Sourced from Livestrong | Feb 20, 2023
So you had a bad night’s sleep… what now?
Even sleep experts struggle occasionally. Shelby Harris, PsyD, author of The Women's Guide to Overcoming Insomnia is no stranger to late night tv binges against her better judgment and has some tips to recover quickly. What's most important is that you bounce back and reset for better sleep the next night.
Here are 8 tips Harris and other top sleep docs recommend to get you back on track stat:
1 — Water First, Then Coffee
Fill your water bottle before hitting the coffee machine. Harris sips cold lemon water first thing in the morning to wake and refresh the system up.
Coffee is still on the menu, just be sure to sip it after rehydrating with the water. Coffee does provide more of a mental edge and helps when you haven't gotten enough sleep one night, but don't use it as a sleep substitute. In other words, don’t stay up intent on just downing a ton of coffee the next day to survive.
2 — Get Your Butt Out of Bed
For Rebecca Robbins, PhD, a sleep scientist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, sleep is a consequence of what we do over the course of the day, and the first step for good sleep at night: Get up on time in the morning.
It's tempting to hit the snooze button, but that's wrong since the sleep you get after an alarm is poor quality.
It is also important to stumble out of bed at the normal time because there's a process called the homeostatic drive for sleep. "That means that over the course of the day, sleepiness builds like a clock. Each additional hour awake adds to that overall sense of sleepiness. Start that clock ticking," she says.
"Sleeping in" throws off your circadian rhythm and makes it harder to fall asleep the next night.
3 — Prioritize
After a bad night of sleep, don’t assume you'll be a wreck all day, unable to get anything done. While you might not be on top of your game per usual, Seema Khosla, MD, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and director of the North Dakota Center for Sleep in Fargo says that data shows that one bad night isn't the end of the world.
Acknowledge that you might not be able to accomplish everything on your list, so prioritize what needs to get done. If something is really important, leave it for another day when you’re sharper.
4 — Seek Lots of Light
One of the best things to do after a poor night of sleep is getting blue light exposure. (Hint: Natural sunlight contains blue light.)
"Getting this light into your eyeballs is one of the best ways to kickstart the awake phase of your circadian rhythm," Robbins says.
If you work outside your home, simply walking outside to your car or public transportation does the trick. If you WFH, take your dog or yourself out for a walk. If you can't get outside, then Robbins recommends cracking open a window to let in fresh air and natural sunlight.
5 — Schedule Light Exercise
Being thoroughly tired is not the time for an intense workout or lifting heavy weights, as these may not be safe since you're not alert. But it does pay to move your body. Make sure to exercise, but gently, such as walking on a treadmill or easy yoga.
Exercise has been shown to be good for sleep: Physical activity can improve sleep quality in people with insomnia, concluded a July 2018 meta-analysis in PeerJ.
6 — Find Time for a Cat Nap
Even on the best days you may notice your energy levels, alertness and focus dip after lunch. But don’t reach for more coffee, it just makes it harder to fall asleep later. The better approach is to repay some of your sleep debt with a five to 20-minute nap.
Set your alarm clock and lay in a comfortable place. If you can't or won't fall asleep right away, that's totally fine since any sleep you get is better than none.
Just closing your eyes and resting can help you feel more awake and ready to jump into the afternoon than pushing through it. And! you won't typically wake up groggy from a short power nap — but do schedule that nap before 3 p.m. or you may have trouble falling asleep that night.
7 — Make Healthy Food Choices
Its too easy to make unhealthy food choices when you’re tired — we see you, high-sugar foods — since your body naturally craves a little pick-me-up.
So be mindful of your appetite. Research shows that when you’re tired it's more difficult to gauge when you're full. Overeating impacts your sleep because your body needs to work on digesting that food overnight.
A healthy, light dinner with half your plate being veggies, a lean protein, some complex carbs and a bit of healthy fat encourages the most restful sleep. Be sure to give your body time to digest before sleep. Did you know? Eating within an hour of bedtime has been found to decrease sleep quality, notes a September 2016 review in Advances in Nutrition.
8 — Plan Out the Next Night
Recall what went wrong last night. Were you on your phone or binge-watching Succession before sleep? We’ve all been there.
Treat yourself with a little grace and start your wind-down routine earlier the next night, which will allow you to reset.
Some final tried-and-true tips:
Limit caffeine after lunch, avoid sunlight late in the day and put your phone away earlier to get the rest you need and deserve.
