How I Changed My Life Through Sleep
Okay, that was a dramatic headline. But let’s talk about sleep. I was always a good sleeper. My mom likes to tell the story of me as an infant, sleeping 20 hours each day, her having to come check my breathing to make sure I was alive. I loved sleep. My entire life I fell asleep easily, stayed asleep all night and was consistently well-rested. That’s until a few years ago. It’s sort of hard to explain because I didn't become a bad sleeper overnight, but something definitely changed. I noticed I would wake up in the middle of the night pretty frequently and stay up for an hour or two. I noticed I was tired in the morning, even after what I thought was a full night of sleep. It wasn’t chronic or too disruptive, but it was ongoing and sort of annoying. I would find myself having low level anxiety as bedtime approached wondering if tonight would be a “good” night of sleep or a “bad” night of sleep. I even got into the habit of taking a mild OTC sleep aid some nights just to help me stay asleep. I haven’t ever taken any meds other than vitamins, so I didn’t like being this person who needed to take a sleep aid on the regular.
I know there are people (some of my closest friends, in fact) who struggle with chronic insomnia. My heart breaks for them. Have just two nights in a row of bad sleep and you know how important sleep is to everything in life. My sleep wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great and I knew there had to be solutions.
My interest in health, wellness and longevity has skyrocketed in the past couple of years. It started when I spent a week with Mountain Trek in the mountains of Canada hiking and learning about nutrition. After Mountain Trek got me started on my healthy journey, I started seeking more information about holistic wellness. I’m a podcast junkie so I found Dr. Mark Hyman and Dave Asprey on podcasts. Dr. Hyman is a respected functional medicine physician and author with a focus on longevity. His podcast is called The Doctor’s Farmacy. Dave Asprey founded Bulletproof and just came out with his latest book (I think he’s written about 8 books now) called Super Human. Dave’s podcast is called Bulletproof Radio. They’re both incredible experts and voices in the world of longevity, wellness and vitality.
Mark and Dave both talk a lot about sleep because it’s one of the most important factors in overall wellness. So when I noticed my sleep was all over the place and I was dragging myself out of bed most mornings, I went to the experts for advice. They both have a long list of ways to improve your sleep health. Magnesium helps many people sleep. I tried taking CALM before bed. I also tried Kava Kava. I did notice that when I was consistent with either or both of these, my sleep was calmer and more consistent. There’s a long list of other supplements that can also help with sleep. Mark and Dave both talk a ton about the importance of light. Dave wears these True Dark glasses all night before bed to filter out junk light caused by technology. This light can keep our brains awake long after we get in bed. Cool, but I’m 100% not wearing these red glasses all night. They both recommend blackout curtains. They love the Oura Ring for sleep and fitness tracking.
Knowing my sleep situation wasn’t a code red, I decided to start small. I had a feeling the ambient light in my apartment was interrupting my sleep. I have these huge windows and I’m in the middle of NYC so everything from the lights from Freedom Tower to the moon shines right into my place. I wasn’t willing to get blackout curtains because they would really kill the vibe of my minimal, sunny bright apartment. So I decided to try the lighter version of blackout curtains, a sleep mask. I had a couple of random sleep masks tucked away - they had come with pajama sets from Victoria’s Secret. I was prepared to try them and immediately give up. I was certain the masks would be uncomfortable, twist, come off and bug me in my sleep. I was so wrong. From the first night wearing one, which was about a month ago at this point, I can 100% say I’ve never slept better, deeper, easier and been more rested. I fall asleep faster and stay asleep all night. I wake up completely rested. I have captured and extra hour in my day because even if I sleep 1 hour less than normal, I wake even more rested than before. I used to need a solid 8 hours of sleep to feel good. Now with a sleep mask, 7 hours of sleep is great. Since wearing a sleep mask, I haven’t had one bad night of sleep. I can’t believe it took me this long to embrace a sleep mask.
I graduated from my free eyemask to a better one. This is the one I’m using now and I love it. It’s super secure, comfortable and blocks out all light.
This is the mask I’m wearing now. I love it.
I’m sharing this because I love you and I love sleep and I want you to feel your best. Even if you think you sleep well, there are so many great things out there to help you sleep even better.
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