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Switch off
Tablets, phones and laptops generate lots of short wavelength blue light, which interferes with production of our sleep hormone, melatonin. This is normally produced in the mid to late evening, but using screens for 2 hours before bed . Screen time before bed can also mean it takes longer to fall asleep and seems to cut down REM sleep. That could be because messing with melatonin delays the whole sleep cycle, leaving less time to get through all the stages before morning. But if your big vice is bedtime TV, relax. While the light from the box is bright, we normally watch from far enough away to mitigate much of the problem. Dim, red light before bed is best. So chuck screens out of the bedroom, or just 鈥� any less doesn鈥檛 seem to significantly reduce melatonin production. Or try using an app that strips out the sleep-robbing light. Screen time first thing in the morning, however, might , which peaks 20 to 30 minutes after waking.
Drink up
Struggling to sleep through the night? Melatonin pills probably aren鈥檛 the answer. Their half-life in the body is , which might explain why studies into whether melatonin supplements can improve sleep in general results. Instead, for more time in the land of nod, make yours a sour cherry juice. It鈥檚 rich in melatonin, and a recent study found that after seven days, healthy adults , and napped less during the day. It could be that melatonin in cherries is more bioavailable than that in supplement tablets.
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Temperature control
For a good night鈥檚 sleep, watch the temperature. Melatonin cools the body by a couple of degrees while we sleep, and an overheated bedroom can interfere with this process. Too cold, though, and you may struggle to drop off. One recent study found that air conditioning set too low made it harder to get to sleep because the body was pulling out all the stops to keep warm. The is to start warm, cool off a little then warm up in the early morning, mimicking the body鈥檚 natural temperature changes. A general rule is to keep the bedroom between 18 and 21 掳C, with a window open if it鈥檚 not too noisy.
Cut down
Need a nightcap to get to sleep? Unwise. Having a few drinks before bed , adding a boost of alpha brainwaves that are usually only present in the daytime. Even an early evening tipple can be bad. 鈥淲e showed that a couple of drinks around happy hour 鈥� 5 or 6 pm 鈥� led to breath alcohol concentrations of zero by the time people went to sleep, but still caused a lot of extra wakefulness in the second part of the night,鈥� says Derk-Jan Dijk at the University of Surrey, UK. He thinks it might be a side effect of the way alcohol is metabolised. Older people are more sensitive to the effects.
Stub it out
Smoking affects sleep no matter what time you light up. Research shows that reduces total sleep time by 1.2 minutes. Animal studies suggest that in the lungs and brain.
We answer all the questions keeping you up at night in 鈥淪leep: A user鈥檚 guide鈥�
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This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淲hat鈥檚 the best way to get to sleep?鈥�
