From huffingtonpost.co.uk
From munching pineapple to clock-blocking, these expert-approved tips are surely worth a go
When it comes to TikTok, people love to jump on a new trend – and the hot topic on everyone’s lips right now is ‘sleepmaxxing’.
As the portmanteau suggests, it’s about maximising your sleep with a range of helpful hacks.
At HuffPost UK, we write a lot about sleep, so we thought we’d share some of the best sleepmaxxing tips and tricks to help you get some shut-eye...
1. Munch pineapple before bed
The humble pineapple could be the key to helping you drift off quicker and stay asleep longer. This is because pineapple can help increase your body’s melatonin levels, which in turn promotes better sleep.
Melatonin is produced by the pineal gland in your brain and helps to control your sleep cycle.
In one study, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, eating pineapple was found to boost melatonin levels by a whopping 266%.
Pineapples also contain bromelain which has anti-inflammatory properties and helps with muscle relaxation, easing you into a gentle sleep, according to Panda London’s sleep expert Max Kirsten.
2. Limit caffeine and booze (sorry)
Caffeine may give you that morning boost, but we should be mindful of just how much coffee we’re drinking.
Dr Patrick Doherty, an assistant clinical professor of neurosurgery at Yale Medicine in Connecticut, previously told HuffPost: “In moderation, [there’s] nothing particularly wrong with it, but I wouldn’t have more than a cup or two of coffee a day.
“I would probably stop any coffee ingestion towards the early part of the afternoon, because having coffee within probably six hours or so of trying to go to sleep is going to disrupt [sleep].”
The same goes for alcohol. While it might easily send you to sleep after a couple of pints, the quality of your sleep will be bad.
“In moderation, small amounts [of alcohol] once or twice a week is reasonable, but daily drinking is certainly not healthy, and drinking within an hour or two of bedtime disrupts the sleep cycle,” Dr Doherty explained.
3. Try the 3-2-1 rule
Going one step further is the “3-2-1 rule,” which instructs folks to stop drinking alcohol three hours before bed, stop eating two hours before bed and stop drinking fluids of any kind one hour before bed.
The technique was recommended by sleep psychologist Michael Breus on a segment of the Today show.
So what do experts think of the idea? “The 3-2-1 rule is really just healthy guidelines,” said Dr Timothy Young, a sleep medicine specialist at Mayo Clinic Health System in Wisconsin.
“I think most of us are looking for better quality sleep – that’s the most common request I hear in our sleep clinic, and this is a way to help you achieve that.”
4. Give the military sleep method a go
It’s been suggested the “military sleep method” can help you nod off far faster. One fan of the method said it cut their falling asleep time down to two minutes.
Per the University of Minnesota (UMN), the technique involves a mix of visualisation and muscle relaxation.
“You lie on your back, being still, and intentionally relax each muscle group, one at a time, while focusing on slow, calming breaths,” say experts. This includes your eyelids, tongue, jaw, and more.
You should move from the top of your head to the bottom of your toes, imagining yourself sinking into the bed the entire time.
After that, the Sleep Foundation says you should clear your mind for 10 seconds, imagining something soothing like rolling hills or lying in a treehouse in a forest.
If you can’t clear your mind, don’t fight your thoughts, they add; just let them float into and out of your head.
5. Clock block (yes really)
Two words I wasn’t expecting to write today, but there we go. Clock-blocking could be the key to the night-long kip of our dreams.
This is because looking at the time when you’ve woken up in the middle of the night can make you anxious, which can scupper your chance of getting back to sleep.
Dr Jake Deutsch told TechRadar: “Many people feel ‘pressure’ to sleep, and clocks can have a negative effect when patients are sensitive to this.”
So, if your clock’s face is making you anxious, experts recommend simply locking it away. After all, watching the time “is one of the biggest disruptors to being able to get back to sleep,” Dr Ramlakhan told The Guardian.
6. Try to stay awake
Bear with us on this one. Paradoxical intention is where you challenge yourself to stay awake for as long as you can – therefore removing the pressure to fall asleep... The theory is that this should help you then fall asleep.
Some research seems to suggest it works.
James Lloyd, a psychotherapist at Ceangail Psychotherapy, said: “When someone tries too hard to sleep, they create pressure and worry that paradoxically keeps them awake.
“By flipping the script and intentionally staying awake, [paradoxical intention] can help break that anxiety-driven cycle.”
The expert said it works best in a quiet, low-pressure environment.
He added: “The person using the technique should understand that it’s about reducing effort and anxiety, not actually staying awake all night ― instead of trying to force sleep, they can lie there calmly with the mindset of staying awake.”
7. Put your phone down (ideally in another room)
To get better-quality rest, focus on improving your “sleep hygiene,” which refers to the lifestyle habits and environmental factors that affect our sleep.
Laurie Santos, a Yale University psychology professor and host of The Happiness Lab podcast, told HuffPost: “Turn off your screens about 30 minutes before bed, and consider keeping your devices away from your bed so you’re not tempted to check them out at night.
“I also recommend getting one of those old-school alarm clocks that don’t talk to social media or your email.”
8. Take a warm bath (or shower)
Justine Grosso, a mind-body psychologist, is a proponent of an evening bath for its physical and mental health benefits.
“Totally immersing yourself in water, as opposed to showering, has been shown to lift mood in people with depression, improve sleep for people with insomnia and have positive effects on the cardiovascular system,” she explained.
But if you don’t have a bath tub, an evening shower can have a positive impact too. Sleep adviser Robert Oexman previously told HuffPost: “Showering at night can enhance sleep by augmenting the decrease in core body temperature that is necessary to initiate sleep and maintain proper sleep at night.”
9. Fix the temperature in your room
Clinical psychologist Dr Micheal Breus, from the American Board of Sleep Medicine, says you might want to adjust your thermostat if you’re struggling to sleep.
This is because “both heat and cold exposure during sleep can cause a person to wake more during the night,” he explains on Sleep Doctor’s site.
Generally speaking, “experts suggest an air temperature between about 65 and 68°F [18-20°C] is optimal for sleeping,” Dr Breus shared.
That’s because temperature affects our Circadian rhythm, as well as our different sleep stages.
In the first three non-rapid eye movement (NREM) stages, your body temperature lowers and your heartbeat slows down.
Sleeping in a cooler room can make entering this stage easier.
When you enter rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, your body’s core temperature rises again.
At this stage, very cold temperatures are more likely to wake you up before your sleep cycle is complete, Dr Breus added.
10. Try the 4-7-8 breathing method
The way we breathe can play a big part in helping our bodies to successfully relax and fall asleep, according to Jana Abelovska, Superintendent Pharmacist at Click Pharmacy.
She recommends trying the 4-7-8 breathing method. This is how you do it:
- Start in a sitting position with your back straight upright.
- From there, you’ll breathe in through your nose while counting to 4.
- Then, hold your breath while counting to 7.
- Finally, breathe out through your mouth slowly as you can to 8 – make a ‘whoosh’ noise as you exhale.
- Repeat the process three times – if you’ve not fallen asleep already!
How does it work? Abelovska explains: “The way that this process works is to steadily reduce your heart rate to a comfortable level, which in turn will help you to feel more relaxed. When we sleep, our heart rate actually dips to somewhere between 20% to 30% below our resting heart rate.
“Not only is the [4-7-8] method effective for calming down your heart rate in preparation for sleeping, you can also use this as a stress-busting exercise, visualising your stresses being expelled from your body as you slowly breathe out.”
11. Eat dinner four hours before bed
If you’re prone to waking up in the night with heartburn, gastroenterologist Dr Will Bulsiewicz has some sage advice.
He told gut health company ZOE’s podcast that it really matters how much time you leave between eating your dinner and hitting the hay.
“Ideally, we want to go to bed with an empty stomach, so when you lay down flat, gravity stops helping you because you’re laying flat, and so anything that’s in your stomach could start to reverse up into your oesophagus, into your chest while you’re lying there," the doctor said.
To stop this happening we should have our dinner “three or, even better, four hours before bedtime because that’s how long it takes for most of the food to exit our stomach”.
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