5 Simple Things You Can Do to Improve Your Sleep Quality
Why Steve Harvey Is Wrong With His Statement.
It was one of these relaxing moments. I was browsing Facebook watch for no reason. Just entertaining. My followings mostly consist of motivational speeches that I love studying to improve my own speaking abilities.
It’s pure consuming content and the mind starts drifting away.
Suddenly everything in my body shouted, “Red Alert!”. I couldn’t believe what I just heard. So I went back to the video. It was just a short one. And listened again.
A man said:
“Rich people don’t sleep eight hours a day. That’s a third of your life. There ain’t but 24 hours in a day. You cannot be sleep eight hours a day,” he said before referencing Proverbs 6:11. “The Bible says he who loves to sleep and the folding of hands — poverty will set upon you like a thief in the night.”
What? Truly? Why?
“Rich people don’t sleep eight hours a day.”
The man who said this is Steve Harvey. A great American entertainer, comedian, and broadcaster.
I got the point he wants to emphasize —
Success is uncomfortable. You can’t be lazy and expect riches.
But, Steve, let me tell you something: Sleep is part of the Success Game. And yes, a minimum of 8–10 hours per day.
Let me tell you why:
5 Benefits and Consequences of Sleep
Sleep is essential for keeping our bodies healthy. Having not enough sleep has serious consequences for our health.
- Learning and memory: Sleep helps us to memorize things. Studies showed that people who slept after learning had better test results afterward.
- Obesity: Getting sufficient sleep affects metabolism. Scientists found that a lack of sleep increases the chances of gaining weight. A lack of sleep messes with the hormones ghrelin and leptin that regulate appetite. Getting sufficient sleep keeps.
- Sleep boosts your immune system: We are in the midst of a pandemic. Novel viruses are a threat to our bodies' health. To fight viruses, we need healthy immune systems. They are the last defense line between us and being healthy. During sleep, the body releases certain cytokines that help fight viruses.
- Sleep=Repair mood: During sleep, the body reduces inflammation, releases hormones that help to prevent cancer, especially melatonin who seems to suppress the development of cancerous cells and recently, scientists found out that during sleep, the body repairs damaged brain cells. Scientists even state that this might be the main reason why we sleep at all.
- Sleep = Mood booster: I believe we all experienced certain periods of sleep deprivation and all the moodiness that comes with it. Scientists found out that getting too little sleep reduces Serotonin's production and thus increases the likelihood of depression.
These are only a few scientific findings on the importance of sleep.
Scientists found out that negative effects increase with less than 6 to 7 hours of sleep, while the positive effects increase with more than 8 hours, as a simple rule of thumb.
Mr. Harvey — I suppose you might be wrong. Everybody who wants to become rich needs a minimum of 8 hours of sleep to be in the A-Game mode.
Life with all its chores and duties sometimes puts a lot of stress on us. Job, Hobbies, Friends, and Family can be demanding at times.
Above all, we need to take care of ourselves first. Creating the right habits is of utmost importance. Only when you are at your A-Game, you can also help and benefit your family and friends.
Here are some ideas on how to improve your sleep quality:
Reduce excitement in the evening
A human body is not a machine that can be switched on and off at will. Usually, minds and emotions need some time to wear off.
- Working until the last minute before bedtime,
- having arguments,
- watching action movies or
- doing loads of exercise
All effects us. It keeps the body, mind, and emotions alert. When I go to bed, I need a certain amount of time to calm down to fall asleep.
Pulling that phase forward improved my sleep quality.
How to do it:
- Cut off time: My cut off time when I stop my social life is 9 pm. I want to be at home. No mails, no phone calls. No argument. Nothing.
- Journaling: To get rid of some thoughts, I write a journal to reflect on my day.
- Meditation: I sit down and meditate for 15 minutes to calm my mind. I experience it years ago that after a certain amount of time, the inner turbulence stops. My favorite way of meditating in the evening is Zen or Chan. Just sitting and focusing on calmly breathing in and out.
- Taking a warm bath: It’s not for me. Some of my friends do this instead of meditation. I believe it serves a similar purpose. Just find your way of relaxing.
- Music and reading: I like listening to soft music and reading a bit. Nothing exciting. Afterward, I go to sleep.
Cut back on eating, alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine.
Eating and drinking keep the body active. The digestive system needs the energy to break down food or clear the body from toxins. It is an inner activity that distracts from sleeping.
Caffeine and alcohol have additional effects that prevent the body from falling asleep. Alcohol might initially feel like doing something positive, but it keeps the body awake through the rest of the night after the effect wears off.
How to change that:
- As a thumb rule, I do not eat or drink 2 hours before I want to go to sleep.
- Only water or tea within the caffeine
- Assuming I want to fall asleep at 11 pm, the cut off time for eating and drinking is 9 pm.
Avoid blue light — TV, Computer, Mobile.
Our world is full of screens. Computer, Television, Tablets, and Mobiles. All these screens emit blue light.
Scientists found out that this light is messing around with the circadian rhythm. It is the natural rhythm that regulates the sleep-wake cycle.
The blue light makes the body believe it is still daytime and keeps it awake and alert. For this reason, the mobile industry has implemented a function that filters out this light.
Personally, I believe having no screen in the bedroom is the best way to improve sleep quality.
Light plays a vital role in keeping the body's natural rhythm in place.
How to change that:
- Get enough light during the day that your body is fully in the wake cycle. Be outdoors and have sunlight in the office.
- Eliminate all screens in the bedroom.
- Keep the blinds of the bedroom closed during the night and open them after getting up.
Keep your bedroom cool.
Like light, the temperature has a direct effect on the body's functions.
Hot temperature affects sleep negatively. You might have experienced that on holidays.
In summer — especially in hot locations — it doesn't seem easy to get a good night's rest. While in cold winter, it is easier.
This observation is backed up by studies that prove that hypothesis.
How to implement that:
- 20-degree Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit) seems to work best for most people.
- Play around with the room temperature and find the right point for you
Create a habit
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
This famous quote sums it up quite well. To become proficient sleepers who get a minimum of 8 hours of quality sleep, we need to create the right habits.
Creating an evening routine that follows the same order daily helps the body switch between wake and sleep cycles.
Monasteries of all confessions have perfected morning and evening habits. I had the pleasure of spending time with catholic and Buddhist monks in their monasteries.
Although the language and the rites were a bit different, they followed the same routine.
The essence of the monasteries routine:
- Dinner was before 7 pm.
- Meditation after dinner for about 1 hour
- Mostly at 8 pm, the monks were in their rooms.
- And I went to bed.
How I implemented it in my life:
- No food or drinks after 9 pm
- Journaling for 15 minutes
- 15 minutes of meditation
- Cleaning up the house and getting ready for bed
- Latest at 10 pm — bedtime with a bit of reading and music
- Wake up between 5 and 6 pm.
- Getting up immediately.
Yes, the next day's good sleep begins with getting up early.
Well, at least this is my ideal routine. As I am an imperfect human, I try not to be too harsh to myself.
On some days, the routine works better, and on some days not so good. But I try my best to stick to the plan every day.
Knowing that helps to keep my body healthy and ready for A-Game performance.
Getting enough sleep is necessary for staying healthy. Physically and mentality. If you want to have peak performance over six to seven decades, make sure that you get a minimum of 7 to 8 hours sleep per night.
Yes, Mr. Harvey, your statement is falsified. We need at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep to be successful.
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Since 1999 I am an executive, advisor, and coach for companies in various industries. I am specialized in Corporate Development and Finance. From seed rounds to IPO level. I am focused on life science since 2006.
