Wellness Wednesday: Simple Tips to a Better Night’s Sleep

Wellness

Simple Tips to a Better Night’s Sleep

September 4, 2019

Amy Laskowski

We’re back for another installment of our “Wellness Wednesday” series. If you prefer to listen instead, find our podcast, called Wellness Wednesday, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and other podcast platforms.

2 Minutes of Wellness

Simple Tips to a Better Night’s Sleep

Audio — 2 minutes 27 seconds

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Hi, my name is Amy Laskowski and I’m a writer here at BU Today. This is the first installment of our new weekly podcast, “2 Minutes of Wellness.” We’ll be sharing tips and expert advice on issues from nutrition to mental health to sleep and from fitness and exercise to relationships to meditation.

OK, let’s get started.

As you settle into a rhythm early in the semester, sleep is critical to your overall wellness. And that’s why we wanted to tackle first. On any given night, you brush your teeth and say goodnight to your roommate. If you’re like most of us, the last thing you’ll do before closing your eyes is plug your phone into the charger by your bed and take one more scroll through Twitter, SnapChat, Instagram, or WeChat.

But if you can change your ways and do that last check just a little bit earlier, before climbing into bed, it might make the difference between a good night’s sleep and a restless night.

I wanted to talk to an expert, so I sought out Sanford Auerbach, a BU School of Medicine associate professor of neurology and director of the Boston Medical Center Sleep Disorders Center. Here’s what he had to say.

First, make relaxation, rather than communication, your main focus at bedtime. Your body has to transition into sleep mode. To do this, keep your sleep area separate from where you socialize and study.

Sure, this is easier said than done in a tight dorm room. But it’s not impossible. Power down your computer and make sure the room is neither too hot nor too cold. Aerobic exercise right before bed isn’t a great idea because it’s invigorating… though it is great earlier in the day to tire you out later. And don’t drink caffeine late in the day–if you need an afternoon latte, make it a decaf. Also, alcohol is proven to disrupt sleep too.

Now about that phone. The screen’s blue light fools your brain into thinking it’s daytime, which messes with your body’s natural rhythms. Many devices have the option to shut off the blue light, so try that. Pretty much the only way technology can be useful during sleep is for playing relaxing music, Auerbach says.

And one last thing: at night, do you silence your phone so that only a ring will wake you up? Or does every ding, beep, and buzz, even one going off at 3 am, rouse and tempt you into a quick check to see what’s up?

Set your phone settings so that the only way it’ll wake you up is if someone is actually calling your number. Because a 3 am phone call is probably worth answering. But an Instagram post? That can wait. And you’ll be in a better mood in the morning when you see it.

Sleep tight.

You’ve brushed your teeth and said good night to your roommate—or roommates. If you’re like most of us, the last thing you’ll do before closing your eyes is plug your phone into the charger by your bed and take one more scroll through Twitter, SnapChat, Instagram, or WeChat.

But if you can change your ways and do that last check just a little earlier, before climbing into bed, it might make the difference between a good night’s sleep and a restless night.

Sanford Auerbach, a BU School of Medicine associate professor of neurology and director of the Boston Medical Center Sleep Disorders Center, has some smart advice. First, make relaxation, rather than communication, your main focus at bedtime. Your body has to transition into sleep mode. To achieve this, Auerbach recommends keeping your sleep area separate from where you socialize and study.

Sure, this is easier said than done in a tight dorm room. But it’s not impossible. Power down your computer and make sure the room is neither too hot nor too cold. Aerobic exercise right before bed isn’t a great idea because it’s invigorating (though it’s great earlier in the day to tire you out later). And don’t drink caffeine late in the day, so if you need an afternoon latte, make it decaf. Also, alcohol is proven to disrupt sleep.

Now about that phone. The screen’s blue light fools your brain into thinking it’s daytime, which messes with your body’s natural rhythms. Here’s what Auerbach says: “If I get into bed and start flipping through my phone and watching TV, with the trap of switching channels, it stimulates the brain.” Many devices have the option to shut off the blue light; read how to do this here. Pretty much the only way technology can be useful during sleep is for playing relaxing music, Auerbach says.

And one last thing: at night, do you silence your phone alerts so that only a ring will wake you up? Or does every ding, beep, and buzz, even one at 3 am, bring your phone to life, rouse you from sleep, and tempt you into a quick check to see what’s up—no matter how exhausted you are?

Set your phone settings so that the only way it’ll wake you up is if someone is actually calling your number. Because a phone call at 3 am is probably worth answering. But an Instagram post? That can wait. And you’ll be in a better mood in the morning when you see it.

Sleep tight.

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