Restful sleep is essential - only then can our body optimally regenerate and carry out a number of important processes. But what if your sleep quality leaves something to be desired? Then it's time to optimize your sleep routine.
Sleep routine: Why is restful sleep so important?
While you sleep, your body undergoes many important and simultaneously complex processes. Only if you also get enough and high-quality sleep regularly can these processes take place optimally.
Regeneration
During sleep, your body goes through different phases in which it regenerates. Damaged cells are repaired, released growth hormones ensure that muscles can be built and tissues can be restored.
At the same time, your blood pressure drops during sleep, which relieves the heart and reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Mental Health
Especially during REM sleep, your brain processes emotional experiences. This helps to "reset" you mentally so that you can start the next day balanced again.
Lack of sleep, on the other hand, often leads to increased irritability and susceptibility to stress.
Cognitive Functions
Restorative sleep even improves your mental performance, as your brain stores information during this time and can take in new impressions the next day.
If you sleep too little, it affects your concentration - difficulties in thinking and reacting are often the result.
Hormone regulation
During sleep, your body regulates important hormones with various functions: Leptin and Ghrelin for example, are responsible for the feeling of satiety and appetite stimulation.
If a lack of sleep disturbs the delicate balance between the two hormones, it often leads to cravings the next day. Chronic sleep deprivation can thus increase the risk of overweight and insulin resistance.
Strengthen the immune system
Even short-term sleep deprivation impairs the function of the so-called T-cells, which eliminate infected body cells and thus prevent the spread of a virus in the body.
Those who get enough sleep are also better protected against diseases.
Temperature regulation
Our body temperature peaks in the evening before going to bed. Thermoregulation is part of the so-called circadian rhythm (more on that later) and ensures that we can fall asleep optimally with the temperature rise in the evening.
Overnight, our body temperature then drops again and reaches its lowest level in the early morning hours. Throughout the day, it fluctuates by up to 1 degree.
What exactly is biohacking?
Biohacking is based on the idea that we can actively and self-determinedly improve our physical and mental health.The goal: To increase one's performance, extend lifespan, or address individual health issues.
Biohackers therefore try to get the best out of their body and mind.
Some of the most important components of biohacking include:
- Healthy nutrition
- Sports and exercise
- Supplements
- Light therapies
Ultimately, every biohacker experiments with different measures to get the most out of themselves. Therefore, there is no "one" biohacking routine.
The circadian rhythm
The circadian rhythm is the internal biological clock of our body that regulates many physiological processes.It follows a cycle of about 24 to 25 hours and influences not only our sleep but also hormone secretion, body temperature, blood pressure, and many other functions.
The most important pacemaker for the circadian rhythm is light. During the day, light hits receptors in our eyes that transmit the stimulus through many interfaces to the suprachiasmatic nucleus in the hypothalamus. The result: In daylight, the stress hormones Cortisol, serotonin, and adrenaline are released.
But not only our sleep is influenced by the daily cycle: Our cortisol level also plays a role here: It slowly rises overnight until it peaks around 8:30 AM.
As a so-called stress hormone, cortisol affects your blood sugar and fat metabolism. It has anti-inflammatory effects and delays the excretion of water.
The natural antagonist of cortisol is the sleep hormone melatonin. When light intensity decreases, more melatonin is released - your body comes to rest.
By the way: Stress also keeps your cortisol levels high. The consequence: You do not find rest and sleep poorly.
Last but not least, our gastrointestinal tract also normally follows a circadian rhythm. About every four to five hours, we feel hungry, while at night our appetite decreases. Leptin and ghrelin are primarily responsible for this regulation. The intestine uses the nighttime rest to continue transporting its contents.
Circadian Hacking
The term "Circadian Hacking" is becoming increasingly common when it comes to biohacking and sleep rhythms. Circadian Hacking involves the conscious influence of the circadian rhythm. The goal: to deliberately adjust the internal biological clock to personal or external demands.
One thing is certain: While you can hack various aspects of your sleep, your chronotype largely remains the same. This means: A night owl who is more active at night will not become a lark that wakes up with the first ray of sunshine, no matter how many tips and tricks are applied.
The best tips for optimizing your sleep
Night owl or lark?
Night owls and larks - these are the so-called chronotypes.While larks are active early in the day, owls only become lively late in the day and into the night.
Your chronotype is largely genetically determined. However, you can still influence it a bit - for example, through light, food intake, or exercise.
You should adjust your sleep routine as much as possible to your chronotype. The closer you align with your natural rhythm, the better.
Light &and movement
Your sleep routine actually begins during the day - it sounds strange, but it's true. If you spend time outdoors during the day, soak up daylight, and stay active, you support your circadian rhythm.
Additionally: A study could show that exercise and sports represent an effective solution, especially for sleep problems - and likely also improve sleep quality in the long term.
A similar result is also found in the study "Physical activity impacts overall quality of sleep": Of the 2600 participants, those who exercised at least 150 minutes weekly slept significantly better and felt more awake during the day.
The reason for this: Exercise promotes the breakdown of stress hormones and improves regulation. At the same time, serotonin is released more during exercise - and this can be converted into melatonin by your body in the evening.
Refrain from caffeine
How exactly we react to caffeine is very individual. What is certain is that caffeine blocks the effect of adenosine, a neurotransmitter that makes us "tired." So when we have caffeine in our bodies, it becomes harder for us to fall asleep and stay in deep sleep phases.
This is exactly confirmed by a study: Participants consumed caffeine at different times before going to bed. Compared to the control group, all test subjects showed a measurable disturbance of sleep - even when the caffeine consumption was six hours prior.
It is therefore better not to consume caffeinated beverages after 2 PM - or even to refrain from them completely.
Avoid alcohol
Not surprisingly - alcohol also disrupts your nightly rest. It leads to a decrease in REM and deep sleep phases, exacerbates respiratory problems, causes you to wake up more frequently, and ultimately makes you go to the bathroom more often.
A twin study that began in 1975 showed: Even moderate alcohol consumption is associated with poorer long-term sleep quality in participants. Ideally, it would be best to completely abstain from alcohol - as alcohol negatively affects not only your sleep but also many other bodily processes.
Optimize bedroom
Your bedroom also plays a significant role in your sleep routine.But what is important when optimizing your sleep area?
- Temperature: Keep the room temperature between 15 and 18 degrees - the optimal temperature for adults.
- Bedding: Use breathable, possibly even temperature-regulating bedding.
- Light: Install blackout curtains or blinds to keep your bedroom as dark as possible.
- Quiet: Ensure that your sleep environment is as quiet as possible - earplugs can help if in doubt.
- Keep it tidy: Clutter can unconsciously cause stress. Therefore, keep it tidy - and minimalist.
- Air: Ventilate regularly (especially before going to bed).Houseplants like the snake plant, for example, can improve air quality.
- Scents: Perhaps scents like lavender or chamomile can help you fall asleep.
Use weighted blankets
Weighted blankets are becoming increasingly popular - they are said to calm the parasympathetic nervous system and thus reduce stress. These blankets are usually filled with small glass beads and weigh around seven kilograms.
There is currently little scientifically valid evidence for the supposedly positive effects of such blankets - and it would also be difficult to implement. After all, there is no such thing as a "placebo weighted blanket." Subjects would immediately know whether it is a weighted blanket - or not.
Especially in cases of anxiety or restlessness, many people report the positive effects of weighted blankets. So you can try it without worry.
Find sleep position
You've probably seen a video about supposedly "correct" sleep positions at some point. The good news first: If you have no health issues or other limitations, anything that feels good is allowed.
It looks a bit different with:
- Neck or back pain
- Snoring or obstructive sleep apnea
- Reflux and heartburn
- Lung diseases
- Pregnancy
The probably healthiest sleeping position is on your back, allowing the spine to take its natural shape and distributing body weight evenly. However, for people with breathing problems, sleeping on the back is not well suited.
So you see: Your optimal sleeping position is something very individual. However, if you are currently suffering from sleep problems, it may be worthwhile to take a look at your sleeping position.
Utilize sleep phases
If you are awakened during a light sleep phase, it is much easier to get up. However, if we are jolted from a deep sleep phase, it is much harder for us. A solution to this problem is so-called sleep phase alarms.
The over-the-counter variants measure physical movement, are supposed to recognize the different sleep phases - and then wake us during a less deep phase. For this, a fixed time is not set in advance, but rather a time frame is given in which you would like to be awakened.
For people who generally sleep very restlessly - meaning they move a lot - these alarm models are often not suitable.
Also important: It is hardly verifiable whether the alarms actually recognize sleep phases solely based on movement. Even professional devices in sleep laboratories sometimes have problems with this - whether, for example, a smartwatch can achieve this is questionable.
As is often the case, it is advisable to try out what suits you best.
Relax in the evening
Calmness in the mind is the foundation for good sleep. Stress, on the other hand, can disturb our sleep - studies show that people with high stress perception sleep shorter and worse - and are also more tired and drowsy during the day.
To relax better in the evening, the following tips can help you:
- Meditate
- Do stretching exercises or yoga
- Autogenic training
- Breathing exercises
- Take a walk in the fresh air
- Drink tea, especially chamomile, lavender, hops, or valerian
- Read a calming book
Reduce blue light
Using your phone before going to bed has become quite normal for many. The problem: blue light. According to a study, short-wavelength rays can hinder the release of the sleep hormone melatonin - making it harder for you to fall asleep.
The solution: Turn off all devices at least 30 minutes to an hour before going to bed - or at least wear a blue light filter glasses. Bryan Johnson even completely avoids any stimuli in the bedroom.
Eat healthy
Healthy nutrition also plays a role in sleep: In order to sleep well, our metabolism needs to calm down at night. Very fatty, heavily spiced, or simply very rich foods in the evening hinder this.
Other typical mistakes are:
- Eating very spicy - chili causes our core body temperature and heart rate to remain high. We actually need the opposite to be able to fall asleep well.
- Raw vegetables and legumes - they affect our gut flora and can disrupt our sleep due to fermentation.
- Raw fruits - blood sugar fluctuations and fermentation processes disturb your sleep.
Better options could be:
- A light, balanced meal
- Sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes: The large amounts of resistant starch are favored by our gut flora
- Warm dairy products
- Drink less after 7 PM to avoid needing to go to the bathroom at night
The right supplements
Supplements can also positively influence your sleep-wake rhythm.In biohacking, the following dietary supplements are particularly popular:
Magnesium
Magnesium fulfills many important functions in our body. This mineral supports our sleep primarily through:
- Support of the nervous system: Magnesium binds to the GABA receptors in our brain. GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric acid) is a neurotransmitter known for its calming properties - and is therefore crucial for our sleep.
- Fewer sleep disturbances: A deficiency in magnesium is often responsible for sleep problems - for example, due to Restless Legs Syndrome or classic calf cramps.
Amino Acids
Amino acids are the building blocks of life - and therefore also play a crucial role in sleeping. Some amino acids serve as precursors for neurotransmitters that regulate our sleep and wake cycles.
These include:
- Tryptophan: An essential amino acid that the body needs to produce serotonin - the precursor to melatonin.
- Glycine: An non-essential amino acid that helps lower body temperature so we can fall asleep optimally.
- GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid): An non-essential amino acid that reduces the activity of our central nervous system - thus promoting relaxation.
Ashwagandha
Ashwagandha is a plant whose berries and roots are primarily used in Ayurvedic medicine. The evergreen plant is attributed with many different positive effects.
Among other things:
- Reduction of stress and anxiety symptoms
- Help with insomnia
- More strength, endurance, and energy
- Lowering of blood pressure
- Reduction of inflammation
For our sleep, the reduction of stress plays a major role: According to a meta-analysis, Ashwagandha was able to significantly improve the sleep quality of the participants.The responsible factor is probably the GABA-like effect.
That's why you also find Ashwagandha in our QNIGHT capsules - which help you to relax in the evening.
Melatonin
Melatonin is an important regulator for our sleep-wake rhythm. It is the antagonist to the stress hormone cortisol and ensures that we become drowsy and tired. Melatonin supplements should ideally be taken over several weeks to optimally unfold their effect. However, melatonin only plays a role in falling asleep - not in staying asleep.
Additionally, you should always take any supplements at the same time, namely when you normally go to sleep. If you take the substance at varying times, your internal clock gets confused.
Taurine
Taurine is an amino acid that we often know from energy drinks. It is involved in the development of the brain and muscle activity, binds free radicals, and thus acts against inflammation.
Our taurine levels decrease drastically with age. The effects this has on our aging process are not yet fully researched. However, it is almost certain that the amino acid plays a significant role in this.
Additionally, Taurine is said to have a calming effect on our nervous system and help reduce cortisol levels. The result: You can fall asleep and stay asleep better and faster.
