Daily practices for personal growth
Personal Growth
How to sleep better
A guide to better sleep for health and emotional well-being.
Tanya accomplished so much in a day. She powered through her to-do list, socialized over her coffee breaks, and handled the chaos that came her way during the day. Yet, when it was time to rest, when she lay in bed at night, she could not stop the thoughts racing in her mind. She struggled to fall asleep.
And the next day she had to be ready for the grind again! This was her story every day.
She treated sleep as the necessary price she must pay for success. She thought she could always catch up on the lost sleep during the weekends. But the truth is that quality sleep is the biological foundation of our ability to be at our best during the day. Knowing how to sleep better is not a luxury! It is essential for our personal growth.
Tanya needed to know how to sleep better.
Why quality sleep is essential
We normally think of sleep as mere rest. Science tells us that it is much more than that. Our brain creates waste every day. The glymphatic system of the brain cleans it by removing this waste (Ref #1: article published in Neurochemical Research journal). The same system also helps distribute certain essential compounds in the brain such as glucose, lipids and amino acids. Studies have found that lack of quality sleep directly interferes with the functioning of the glymphatic system. It works best when we are in deep sleep (Ref #2: article published in Science journal).
In the short term, the effect of being sleep deprived may not look alarming. If we are sleep deprived for a couple of days, our cognitive abilities decline, we get irritated at small matters, and we feel fatigued. However, chronic sleep deprivation takes a heavy toll on us. It is linked to cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, and reduced immune response among others. Emerging evidence from the fields of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s research implicates sleep quality as an important factor underlying risk and disease progression (Ref #3: article published in Journal of Parkinson’s Disease).
You must first learn how to sleep better!
Common causes for poor sleep quality
While there are several reasons why one could suffer from poor sleep quality, some of the most recurring reasons are:
- Anxiety
- Burnout at work
- Stress at workplace or in personal life
- Unhealthy lifestyle, such as poor diet, sedentary lifestyle and excessive screen time
Daily practices to improve your sleep
Unfortunately, Tanya‘s sleep disorder had reached a stage where she needed medical intervention. But in most cases, a timely intervention can naturally improve the quality of sleep bringing perceptible benefits to mental and emotional well-being.
Here are some of the sleep habits that can be incorporated for experiencing better sleep:
- No-screen time at least two hours before bedtime. Blue light emanating from these screens interferes with your sleep cycle. Moreover, if you are checking emails, or scrolling through social media feeds, close to bedtime, then it keeps your brain engaged and stimulated, making it difficult to fall asleep.
- Prefer a light dinner and have it at least 2 hours before bedtime. It helps you sleep better.
- Maintain a healthy sleep routine: go to bed at the same time every night. It strengthens your circadian rhythm and body’s internal clock. Stick to your schedule even on weekends.
- Keep your bedroom environment conducive to sleep – dark, quiet and comfortably cool.
Going deeper: 5-Elements framework to improve your sleep
Thrivin’Up takes a holistic view of life in which sleep is one among the 21 foundational aspects of personal growth.
Our life is a play of five elements: Space, Air, Fire, Water and Earth. Sleep is a manifestation of the Earth element. However, an imbalance in any of these five elements can disturb your sleep. When you look at sleep from this holistic lifestyle perspective, you find several additional ways to improve it.
Here are the additional mindful practices for sleep improvement emerging from this framework:
- If your mind is racing, thinking about the work piled up, or just worrying, it means your Air element is swirling. Write down your to-do list, or your worries, on a piece of paper. Do this practice late in the evening. It will help you slow down.
- If you are carrying grudges in your mind even when it is time to sleep, your Space element is out of balance. Write a note of gratitude to yourself. Mention three things you have done during the day for which you are grateful, no matter how small they seem to you. For example, it could be talking to a loved one, watering your plants, or watching the sunset. Make it a daily practice for personal growth.
- Engaging in physical activity during the day helps you fall asleep faster at night. But refrain from any vigorous activity at least 3 hours before bedtime. Your Fire needs to slow down and make room for sleep. A few yoga stretches in the evening or a gentle walk after dinner are fine.
- Restrict caffeine intake to the morning hours. Taking it later in the day stimulates your mind and keeps your Earth element out of balance when it is time to sleep.
- If others in the family are active around you, then you may find it difficult to fall asleep. Have a conversation with them. Tell them that you are working on your holistic personal growth, or you are experiencing burnout at your workplace, and for that you are trying to improve your sleep. They will listen to you and support you.
- Practice deep work during the day, and deep sleep will follow at night. Block out 2 to 3 hours for solid, uninterrupted focus at work. This will balance your Fire during the day, allowing a balanced Earth to follow at night so you can sleep well.
Thankfully, Tanya has recovered now. She has been practicing some of these things to sleep well and stay healthy.
Benefits of restored sleep quality
We are all different. Reflect on which of these healthy sleep habits are relevant for you. Make them part of your daily routine for self improvement. This will balance your elements and help you sleep better. A well-rested mind is the foundation for sustainable personal growth. It is good for improving mood, focus and productivity at work.
Use our Healthy Lifestyle Assessment for a deeper understanding of your Elements, to identify your strengths that you can use for natural sleep improvement.