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| Sleeping problems at night? You'd better put your head inside the refrigerator. |
According to his theory, a good night's sleep can make people more empathetic and creative, and become better parents and partners. Sleep aids in stress management: giving you more energy, energy and a better start to your day. But too often, Prather says, we don't take sleep seriously -- until we find ourselves in the middle of the night with glazed eyes and racing thoughts, making it difficult to rest or relax.
Some people may take supplements or sleep aids for this . A 2013 survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that one in eight adults with sleep disturbances reported using sleep aids. But there are simpler ways we can get better rest throughout the day, says Prather, who outlines them in the book, published Nov. 1 by Penguin Living. "It's not something you're asked to do," he added. "It's some behavior that goes with the flow."
Here are some of his science-backed sleep recommendations.
daytime
Make time for "scheduled worries"
"Nobody ever said, 'I can't sleep at night with all the good things on my mind,'" Prather said. During the day, we may be too busy to attend to our thoughts, but at night, when we try to keep our brain activity quiet and uninterrupted, “our minds can become very, very active,” Prather writes.
To curb nighttime rumination and anxiety, Prather suggested in an interview to spend part of the day worrying. Take 10 to 20 minutes to write down what is causing you anxiety, or just thinking about it, without looking for a solution. If you do this consistently, he says, your worries won't interfere with your night's rest—and if anxiety does come your way, you can still remind yourself that you have dedicated time the next day to deal with it.
Instead of looking for caffeine, poke your head into the fridge.
Prather says that if you regularly drink coffee to get you through the afternoon slumber, you'll still have caffeine in your body by the time you go to bed at night.
Instead, he suggests other ways to stimulate the spirit. Take a short walk in the afternoon, or take five to 10 minutes out of work and let your mind do something simple—weed the garden, organize the bookshelves, listen to music and really focus on a song. Prather says focusing on a non-work task can recharge the brain and break us out of our daily rhythm. Or, a more extreme option, stick your head in the freezer. This brief cold stimulus activates your wakefulness system like a charging wire to a car battery, allowing you to wake up without needing to drink coffee, Prather says.
organize your bedroom
Clear the computer, the laundry, the post-it notes reminding you of all unfinished work from the room where you sleep. If you can't, at least remove them so you can't see them in bed, suggests Prather. The sleeping area should be a place of calm, not a reminder of everything you still need to get done.
To help you sleep better, block out the light with blackout curtains, or find a comfortable sleep mask . Consider turning down the heat - or turning on the air conditioner - to keep sleeping areas between 16 and 20 degrees Celsius at night. Keeping your room dark and cool promotes the body's core temperature drop, which happens naturally when we fall asleep, Prather says.
bedtime
Stop using your brain as a laptop
Don't expect the brain to hibernate instantly when the lid is closed like a laptop, Prather said. Instead, plan for a transition period to allow your mind to relax. Sometimes it's an impossible task, he admits; work deadlines and parenting responsibilities can mean you have to stay busy until the lights go out. But ideally, you should give yourself two hours to "turn down the volume on your sympathetic nervous system," he says, signaling your body and brain that you're ready to rest.
Spend time doing something pleasurable and soothing, like listening to a favorite podcast, talking on the couch with your partner, or watching TV. Prather offers his patients a list of what he calls blackout options, including taking a soothing bath, writing a gratitude journal and even sitting outside, weather permitting, stargazing. The goal, he says, is to find "low arousal" activities that you enjoy.
rewatch your favorite shows
Many clinicians recommend reducing screen time before bed, but Prather said he's more concerned with what people watch at night before falling asleep, whether it's a laptop, tablet or phone. Thrilling stories—whether novels or movies—can make people wake up longer, or ponder the answer to a mystery while trying to fall asleep. Therefore, he recommends watching something soothing, preferably something you've seen before. Prather watches "The Office," which he says he has seen countless times because he knows what's going to happen next.
if you toss and turn at night
If you can't sleep, find another place.
As people age, especially in their 50s, 60s and 70s, sleep becomes more fragmented, Prather said. People may need to urinate more often at night, or may be kept awake because of pain. But getting enough rest is crucial for older adults — a recent study found that adults over age 50 who slept five or fewer hours a night had a higher risk of chronic disease than those who slept at least seven hours.
In general, if you're having trouble falling asleep or sleeping poorly, you should get out of bed, Prather says. Give yourself 20 minutes or so to try to fall asleep, but if you're still not sleepy, head to the couch or living room and do something quiet, like knitting or meditation, suggests Prather. You need to associate where you sleep only with actually falling asleep; if your body is used to being awake and having trouble falling asleep, it will be very difficult for you to adjust to sleep through the night while in that state.
If you don't want to move or are unable to move, even sitting up in bed can help your brain readjust, or switch your head and feet. In this new position, you can read, listen to soft music, or play a soothing podcast—any activity that relaxes you until you feel sleepy again and are ready to return to your sleeping position.
Don't beat yourself up for a bad night (or nights) of sleep.
When people struggle with a sleepless night, they often worry about how the lack of sleep will hit them the next day, Prather said. But a night, or even a few nights, of very little rest won't disrupt your long-term sleep patterns, Prather says. "Any parent with a young child will tell you that you can survive on less sleep," he said. "You go through these bad nights. Your body is resilient."
If you keep finding yourself unable to sleep, you may want to seek out a therapist or clinician trained in cognitive behavioral therapy , which Prather uses to treat insomnia. Even in chronic cases, sleep deprivation is curable, he said. Sleep specialists may also, in extreme cases, prescribe medication or treat underlying conditions that may be causing poor sleep, such as sleep apnea.
"Insomnia is so distressing that when people have insomnia, they try everything they can to get the sleep going, like, 'Is there anything I can do about it?' And that effort is actually antithetical to sleep," He says. "Sleeping is letting go."
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