November 09, 2023

Encore: The Science of a Good Night's Sleep

19 minutes

This week we revisit our science-backed tips for a good night's sleep with sleep scientist Eti Ben Simon and host of the Sleep with Me podcast Drew Ackerman.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/2p8t47eh

Episode summary:

A good night’s sleep can be hard to come by, and beating yourself up over not sleeping enough will only make it worse. On this episode of The Science of Happiness, the host of Sleep With Me podcast Drew Ackerman joins us to try science-backed tips for finding your natural sleep rhythm. Drew, also known as “Dearest Scooter,” talks about his history with insomnia and sleep anxiety, sleep hygiene, and his philosophy on bringing more self-compassion into his approach to trying to fall asleep. Then we hear from sleep scientist Eti Ben Simon about how sleep affects your social life.

Practice:

Avoid alcohol and caffeine after 2 p.m. to unmask your true biological sleep needs.

Keep lights dim in the evening and limit access to LED lights after 9 p.m.

Go to sleep as soon as you feel tired (even if you're in the middle of something). This will help you figure out the earliest window it is physiologically possible for you to fall asleep.

Do not use an alarm clock to wake up.

Today’s guests:

Drew Ackerman is the host of one of the most listened-to sleep podcasts, Sleep with Me.

Listen to Sleep With Me Podcast: https://pod.link/sleep-with-me

Follow Drew on Twitter: https://tinyurl.com/2p8nrhnp

Follow Drew on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dearestscooter/

Follow Drew on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sleepwithmepodcast/

Eti Ben Simon is a sleep scientist and postdoctoral fellow at UC Berkeley, where she works at Matthew Walkers’ Center for Human Sleep Science.

Learn more about Eti and her work: https://www.sleepingeti.com/

Follow Eti on Twitter: https://twitter.com/etoosh

Follow Eti on Google Scholar: https://tinyurl.com/328aa5yr

Resources from The Greater Good Science Center:

Four Surprising Ways to Get a Better Night’s Sleep: https://tinyurl.com/2p832bh5

How Mindfulness Improves Sleep: https://tinyurl.com/2p8rhkhj

Your Sleep Tonight Changes How You React to Stress Tomorrow: https://tinyurl.com/2p8zvbjz

More Resources for A Good Night’s Sleep:

Matthew Walker’s 11 Tips for Improving Sleep Quality: https://tinyurl.com/2kadu7va

TED - Sleeping with Science: https://tinyurl.com/23mmbdy3

Harvard Health - 8 Tips to Get a Good Night’s Sleep: https://tinyurl.com/2p8um9z7

BBC - Why Do We Sleep? https://tinyurl.com/2p8z9v2d

Tell us about your experiences and struggles with falling asleep. Email us at [email protected] or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Help us share The Science of Happiness!

Rate us on Spotify and share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/6s39rzus

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By PRX and Greater Good Science Center

4.5

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