your body to switch over to parasympathetic dominance which is necessary to rest and digest…
I like to take 2 full droppers of reishi extracts and do “Yin Yoga”.
If you’re not familiar, Yin Yoga is more like guided stretching than yoga. All of the “poses” are simply stretches held for 1-3 minutes.
It’s so relaxing that sometimes I fall asleep in the poses.
And if you’re not feeling like getting physical due to injuries or just not liking stretching, “Yoga Nidra” is like yoga for the mind. It’s a guided meditation that takes about 20 minutes and it definitely chills you out.
#4 - Upgrade your planning and processing
Here’s one you might not think has anything to do with sleep.
But when I started using a productivity system and started journaling more during the day, my mind stopped keeping me up at night.
See, when you don’t use a productivity system that you can trust to process your tasks and remind you to complete them on time, your subconscious mind will feel the responsibility to vomit thoughts at you when you’re trying to relax.
In my experience, anxiety and incessant thoughts are your brain's way of SHOUTING at you to make sure you’re handling what’s important to you.
This is where the old Serenity prayer comes in,
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference."
You can use this as a mantra on the mental side of things to keep cool in stressful situations. And once God/The Universe has granted you the courage to change the things you can… Then I recommend acting immediately on making those changes through work.
#5 - Sunlight in the Morning
Natural sunlight exposure in the morning can help regulate your body's internal "biological clock," or circadian rhythm, which signals your body to feel awake or sleepy.
A study in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that exposure to greater light intensity during the morning hours (between 8 a.m. and noon) was associated with earlier sleep onset and shorter sleep latency (i.e., falling asleep more quickly). So, get outside and soak up some morning sun for better sleep at night (Figueiro & Rea, 2010).
There are many more sleep tips I could share with you but these are the top 5 most impactful to get you off to a strong start.
And I’m curious, if you have any favorite sleep hacks that I didn’t mention here, feel free to comment below and let me know.
Hope you’re having a great day!
-Luke The Lion