Your Brain’s Night Shift: How Sleep Fuels Focus and Recovery | Sleep Hygiene

There are few topics that I would consider ‘blanket’ concepts that apply to everyone, but sleep hygiene really is one of those critical topics that deserves more attention than it gets in our daily lives or in the media. Sleep is a unique topic; evolutionarily and behaviorally, it is complicated and seemingly doesn’t make a lot of sense. We’re going to split up the next couple of blogs into a series of information on sleep, because we (science) have learned a few things by studying it for a long time. 

First, what is sleep? 

Sleep is a unique process in living beings with complex nervous systems that allows the organism to process information and clear the central nervous system (CNS) of waste. You may have heard about Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep and its importance to memory function, and it is undoubtedly an important part of why we need a good night’s rest. But one of the more commonly overlooked aspects of sleep is the physical implications of it at the level of the CNS. 

The brain operates 24/7 and, as such, is constantly building up waste products. The brain is contained within a membrane that is only permeable to a few things, so it happens to trap a lot of those waste products in the brain. One of the common compounds that builds up is “adenosine” which, if you recall from our caffeine article, adenosine signals tiredness to the brain. As it accumulates, the brain starts to process other compounds and initiates the onset of sleep, which occurs hours before the event of sleep actually takes place. Then, when we sleep, the brain goes through these “rinse” cycles of very high complexity (which is a system called the Glymphatic system and deserves its own university level class, much less an article). Herein lies why I wanted to talk about sleep hygiene, or in other words, your bedtime routine.

As mentioned before, the brain starts signalling to the body that rest is coming, and it starts this from a number of perspectives. One of the first things that modulates our levels of tiredness is the presence of light, specifically white light. When the sun has gone down for a few hours, the body begins preparing itself for sleep. This light/wake/dark/sleep cycle is a distinct part of the circadian rhythm and is a critical part of how we fall asleep. The problem is things like the device you are currently using to read this. You may even be reading this from your bed right now! 

When your brain sees white/blue lights like this outside of the standard expected daylight hours, it gets confused and starts sending opposing signals. You know it's bed time, but because you just saw a computer screen 10 minutes ago the brain thinks there are hours of daylight left. 

Suggestion 1: Get away from light at least an hour before your intended bedtime. 

If you absolutely need light around, research has shown that low level floor lights, or red lights, can be useful to help. This is easier said than done and requires a lot of technological discipline, but if you can manage it, it is the first and greatest thing you can do to affect your sleep. I personally have found having my phone in a different room helps a lot, which means I bought an analog clock to wake me up (literally the type you have to smack to stop). 

The next item of sleep hygiene that I think is important is context. The body understands what time it is based on the context of light, but it also understands the context of whether or not you are attempting (or need to be) mentally/physically active. While getting away from technology can often help with this next point, it's important that you think of it as its own concept:

Suggestion 2: Try to avoid doing any specific tasks in your bed that are not sleep. 

The body understands the context of both mental and physical activity, and a particularly riveting murder-mystery novel at 10 p.m. is likely to keep your brain online for longer than you intended to be awake. Even if you fall asleep relatively quickly, the brain is now processing very recent information, which affects the depth of your sleep. The further you are away from an actual activity in both time and space before you sleep, the better you will be able to fall asleep. I used reading as an example because it is a common thing to do before bed, so what I suggest here is to have a specific location in your home where you read. Then, when you are sleepy and ready to fall asleep, you move to your bed where you actually then focus on the action of sleeping. In other words, compartmentalize your bed for what it is meant for, and your brain will adapt to it. When you enter the bed, your body recognizes it for what it is, rather than being ready for a slew of tasks you plan on doing before falling asleep. 

These are the two primary suggestions I provide people when discussing sleep hygiene and have had a lot of success with them myself. When I start noticing my sleep getting worse is when I also notice these same habits begin slipping. It takes a while for you to break habits like this, but try it into the new year and let me know what you think!