😴 Catching some Zzzzs (quick tips for better sleep)

Greetings and happy International Women’s Day, friends! Honor, celebrate, and thank the women in your life today.

Like your ex when he says he’s changed, this week I ✨really mean it✨ when I say I’m going to keep it short. I’m in The Big Bean™️ 🫘 (Boston) this week for a work conference with my lovely colleagues at Fathers’ UpLift!

Also want to let you know I’ll be taking next week off from the newsletter, as I’ll be soaking up some sunshine as I enjoy a little vacation. Don’t forget about me, keep moving, and I’ll be back in your inbox in two weeks!

(If this email was forwarded to you and you'd like to receive this weekly newsletter, sign up below!)

Today I want to share with you some quick tips for better sleep.

Our quantity and quality of sleep affect everything we do.

From the next day’s energy and mood, to exercise recovery, to how our body processes what we eat—the importance of good sleep cannot be understated! Improve your sleep, and you’ll improve virtually every aspect of your day.

To start, a few side effects of bad sleep:

• Worse insulin sensitivity the next day (higher blood sugar spikes and subsequent crashes)

• More cravings for sugary and fatty foods

• Decreased focus, reaction time, critical thinking skills

• Decreased recovery, muscle building, and adaptations from exercise

• Irritability is through the roof

• [fill in the blank] with other symptoms I’m sure you could name from experience

We don’t want any of that. Let's talk about how to improve both quantity and quality of sleep.

Quantity of sleep

We probably know most adults should be getting 7–9 hours of sleep every night. Studies show that real significant detriments begin to occur around 6 hours or less. Individual needs vary, so try to figure out your sweet spot that leaves you feelin’ fresh 🛌

Tips for improving your quantity of sleep:

1. Wake up at the same time every morning, even on weekends if possible. This will result in your body getting tired at the same—and appropriate—time every night.

2. Increase your sleep time by 10 to 15-minute increments every night. If you’re getting way less sleep than you’d like to be, don’t make huge adjustments at once. That’s jet lag! Small steps.

3. Once you feel yourself getting sleepy or yawning, don’t force yourself awake for hours longer. If possible, listen to your body and actually start winding down.

4. Shorten your bedtime routine. Instead of endless scrolling on your phone, set a gentle timer for a few minutes of reading (or scrolling if you must, no shame), then put it down and doze off.

5. Though it’s great to be well-hydrated, you may be a bit over-hydrated if you wake up in the middle of the night to pee. Try tampering your fluid intake an hour or two before you sleep and go to the bathroom right before bed to try and make it to morning. Rehydrate with a tall glass of water in the morning 🥛 (←yes, I know that’s milk)

Quality of sleep

Your sleep quality, aka “sleep hygiene,” is arguably even more important than the actual number of hours you’re zonked! I’d dare say that 6 hours of high-quality, restful sleep is more valuable than 8 hours of low-quality, unrestful sleep.

Tips for improving sleep quality:

1. Start your day with sunlight. At least 5, but preferably 10–20, minutes of sunshine early in the morning sets your circadian rhythms, putting your body on a daily cycle of cortisol (a get-up-and-go hormone) during the day and melatonin (chill out and wind down) at night. Best case: morning walk. Good enough: sun through your window.

2. Try to avoid eating for at least a couple hours before bed.

3. Get really hot or really cold shortly before bed, and your body will relaxxx afterward.

4. Limit bright light after the sun goes down. Shift to lamps and candles once it’s dark outside. The less phone and tv light, the better (at least turn your phone on night mode so the screen color gets warmer!).

5. Exercise during the day (not too late at night) to give your body a physical urge for rest and recovery.

6. Keep it cool ❄️. We sleep best at temperatures 68 degrees Fahrenheit or lower.

7. Totally black out your room when you’re ready to sleep (no lights, tvs, etc.).

8. White noise, fans, and other dull humming noises can lull you to sleep and drown out other startling noises that might wake you during the night.

9. Put a pillow under your legs (if sleeping on your back) or between your legs (if sleeping on your side).

10. Try to breathe through your nose when you sleep! Mouth breathing while asleep isn’t ideal, so at least try to fall asleep with your mouth closed and see how rested you get.

11. Take a good magnesium supplement (most Americans are deficient) before bed! Utilize other calming substances, herbs, and oils such as chamomile, lavender, peppermint, CBD, etc.

Yeet, that’s about all I’ve got time for this week, fam!

Try to follow some of these suggestions this week—doesn’t have to be all of them! I’d love to hear what you try and if it’s effective for you!

✅ Take Action

Every newsletter's Take Action section will invite you to take small steps to improve your health. Recognizing that we all have different capabilities, I'll offer three different levels of action you can choose to take.

Level 1: Implement just one tip above that you’re not currently doing

Level 2: Try a couple tips to improve both sleep quantity and quality this week!

Level 3: Ready to optimize? Go big or go home, right? Try them all this week! If you’re truly able to do every single one of these for a week, I’d love to hear how it impacted you!

This newsletter is brought to you by… me!

Interested in becoming a sponsor? Know someone else who might be? I’d love to get to know you and/or your business and see how we can partner together. Reply to this email!

✍️ Drew's Picks:

• “Quiet the Diet,” a podcast by Dietician Michelle Sharpio, whom I discovered on a recent Dr. Lyon podcast. She lost 100 pounds the wrong way so you don’t have to. With lots of nuance, a little Queens, NY attitude, and plenty of love, I really think you’ll enjoy hearing from her!

• This Pantsuit Politics episode on teen mental health in the US with Dr. Kathleen Ethier. I have listened to every twice-weekly Pantsuit episode since I discovered them in mid-2020. Can’t sing Sarah and Beth’s praises enough!!!

• Fathers’ UpLift. Check out the incredible nonprofit I work with, and maybe even consider becoming a monthly donor. Fatherlessness is a huge problem. We’re breaking down stigmas around mental health and helping men overcome barriers so they can be better dads and re-engage in their kids’ lives! 👨‍👧‍👦 

Sweet dreams 🥱 

If you get a loved one to sign up for Move to Improve this week, you’ll dream of puppies and free money. If not, you’ll forget your pants and be late for your big game. I don’t make the rules 🤷‍♂️ 

Keep moving,

Drew

The content in Move to Improve is meant to be informative in nature, but it should not be taken as medical advice. It is always a good idea to consult with a trusted health professional before making any major lifestyle changes that could have a significant impact on your health. This is not a medical resource, and any opinions and articles are not intended for use as diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of health problems. They are not substitutes for consulting a qualified medical professional. Please think critically and take what I say with a grain of salt (aka don’t sue me).