How I Fixed My Sleep
I think...
Read time: 3-4 mins
Welcome to The Brain And Body Warrior.
A blueprint of lived lessons to help you understand your brain, conquer your body and develop your warrior mindset.
On today’s menu: How I managed to fix my sleep (I think…)
The Body
My relationship with sleep is complicated.
At best it’s love-hate.
Sleep is critical. All the experts tell me so. As such, I try everything in my power to get the highest quality sleep I can.
But, for the longest time, no matter how f*****g hard I tried, I couldn’t really get a decent, uninterrupted night’s sleep.
Nothing worked.
I tried most things you could think of. I even tried submerging my face in ice cold water before bed because I read somewhere that it might help.
It didn’t.
I simply continued to struggle with same problem, not so much falling alseep but staying asleep, for the best part of two years, no matter what I tried.
At one stage, whilst working two teaching jobs, I even burned out.
But then something changed.
Gradually. Incrementally. So slowly that it drifted below my conscious awareness. Until, during the last month or two, I suddenly realized I was sleeping a lot better.
Discussing it with a my best friend recently, he asked the very simple question:
“What did you do to fix your sleep?”
I thought about it for a few moments before bolding proclaiming:
“I don’t actually know.”
After having tried so many things, and doing what can only be described as a s*** tonne of research, I had no idea which changes had actually worked.
Well f***.
This didn’t sit well with me. What had actually worked? I had to know.
So, I started looking into it.
There some basic stuff, obviously.
Blue light blocking glasses 1-2 hours before bed. Warm showers at night. Morning light exposure. Exercise. Controlling room temperature at night.
All that stuff helps. But I was doing all of these things for a long time and it didn't seem to make much difference.
No. Something else must have changed.
Thinking about it, combined with some research, I’ve discovered a few things that are likely to have contributed to my improved ability to sleep.
So, here’s what I did to fix my sleep. I think…
I Fixed My Gut
Surprisingly, there seems to be emerging evidence of a link between sleep and the health of your gut microbiome.
Basically, a healthy gut seems to contribute to a good night’s sleep.
What you eat matters.
So, I started eating things like grass-fed red meat (lamb in particular), fermented foods (such as sauerkraut) and grass fed butter daily.
All of things contain compounds and minerals that are great for gut health, some of which are thought to impact sleep directly as a bonus (such as Zinc and Vitamin C).
I Tried Different Supplementation
I started supplementing with a special herbal tea blend (which includes St.John’s Wort) as well as taking a supplement that contains Magnesium and L-Theanine.
I Started Breathing
There’s a breathing practice I regularly do before bed known as 4-7-8 (breath in for 4 counts, hold for 7 and breath out for eight).
It’s designed to activate your parasympathetic nervous system, leaving you calm and relaxed (which obviously helps with sleep, here’s the video I use).
I Got More Sunlight
Pretty basic, more time spent outside helps to set your circadian rhythm (your body’s internal clock) for a better night’s sleep. Just don’t overdo it.
Basically, being indoors all day, under artificial light, isn’t good for sleep.
I try to get out and watch the sunrise each morning, spend about 20 mins in the sun around midday and watch the sunset (if I can).
Testosterone
Believe it or not, testosterone is thought to have bidirectional relationship with sleep, and testosterone levels seem to have an impact on sleep quality.
Boosting my testosterone levels is something I’ve worked hard to do recently with things like regular strength training and exercise, diet and (obviously) getting better sleep.
Perhaps it’s working.
I know sleep problems can be frustrating. Even more so given how many factors can potentially be the cause of the problem.
But with some understanding, and some trial and error, I know from experience you can begin to get on top of your sleep problems.
I hope you sleep well from now on.
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Great, practical advice. “There’s a breathing practice I regularly do before bed known as 4-7-8 (breathe in for 4 counts, hold for 7, and breathe out for 8).” This is something I’ve been meaning to implement and will now!
Interesting read, thanks for sharing. I have a tonne of trouble getting to sleep. I've tried all the usual suspects too but haven't thought about gut health before but sounds like it could be worth considering!