Chris Kresser had Dan Pardi of Dan’s Plan on his podcast this week talking about Why Most People Are Sleep-deprived and What to do About it.
There’s lots of goodness there to check out. But if you’re like me and want Dan’s quick tips for getting better sleep, here they are:
- Timing - Based on how much sleep you need, form an intention to be in bed in time (e.g., in bed at 11P if you need 8 hours and must get up at 7A).
- Duration - Think about how much sleep you really need to feel your best. Consider tracking how much you are actually getting with a tool. Dan recommends the following: Fitbit, Zeo, WakeMate, and Sleep Cycle.
- Intensity - Dan calls this intensity, but I think you can also think of it as quality. And what’s most important is what you actually do during the day before sleep, including:
- light exposure first thing in the morning
- outdoor light several times during the day.
- bright light at your office place
- dimmer, more amber, less blue light in the evening
- a cool, calm, quiet, and dark sleep environment .
I’m really looking forward to experimenting with these once my move is completed. For more, listen to the podcast or check out the transcript.
Photo credit: Caitlin Regan
Weight Maven is written by Beth Mazur. Beth believes that obesity is more symptom than cause and that the real problem is our Western diet -- especially sugar, refined grains, and industrial oils. Beth writes about nutrition, ancestral health & food policy. And cats!
