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ABOUT
- Title: Sleep Smarter
- Sub-title: 21 Essential Strategies to Sleep Your Way to A Better Body, Better Health, and Bigger Success
- Author: Shawn Stevenson
- About the author: Shawn Stevenson is the creator of The Model Health Show, a highly ranked health podcast. He authored two bestselling books: Sleep Smarter and Eat Smarter. Shawn also founded Advanced Integrative Health Alliance, which is a company that provides wellness services for individuals and organizations. He has been featured by numerous top media outlets and speaks at conferences, organizations, universities, and more.
- Pages: 288
- Published: 2016
- Link to book
HIGH-LEVEL SUMMARY
RECOMMENDATION
TOP 25 TAKEAWAYS
WHAT I LIKED
BENEFITS TO YOUR LIFE AND CAREER
15 ACTIONS YOU SHOULD TAKE
1. Don’t forego sleep with hopes of getting more done productively. Yes, you will be able to do more work, but quality and effectiveness will be sacrificed.
2. Check off multiple sleep-benefitting activities in one. Have a morning workout outside and in the sun. End with some stretching, barefoot on the earth. You will get the sleep benefits from exercise, sun exposure, and grounding.
3. Don’t wear sunglasses outside unless you absolutely need it. With sunglasses blocking sunlight from getting into your eyes, it will inhibit exposure you need for hormonal secretions and healthy sleep.
4. Turn off all screens 60 to 90 minutes for bed. You’ll avoid the negative blue light from the devices and you’ll be able to wind down before bed. If you can’t do that, at least use blue light blocking glasses.
5. To use caffeine in a “smart” way, set a caffeine curfew for your last sip at 2:00 p.m. Also use caffeine first thing in the morning to incite a beneficial cortisol boost.
6. Keep your room cool around 60° to 68°F. Personally, temperature regulation is the biggest factor to my ability to fall asleep quickly.
7. Try to be asleep for the time period between 10:00 pm and 2:00 am to take advantage of the most beneficial hormone secretions and recovery.
8. Strive to eat organic, locally grown, unprocessed foods for the bulk of your diet. Eat micronutrient-dense foods.
9. For your room, black it out, get some houseplants, and sleep with the window open.
10. Have sex with your partner before bed. The sex and orgasm will release a bunch of hormones that can act as sedatives.
11. Keep devices and electronics out of your room to limit EMF exposure.
12. If you need to eat something close to bedtime, have a high-fat, low-carb snack. This will keep your blood sugar stable.
13. Start practicing mindfulness and meditation. There are many benefits to doing this. Better sleep is one of them. (See: Book Review: Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty and Book Review: The Wim Hof Method by Wim Hof).
14. When making the change to wake up earlier, make it gradual. Take 15-minute increments off your wake-up time until you reach your desired time.
15. Go to bed and wake up within plus or minus 30 minutes of the same time each day. A consistent sleep schedule is beneficial to your sleep quality.
RESOURCES
Sleep Smarter can be found on Amazon at this link here if you are interested in reading.