There's a simple truth.
The shorter your sleep,
the shorter your life.
And after hearing this two
years ago, my perspective
on sleep completely changed.
And to hopefully inspire the
same change in you today,
we're gonna talk to a bunch
of different sleep experts
that actually help people
on a daily basis so that we
can build a guide for you
of tips that actually work.
And at the end of the
video, they're gonna tell
you exactly what you can
do tonight to actually
start creating change.
But first, if you actually
want to improve your sleep,
we have to understand why it's
so important and why we have
to start prioritizing it now!
What are the negative side
effects of getting six
hours or less of sleep
for a long period of time.
It's like, what are
the negative side
effects of smoking
three cigarettes a day?
That kind of metric of,
hey, I got six hours of
sleep today and killed it.
Great.
Talk to me in, you know,
three years or 30 years of
getting that inadequate sleep.
All right, so then
what is the goal?
How much sleep do
we actually need?
Does everyone need
eight hours of sleep?
And if not, how can
they figure that
out for themselves?
So, no, not everyone does,
but a lot of people do.
In fact, that we're talking
about the middle of the
bell curve distribution, so
we're probably around seven
and a half to eight hours.
So to me it's really about how
do you function the next day,
but also if you're presented
with the option of getting
that sleep, do you take it?
But to actually get that,
what are the most important
things that we can do to
start improving our sleep?
I'm gonna give
you just a couple.
Number one, there's no
such thing as can't sleep.
So if I could snap my fingers
and eliminate that phrase
from popular language, I
would, your perception of
what's going on can often
be dramatically different
from what's really going on.
Your brain is not
like an on off switch.
You really to dim things down
for your brain like you dim
in the lights down at night.
So what can you do again,
make that to-do list.
Do that dump, not the
one that you're thinking
of, but if that relaxes
you, that could work too.
You can use these.
This is really going
to protect your natural
melatonin levels.
To enhance melatonin you're
watching the sun rise.
So as a personal trainer,
I'm kind of biased towards
physical activity and movement
and I guess it would be
the concept of sleep drive.
And what that means is
basically our propensity
or willingness or want
to actually sleep.
And it just comes from being
physically active, right?
So again, I think in today's
society is people don't move
enough, and that's one of the
reasons they can't fall asleep
cause they're not physically
tired enough because they
haven't moved enough.
Number two, the secret
to great sleep is being
equally happy in bed
awake as you are asleep.
If you think being in
bed awake is Mike Myers,
you're going to struggle.
But if you're kind of like,
eh, I'd like to sleep,
but if I don't, it's fine.
You're gonna do great.
That was some awesome advice.
But what if you're one of
those people that whenever
you try to go to bed, it
literally just feels like
it's fricking impossible?
What if you're someone
that when your head hits
the pillow, your mind
just doesn't shut off?
I think that setting a
consistent wake up time and
a consistent bedtime can make
a big difference because your
body's gonna be much more in
tune with that natural rhythm.
So what I would tell people
who struggle with that is
settling your mind is a skill.
It's not a genetic trait you
inherited from your mother.
And you can do things
like meditation to build
that skill, or you can try
30 minutes of meditation
before bed that's what
I do to wind down.
For people that have a bad
habit of maybe using their
phone too late at night
and that's holding them up.
What are your
recommendations there?
My recommendation, it's
an easy one to say and a
difficult one to break is, is
phone sleep in the kitchen.
I literally have
the same thing.
That drawer right
there is basically like
my charging drawer.
What if you're too hot
and you can't fall asleep?
We do sleep better in
cooler temperatures, so
open a window, turn down
your thermostat, or there
are cool products out
there no pun intended, that
actually cool your bed.
And that was perfect timing
because we have to thank
the sponsor of this video,
which is eight Sleep.
I'm super pumped about this
cuz I've been using one
for the last six months
and it is fricking amazing.
It allows you to cool or warm
your bed at different sleep
stages so you can improve
the quality of your sleep.
Straight up.
I freaking love this thing
and there are a bunch
of other top performers
that swear by it as well.
So I personally have the pod
cover three and it's super
fricking clutch because I
run really hot, so it's so
hard for me to fall asleep,
but I literally just set it
to 57 degrees Fahrenheit.
Yeah, that cold and
it does wonders.
But on the flip side, I get to
wake up at a consistent time
with the heat and also with
the vibrations of the alarm.
Not to mention it also helps
track and analyze your sleep.
And if you'd like to get
one for yourself, eight
sleep is actually giving
an additional discount.
So click the link
in the description.
That link actually helps
support this channel and use
code Mike50 for that discount.
But now it's time to dive back
into the two biggest things
that mess up people's sleep.
And unfortunately, oftentimes
they don't even know
that it's affecting them.
If someone suspects that
they have a sleep disorder,
like sleep apnea, like
narcolepsy, like insomnia,
what should they do?
I really like this question
because I have sleep apnea
and I'd fall asleep, like
sitting on the couch at 7:00
PM I could not stay awake
to watch TV for an hour.
I've actually successfully
treated it to the point that I
no longer need to use a CPAP.
Hell fucking yeah,
I wanna know how!
So getting a sleep test done,
if you suspect something,
like weight loss made a
difference, and I also started
running a lot more, so my
cardio improved a lot more.
And so there's been a bunch
of factors like that I think
are the biggest changes.
Insomnia is, is fairly
easy in the sense that
people are extremely aware
of their insomnia and
usually pretty upset by it.
So you could see a
sleep specialist, you
could do a cognitive
behavioral therapy course.
Uh, you could read my first
book, the Sleep Solution.
But if people are really
struggling to fall asleep,
lots of sleep specialists near
you that you can talk to about
and get real expert advice
and maybe a sleep study to
really get a sense of, okay,
let's open up the envelope and
figure out what's going on.
But there's something we're
oftentimes overlooking.
What about the substances
and things that we
consume throughout the
day and to go to sleep?
What are your thoughts
on sleeping pills, for
example, uh, melatonin?
Do you think people should
use them yay or nay?
Probably nay.
So it really depends
on the motivation.
You know, if you're, if I'm
talking to somebody who says,
look, I'm a good sleeper.
I exercise, got my circadian
rhythm and my schedule down,
and I take a little bit
of magnesium to supplement
things, or I'm using a little
bit of melatonin because
I'm a business traveler.
Those are perfectly lovely.
The problem is when you talk
to most people about any
sleeping pill or any substance
they're using for sleep, it's,
oh, I can't sleep without it.
And that's where
the problem becomes.
I think sleeping pills
often kind of lie when
it comes to that, this
idea that you can't sleep
without the sleeping pill.
That's not, that's never true.
It's impossible not to sleep.
And when you actually look at
the data on sleeping pills,
it's remarkably terrible.
What are your thoughts
on alcohol and like
maybe weed close to bed?
There is actually more and
more research supporting
how disruptive alcohol
can be to sleep, even one
drink closer to bedtime.
And then the problem is
it's an illusion, right.
Your body's unconscious,
but your body's actually
not going through the
deep sleep cycles and it's
not restorative at all.
And then THC, any thoughts
or, from what I've been
aware, I think the THC can
interfere with REM sleep.
Is eating too late into the
day going to affect my sleep.
Generally it's thought to,
you know, we usually recommend
several hours between your
last meal and when you go to.
However, I think
there are exceptions.
I think if you're getting
ready to go to bed and
you're feeling hungry,
that's not a great feeling
to take with you to bed.
When is the last time someone
should kind of plan to have
caffeine before going to bed?
That's an interesting one
because for a lot of people
they'll say, well, caffeine
really doesn't affect me.
We always tell people
six hours before bed.
But it also depends on
what is your caffeine?
You know espresso is
quickly through the Bean.
There's not a tremendous
amount of caffeine in
it versus full throttle
monster energy, you
know, double dose mega.
Also, what Dr.
Andrew Huberman says is it
really depends from person to
person, so you're gonna have
to experiment for yourself.
It's gonna be around
six to 12 hours.
So far we've learned a bunch
of different things, and
oftentimes people think that
that knowledge is power.
But, I'm here to tell
you that's not the case.
Knowledge is only
potential power.
It's only power if you
actually take action on it.
And I used to be this
person that would watch
YouTube video after YouTube
video thinking that I was
learning and growing, but
I wasn't applying any of
those things to my life.
So I made sure to ask
the sleep experts.
What's the most important
thing that you guys
could actually start
applying to your life
tonight to make change?
I would say that it's to
actually measure something.
You don't have to get a
device to measure your sleep.
Score your sleep on a scale
of 1 to 10 and just do that
and start to take small,
like one change at a time.
We've mentioned a
bunch of things.
What stands out to you is
like what you want to try.
Just do that one thing and
see what difference it makes.
And believe it or not,
this is exactly what I
did as well two years ago.
Here's your sleep guide,
and if you stick with this,
you're gonna get the results
that you want, which is a
longer and more vibrant life.
I hope this helped you on
your journey to become the
best version of yourself.
And please be
sure to subscribe.
It really does help out.
And check out this
video here if you'd like
to continue learning.