hey everyone and welcome to top think today we're going to learn about four easy steps to fall
asleep fast now let's begin number one turn off electronics do you fall asleep with the TV on or
maybe you browse social media before bed whether you're looking at your phone your computer or a
TV screen your technology might be keeping you up a 2014 study looked at the sleep patterns of over
seven hundred teenagers each one used some form of Technology at night the researchers tested
participants based on the device they used before bed so one group played video games
while another watch TV they discovered that all electronics interfered with sleep in some way
playing video games delayed sleep onset watching TV led to early rising even listening to music
increased the risk of having nightmares but every technology had one thing in common they all made
it harder to fall asleep and this isn't the only study out there no another study from 2013 found
the same results for computers phones and TVs they determined that you could actually increase sleep
duration by reducing night time technology use a third study added that turning off devices an hour
earlier would significantly increase the length and depth of your sleep so why is technology so
damaging well the first and most obvious problem is the screen itself computers phones and TVs emit
what's called blue lights which restricts the production of a hormone called melatonin our
bodies release melatonin into the bloodstream to reduce alertness in other words it makes us tired
this process usually starts around 9:00 o'clock at night the start time can fluctuate depending
on when you go to bed but will continue for about 12 hours afterwards ideally melatonin should enter
your bloodstream a few hours before bed that way you have time to relax and gradually drift off to
sleep but when you're using technology nothing tells your body when to relax it really hasn't
had time to wind down because it wasn't producing any of that sleep inducing hormone luckily though
most modern computers let you adjust the kind of light on your screen and that way you can
use technology without stopping the production of melatonin but that doesn't really mean you're
off the hook technology can still significantly worsen your sleep by re-engaging your brain now
unlike meditating or reading a book activities like playing video games force your mind to stay
hyper alert they require you to be focused and vigilant which is mentally stimulating so when
you try to sleep your brain gets confused it can't jump from excitement to relaxation in the blink of
an eye just like melatonin needs time to kick in your brain needs time to switch gears so by
turning devices off at least an hour before bed you give your brain the chance to unwind last
but not least technology can ruin your sleep by interrupting deep sleep many people like to use
their phones as alarms they leave the volume on high to make sure they don't oversleep but you
run the risk of miscellaneous texts calls and emails waking you up in the middle of the night
now on the surface this doesn't seem like much so why does it matter if you occasionally wake up
to check your phone well those tiny interruptions make a huge difference in sleep quality your body
and brain need deep sleep to store memories and repair itself but you need hours of uninterrupted
sleep to get there if your phone is waking you up it's stealing time that your body and your
brain needs to rejuvenate number two eat right after decades of research nutrition is still
don't agree on whether or not eating at night is good for you some say that eating at night
accelerates weight gain while others insist that it speeds up your metabolism it also doesn't help
that most real data on the subject is muddled by popular myths a common myth is that food eaten at
night is more likely to be stored as fat a 1988 study showed however that your average metabolic
rate is the same at night as it is during the day another myth is that calories are worth more in
the afternoon in other words a hundred calories in the morning is worse than a hundred in the evening
hmm I hear this one all the time yet no study has ever proved this to be true despite all of
this confusing evidence there is one thing that is consistently true eating certain foods before bed
will stand in the way of your sleep when people think about eating at night they focused primarily
on when they're eating now you might think if your timing is right then you can eat anything
without experiencing any negative side effects you might have tried eating an early dinner to
give your body time to digest or maybe you try weighing your meals differently you might eat
a giant breakfast and lunch followed by a tiny dinner but will any of this really improve the
quality of your sleep the truth is that when you eat is far less important than what you eat food
containing sugar caffeine and cheese make it harder to fall asleep similar to a blue light
they keep your brain feeling alerts which is exactly what you don't want before bed foods
that are either spicy or high in fat can cause restlessness due to slow digestion or heartburn
even healthy foods containing lots of water can create issues if you eat a bunch of melon
or celery well you're almost guaranteed to wake up with a full bladder so instead of worrying
about when you eat focus on choosing the right foods bananas will help you unwind by supplying
your body with muscle relaxers like potassium and magnesium they also help your brain produce
sleep inducing melatonin foods like almonds and turkey are great sources of tryptophan tryptophan
stimulates the production of serotonin which directly influences your sleep cycle so when
you eat naturally relaxing foods you'll find yourself falling asleep in no time number three
stay out of bed you can also fall asleep faster by reserving your bed exclusively for sleep the
often eats watch TV or play games in bed do you ever use your bed as a workspace now while it's
certainly comfier these habits may be interfering with your sleep our brain naturally associates
behaviors in places together for example when you go to work your brain recognizes where you are and
what that means you don't feel like watching a movie or kicking your shoes off because that's
not what you do in this environment but if you start binging Netflix at work your brain would
start to associate the two together so the same thing applies to your bed when you work in bed
you're creating new associations your bed isn't just for sleep anymore so your brain doesn't know
how to feel should it be alert and productive like you are at work or should it be relaxed
like you are at night you usually end up with an unhelpful blend you won't feel as motivated to
work but you'll also struggle to unwind you can avoid this behavioral confusion by making your
bed a sanctuary of sleep just try to keep all meals technology and work in another room and
that way when you do finally climb into bed your body will know exactly what to do number four
don't force it no matter how much you want to you can't force yourself to fall asleep when you have
a test or interview in the morning few things are more frustrating than lying awake watching
the minutes go by it's dark it's quiet and it's comfortable yet your mind is racing you know you
need to be well-rested but you just can't stop tossing and turning you imagine how tired you're
going to be in the morning it starts to feel like your whole future depends on falling asleep right
at this second just so why can't you why do you get a sudden bout of insomnia every time something
important happens stress and sleep they just don't mix whether it's physical or mental stress makes
you feel stimulated and alert it floods your body with hormones like cortisol which supply you with
an unwanted boost of energy and to make matters worse stress builds on itself even the tiniest bit
of self-doubt can escalate so much that it takes hours before you can finally relax now this is
especially common before bed because you're out of distractions usually you can work read or exercise
to occupy your brain but when you're lying there in the dark it can feel like you're trapped with
your own thoughts so what can you do about it well first you should try to figure out what's
keeping you awake are you feeling unprepared are you worried about failing once you figure it out
concentrate on it oftentimes we lie there trying our hardest to avoid the thing that's keeping us
up similar to how you should listen to a song to get it out of your head addressing the problem
will help you get past it even if you're not anxious your goal should be to take the pressure
off of yourself try to accept that you'll only sleep when your body's ready and not a second
earlier so instead of just lying there just relax by reading meditating or taking a bath when you're
ready these soothing distractions will ease you into a deep and peaceful sleep hey thank you for
watching top think and be sure to subscribe because more incredible content is on the way