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This article is a transcribed edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in May of 2021. For the original video go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e61vRHO1J4Y&t=302s
Bob: Having trouble sleeping, Brad?
Brad: Well Bob, I've been working on it and getting some wonderful success.
Bob: All right, well, that's what we're going to talk about today, sleep hygiene. How to train your mind to fall asleep fast and all night, so basically, stay asleep.
Brad: That's right, we got seven suggestions or options and you're going to want to go through all of them, and, a bonus!
Bob: And yes, you do want to go through all of them because actually, number six and seven, I’ve never heard of. And, I've read a lot on sleep.
Brad: And, that's why I wanted to get this video out there. So, people are aware of it.
Bob: Where'd you get this information from Brad?
Brad: Oh, good point! I was reading this book, it's called, "Sleep Smarter". This is by Shawn Stevenson. As a matter of fact, I read his book on diet. Actually, not diet, but nutrition. I like his style. I like his background. He's got a really interesting background of completely failed health problems because of his diet, and, he turned himself around. And now, he's very educated, he works with this, that's what he does. He speaks publicly to companies as well as to other areas and other arenas. He's a nice guy and I like his writing. So, this is just a part of this book. When I read this part, I thought, "Man, I gotta share this" Because there are a number of things in there that we've talked about already on our program.
Bob: Like I said, I've read a lot. Like, I read "Why We Sleep" by Matthew Walker. And, that's a very good book too. But, this one mentioned two things that he did not, which I think are very interesting. I'm going to incorporate them.
Brad: The whole book is full of little tidbits and solutions about how to sleep better. And, not only that, but he has science between all of them. He has a whole few, three, or four pages in the back of references.
Okay, let's get on with the program. Now, think about where you sleep. A lot of people, most people sleep in their bedroom, right?
Bob: Mm-hmm.
Brad: Now, keep that in mind. Now, if you go to get a massage, typically you want to get really relaxed, right?
Bob: Right.
Brad: So, you go into the room and the room is painted.
Bob: With warm colors.
Brad: Warm colors. The decor, everything is very peaceful and calm.
Bob: Right.
Brad: Maybe some music in the background.
Bob: Exactly.
Brad: The temperature is right. You lay down and you just feel wonderful.
Bob: You're setting the mood.
Brad: Yeah, you're setting the mood and oftentimes people feel like they could come out and fall asleep after that. So, the whole idea of that is your bedroom needs to be in the same setting.
Bob: Exactly.
Brad: Okay. So, these seven, he calls them rules. I don't know if rules are exactly the word, but options or suggestions are really, I think a good way to set up your room for that area. When you walk in there, your mind knows this is a place to sleep, subconsciously. And it's going to work.
Bob: And yeah, you want to have the habit that your mind kicks into this sleep mode every time it goes into that room.
Brad: It's just like children. When you have a child, an infant, they eventually learn that when they go to the bedroom at night, the door closes, the lights are out, they learn. They might cry a little bit, but eventually, they go to sleep.
Bob: And, they've got to learn that when they cry, nobody's going to come.
Brad: Right, yep. And, they'll fall asleep.
Bob: They have to self-soothe.
Brad: Yeah, we've got a two two-year-old granddaughter and we know she cries for about 30 seconds and she's out.
Bob: Oh, she is.
Brad: Very consistently. It works very well. So, as adults, we need to do the same thing. That number one thing.
Bob: Cry for 30 seconds? That would be me.
Brad: Whatever it takes Bob.
Bob: Yeah.
Brad: Your wife, we have to give her credit
Bob: There are issues.
Brad: The first one, the bedroom is only for two things. Number one is sleeping.
Bob: This is a family show, Brad.
Brad: That's exactly my point Bob. And, number two is for making families. We all know it's for that relationship building. Exactly. So, we have to get that in our mind. That's the number one rule. The next one, this can be real tough for a lot of people. No cell phones, no laptops, no TVs are going to be in the bedroom. Not only do they keep your mind active about other things that may get you ruminating and-
Bob: They put out blue light.
Brad: And, the blue light. It's a two-fold issue.
Bob: That blue light is working to keep you awake. It's telling your body it's supposed to be awake, that there's sunlight coming out.
Brad: And, it's got to do with the melatonin.
Bob: Melatonin, I believe.
Brad: Yeah. We don't have to get into that chemical part of it.
Bob: Brad, I'm going to add one right now that has nothing to do with the room at all. And this was, I know he's mentioned it and I know it was mentioned in the other book. They said the number one thing to help you is stay consistent with your time.
Brad: Yep.
Bob: Like, if you go to bed at 10:00 during the week, you should really try to get fairly close to that in the weekend too. And, I know that's hard, especially when you're younger and partying.
Brad: I was never that way Bob. And, you know that.
Bob: Yeah. (laughs)
Brad: No, I can relate.
Bob: So really, if your sleep is important to you, you've got to try to keep that consistency.
Brad: Right. Okay, so again, it's only for two things, sleeping and for making families. No cell phones, no laptops, TVs. Don't do any type of work.
Bob: Right.
Brad: Anything that's going to get your mind active, that's going to not allow you to sleep.
Bob: It's funny, we were just talking about this with Linda's nephew. He was working right 'til he went to sleep and he had so much trouble sleeping. And, that was the same with me, if I'm doing work too late and don't have enough wind downtime you don't sleep well
Brad: So, wind down appropriately an hour or so before you go to bed.
Bob: At least an hour.
Brad: Yep. Okay, the next one we're going to talk about air quality. Air temperature, we've talked about the 62 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Some people may vary, but you'll know when it's too warm. That's typically the biggest problem.
Bob: Oh, absolutely. It's so big of an issue with us at our house. Like, it's been cool out lately and we've had the windows open. Oh my god! I sleep so well.
Brad: That was the next thing, open the windows. If it's appropriate if it's not 20 below obviously or you've got a lot of traffic noise or whatever right outside that irritates you.
Bob: Well, unfortunately at 4:30 in the morning I have to close the windows because the birds are starting then. And, they're just loud as heck!
Brad: It's a beautiful thing, isn't it? I love the birds. But yeah, they can be a problem. The next thing is, well, for air quality, this is what we use in the wintertime. A humidifier. It's not very expensive. I'll put some water in there and let it blow out some humidity. Eliminates the dry mouth and the nose and that kind of thing.
Bob: I actually got a bloody nose this year again. From dry air.
Brad: Not good, I'm glad your wife didn't hit you.
Bob: Maybe she did?
Brad: This is another thing. If you've got allergies and stuff. Get an air purifier.
Bob: You're just going to breathe better.
Brad: We use one just occasionally, those times a year. And, so, there are all different kinds. We're not going to suggest what kind, but do some homework.
Bob: Yeah, there's a lot of them.
Brad: So, some people may not need that, may not need this. Another thing that works well for us is we use a little fan. And, you just that baby on. It gives you that white noise, but also just some air movement.
Bob: We've always, we've used this for 20 years.
Brad: Yeah, it's nothing new.
Bob: We have, you know, when we go to a hotel, we make sure we use their fan or we'll bring an app along, you know?
Brad: Oh yeah, right on your phone. That's a nice thing. But, my wife likes that air blowing right across.
Bob: Yep, so does my wife.
Brad: I don't.
Bob: I don't either. (laughs)
Brad: I just like to hear it, you know? I can blow it on the wall.
Bob: Exactly, but she's got it blowing right on her.
Brad: That's interesting.
Bob: Yeah, that is interesting.
Brad: I don't know if that's a female thing or what. But anyway, that's another story. Let's go to the next thing Bob.
Bob: This is a new one to me.
Brad: This is where the plant comes in. What happens is with this particular plant, a few things about it are unique. It doesn't take much to keep it alive. It doesn't need a lot of light, so you can keep it in your room. And, it doesn't need much water, so you don't have to have a green thumb or a green finger. But, the unique thing about this plant is in the evening, throughout the night is when it produces the most oxygen and it absorbs the most carbon dioxide.
Bob: Fun!
Brad: So, you're actually freshening your air with the plant. And, it's not the only plant that does this, by the way.
Bob: This is the snake plant.
Brad: Right and I don't know, I guess it looks like a snake.
Bob: I remembered this from Botany
Brad: Oh really?
Bob: That is a snake plant.
Brad: I don't know; I guess that looks like a snake to me for some reason. That’s what we have at my house.
Bob: I'm going to get one now.
Brad: There are some other plants. Let me see, there's the Jasmine plant.
Bob: I don't know what that is.
Brad: Well, I think it's a viney thing.
Bob: Doesn't that smell? Like Jasmine, isn't it a smell?
Brad: I did read on it, but my memory is failing me because I wanted the snake plant. The English Ivy is known for being a natural air filter.
Bob: All right.
Brad: So anyways.
Bob: The English got it figured out.
Brad: Yep, I think this is a nice segue into how this can really rejuvenate and put something new and relaxing. When you go into that bedroom, it's quiet, it's dark, you got oxygen being produced by the plant. You have a humidifier, a little background noise.
Bob: You didn't talk about the darkness though Brad.
Brad: Oh, that's number seven or a bonus, one of the biggest ones as well. I should have put that at the top of the list. Keep your room dark. And, not just kind of dark, but very dark. It should be black. Completely black out everything he suggests. Except for if you need a nightlight. Because, if you have to get up and go to the bathroom, you don't want to stumble.
Bob: And, I was doing that.
Brad: You were stumbling?
Bob: Yeah, that's why we got a nightlight.
Brad: Yeah, but there's a solution if you use red light. Use a red nightlight, so that what happens is the light does not affect the melatonin. And, that is going to help maintain that sleepiness and that drowsiness.
Bob: Sure. I'm going to do that! I'm going to get a red light.
Brad: I think he could just take the bulb and paint it red. I'm just saying, you don't have to. You can go buy one.
Bob: I actually have a little string of little bulbs in the vase that my wife came up with.
Brad: Oh really? Just go to the hardware store, and buy some red paint.
Bob: Yeah, I could, the vase could be red.
Brad: Yeah, take some red cellophane or something to wrap around. Anyways, so, get a red light. He even suggests if your clock has LEDs that are white or other than red, they should be red too. So, when you buy a clock, get a red one.
Bob: Most of ours are red. I'm guessing that they knew that.
Brad: Or, yeah, I don't know, maybe red ones are cheaper. I'm not really sure. One way or another, it's interesting that you, you know, he says to go to that extent. And, there are studies supporting this. All these things.
Bob: Yeah, give yourself every advantage.
Brad: Right.
Bob: I mean; sleep is so important.
Brad: So, why not make your bedroom into that sanctuary with all these little pleasantries that are just going to make you feel better about life when you wake up? Because you've slept all night. Now, Tanner just said he slept all night last night for the first time. Was it because of the, did you just get a snake plant?
Bob: No, but he's going to.
Brad: All right, very good, sleep well and have a good night.
Bob: Peace.
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