Sleep Quality Saboteurs
- Janice Cunningham
- Mar 17, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 25
You have little problem falling asleep. You sleep monitor says you had a full 8 hours! Yet you wake up feeling unrested, a bit out of sorts. What happened to your sleep superpowers? Their may be some stealthy sleep saboteurs at work. But not to worry. You can manage them with timing
Kryptonite Timing Factors - Know Your Cutoff Times
There are four common saboteurs, kryptonite to the powers of sleep. We need to cut them off in time to neutralize their impact on your sleep: Falling asleep. Staying asleep. And protecting the quality of your sleep. Test out these Rules of Thumb to see if you feel different in the morning. Specifics will vary by individual.
Cut-off Time Guide (Hours to avoid before bedtime)
8 to 12 hours - No Caffeine. For time to metabolize and clear your system of caffeine so you can both fall asleep and stay asleep.
4 to 8 hours - No Alcohol. For time to metabolize and clear your system of alcohol so you can stay asleep and protect the depth and restorative powers of your deep slow wave sleep (avoid poor electrical brain wave quality).
2 to 4 hours - No Food. For time to digest your food so rest, repair, and restore processes can start on time to complete. (Digestion takes 2-4 hours on average and always comes first. It puts the other processes on hold.)
1.5 hours - No Stimulating Exercise: For time to lower the body's heart rate and core body temperature (key ingredients for falling asleep and sleep quality).
You Slept for 7-9 hours but wake up tired. Why?
Possibility #1. Lurking Caffeine
Some people metabolize caffeine faster than others; many will have no problem getting to sleep despite an afternoon or evening dose of caffeine. But some of these same people will still feel tired, not fully rested despite 7-9 hours sleep. Why? One reason could be the caffeine is not fully metabolized before going to bed.
Regardless of the ability to fall asleep easily, caffeine could still be lurking in their system causing several wake-ups throughout the night that may not even be remembered. With no memory of the wake-ups, it's hard to make the connection.
Possibility #2. Alcohol in Your System
Alcohol is often used as a sleep aid. However, alcohol is a form of sedation, similar to getting an anesthetic, and sedation is not the same as natural restorative sleep. The result? Poor sleep quality due to unmetabolized alcohol in your system. This has two known effects.
#1. The reduced electrical quality of our sleep can trigger the fight-or-flight mechanism of the brain which in turn leads to multiple sleep disruptions (wake-ups). We rarely remember these wake-ups unless they keep us from going back to sleep!
#2. A few drinks in the afternoon or evening also produce chemicals known to block the brains ability to produce REM sleep - our sleep therapy dream state. This means less time to work through our emotions and make meaning of our memories which have their own trickle down effects.
As with coffee, it can be hard to make the connection if we don't observe the disruption.
Possibility #3. Late Night Eating
Digestion is the bully in the room. When it shows up, it demands priority and can take 2-4 hours. When we eat too close to bedtime our precious rest and repair processes are put on hold until digestion is complete.
Our scheduled sleep processes have a finite window of opportunity. When put on hold, they don't get pushed out - they get bypassed. To make matters worse, digestion is much slower at night than mid-day when it was prepared for eating to meet the energy demands of the day. (Our digestion slows down as we prepare for sleep.)
Do you feel tired or off your game in the morning despite thinking you got enough hours of sleep? If so, consider lengthening the time between your last bite/sip of the day and when you go to bed. Possibility #4. Exercise. Too Much Stimulation Too Close to Bedtime?
No, we're not talking about consensual sex! That's proven to be good for our sleep! We are talking about other activities or exercise that increase heart rate and body temperature.
Beyond getting to a good resting heart rate, avoiding exercise too close to bed-time allows our internal body temperature to drop which helps prepare us for sleep (just as with sleeping in a cool room).
How close is too close? The research shows no significant negative impact to sleep when exercise is cut off 90 minutes before bedtime, but there is an impact at 60 minutes or less. The intensity level required to have an impact as well as the cut-off time may vary by individual.
Final Word
The cut-off guidelines all have a range. Specifics are highly personal, many dictated by our genetics which can also change with age or other influences.
If you notice differences in your sleep patterns or how rested when waking up, consider conducting your own N-of-1 experiment. If more than one known saboteur may be the culprit, test one at a time for several days in a row to isolate which, if any, may be the cause.
For JC notes, worksheets, and links to the experts for more detail, explore our Sleep Portal.
Wishing you all the best,
Janice
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