.jpg "Cover of Mr. Shawn Stevenson's book \"sleep smarter\"")
The Underrated Value of Sleep
Sleep is perhaps one
of the things that is not given enough importance compared to its great role in our lives. People give less importance to sleep as a secondary element in our lives, while scientific studies and research prove that a person cannot live a healthy, balanced life mentally and physically without a good night's sleep.
Mr. Shawn Stevenson,
in his book "Sleep Smarter", delves into the importance of
enjoying a good night's sleep, while tackling the common misconceptions and myths
that surround the crucial role of sleeping well. Mr. Stevenson introduces us to a new interesting approach based on scientific facts and practical experiences. In this new blog, we would like to share with you a
summary post on Sleep Smarter in coordination with our previous blogs of WhyWe Sleep and other morning routine techniques, and we’re excited to give you
this unconventional wisdom shared in this book and explore why getting better
sleep should be at the top of your to-do list.
Why Sleep Matters: The Foundation of Health
This book summary will
start with the main ideas that Mr. Stevenson starts the book with, and the first
thing is to emphasize the importance of sleep, considering it not just an
ordinary state of rest that we have to get through in our day but rather a
critical function that affects every aspect of our daily habits, physically and
mentally, sleep is always there to help us improve in our life, a good night
sleep is almost like a machine hitting the reset button of your body and mind,
and I believe all of us felt this way after a good night sleep and especially
after long days where you just feel exhausted of everything going on and in
deep need of this smart good night sleep.
And to discover more how
important sleeping well is, you can overturn the situation and think of the
times when you didn’t get that good night's sleep that your body is in deep need
of. According to Mr. Stevenson, a poor night's sleep can cause many problems such
as:
- Weakening your
immune system and increasing the risk of suffering from some chronic
diseases.
- It can affect or
disrupt the metabolism of the human being and its impact might involve the
weight area, losing or gaining it without being able to control your
progress.
- Affect cognitive
function, including memory, decision-making, and emotional regulation,
also your reflections might be controlled by the stressful situation you’re
facing, which simply makes your life harder at times.
He asserts that by
optimizing your sleep, you optimize your life—making sleep one of the most
underrated and effective tools for personal development.
Top Takeaways from "Sleep Smarter"
1. Create a Sleep Sanctuary
One of the book's core
teachings is to treat your bedroom like a sacred space where it has its own
discipline and nothing should go wrong. Stevenson recommends that to
have a sleep-friendly room you need to keep it minimized from artificial lights, especially the blue ones that he talks a lot about in his book and how they
affect the quality of our sleep negatively. He also emphasizes on the importance
of investing in blackout curtains and keeping electronic devices out of the
bedroom as an essential strategy for improving overall sleep quality.
2. Manage Your Circadian Rhythm
Rhythm is about how
your body reflects the sleep-wake cycle that everyone is known by going over
your 24-hour cycle, therefore we find in his book Sleep Smarter that Mr. Stevenson
stresses the importance of syncing your sleep patterns with this internal
clock. He advises exposing yourself to natural sunlight during the day and
avoiding artificial light sources before bed. He also suggests keeping your
sleep schedule intact even when you’re on vacation or on weekends, this will
help you achieve your objective and live a balanced life.
3. Get the Right Nutrition
Mr. Stevenson emphasizes the crucial role of what you eat and when you eat which can have a significant
impact on your sleep. Stevenson recommends eating magnesium-rich foods like
leafy greens and nuts to promote relaxation. He also cautions against
late-night eating, particularly of heavy, carbohydrate-rich meals, as these can
disrupt sleep.
4. Exercise Regularly but Mind the Timing
Physical activity is
another key factor for gaining this better sleep, we talked a lot in our
articles about the benefits of working out and training well in your daily
habits and you can notice that we talked about that in the morning, the same thing
goes for Mr. Stevenson who advises that regular exercise can improve sleep
quality, meanwhile the timing of your workout matters in sleeping better.
Stevenson advises avoiding intense exercise within three hours of bedtime, as
it may elevate your heart rate and delay sleep onset with that being said
it would be better to train, work, and exercise 6 hours before training minimum,
this one may be different and relative according to the shape and intensity of everyone.
5. Cut Back on Caffeine and Alcohol
While caffeine is
often touted as a productivity booster, it can stay in your system for hours,
reducing your ability to fall asleep, therefore Mr. Stevenson recommends
cutting back on caffeine, especially after midday according to some scientific
research that emphasizes the role of caffeine on delaying your sleep clock
at night. The same thing goes for Alcohol according to Sleep Better, it can cause
some difficulties in sleeping restfully at night, and then it’s better to avoid
drinking it.
FAQs About Sleep and "Sleep Smarter"
1.
How many hours of sleep do I need per night?
While the standard recommendation is 7-9 hours per night, Stevenson emphasizes
that quality is just as important as quantity. Some people may function well on
fewer hours if they optimize other sleep-related factors.
2.
Can sleep really help with weight loss?
Yes! Stevenson discusses how lack of sleep can increase levels of ghrelin (the
hunger hormone) and decrease levels of leptin (the satiety hormone), making it
harder to maintain a healthy weight.
3.
What is the ideal time to get in bed to sleep at night?
Stevenson recommends syncing your sleep with your circadian rhythm. The ideal
time varies for each person, but generally, sleeping between 10 PM and 6 AM
aligns with natural light cycles, which promotes better rest.
4.
Does napping affect nighttime sleep?
While short naps (20-30 minutes) can be restorative, longer naps or naps taken
late in the day can interfere with your ability to fall asleep at night.
5. Can
Blue light devices affect the quality of your sleep at night?
According to Mr. Stevenson, the blue lights affect the quality of your sleep by
disrupting melatonin production, and advise limiting screen time in the hour
leading up to bedtime.
Conclusion: The Path to Smarter Sleep
Shawn Stevenson's "Sleep
Smarter" is more than just a book about sleep; it's a practical guide
to optimizing one of the most crucial aspects of health and well-being. By
making small, manageable changes to your sleep habits—such as adjusting your
diet, managing your exposure to light, and creating a restful sleep
environment—you can improve not only the quality of your sleep but your overall quality of
life.
Implementing these strategies can make a noticeable difference in how you feel, think, and perform daily. Sleep is a superpower that needs to be unlocked and that's why we're putting a special interest in this subject in this period when people are returning to their daily routines we've covered how to deal with the stress of returning to work or school after summer vacation.