From mensjournal.com
Reclaim your nights of rest
There’s nothing more frustrating than feeling exhausted and still not being able to fall asleep. Chronic insomnia affects an estimated 12 percent of Americans, and even occasional struggles with sleep can take a toll on daily focus, mood, recovery, and overall health. In the long term, chronic sleep deprivation can lead to major health concerns like high blood pressure, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.
Beating insomnia is a topic largely discussed across Reddit threads and on social media, and there’s certainly no shortage of advice when it comes to tips and tricks. But which strategies are actually worth trying? We spoke with Eric Zhou, PhD, associate professor at Harvard Medical School and a sleep medicine clinician-researcher, to learn the most overlooked, science-backed ways to improve sleep and beat insomnia.
How to Beat Insomnia
Increase Your Step Count Throughout the Week
“Physical activity has long been associated with improved sleep quality, but many people do not know that increasing the number of steps they take each week by as little as 500 extra steps can make a difference in how you sleep,” Zhou says. “Even in those who are already active, increasing activity further can have additional benefits for one’s sleep.”
By ramping up your overall activity level, you’re pushing your body to burn more energy throughout the day which creates stronger grounds for falling asleep at night. While exercising too close to bedtime may impact sleep quality, getting more overall movement, no matter the means, can help your body establish a healthier sleep-wake rhythm.
Spend Less Time in Bed
In Zhou’s experience, one of the most underrated sleep tips is recognizing that everyone’s needs are different. For many patients, the root of insomnia comes from trying to force themselves to get more sleep to compensate for nights of inadequate rest. While many adults need around seven to eight hours of quality sleep each night to feel restored the next morning, there’s still a considerable number of adults who feel just fine getting six hours of sleep while others may need closer to nine.
“Needing less or more sleep is not always a sign of bad sleep or bad health, we’re just all made differently. If you’re struggling with falling asleep or staying asleep routinely, instead of focusing on trying to spend more time in bed to have the chance of sleeping longer, work on improving the quality of your sleep by gradually spending less time in bed,” Zhou suggests.
Make Your Daily Routine Predictable
“The most overlooked sleep habit that works for beating insomnia is the power of consistency. Our body craves predictability and feeding our circadian rhythm with a healthy dose of consistency is a powerful remedy for insomnia,” Zhou says.
Our body’s clock is set by regulated cues called “zeitgebers,” which includes everything from sunlight in the morning to meal timing and an evening routine before bed. Predictability may seem boring to some, but the more predictable these cues are, the more consistently our body learns when to sleep and when to wake.
Experts
- Eric Zhou, PhD, associate professor at Harvard Medical School and a sleep medicine clinician-researcher
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