The hour before sleep is the hour that sets it.
By Dr. Maya K. · Sleep Science and Nutrition lead
Most people think of sleep as something you fall into. The research says the opposite. Sleep starts in the hour before you close your eyes.
Your body is running a checklist. Melatonin is rising. Core temperature is dropping. The parasympathetic system is taking over from the sympathetic. Every input in the hour before bed either helps that checklist along or slows it down.
What helps: warm light, a warm shower that ends cool, a boring book, handwritten notes for tomorrow. What slows it: screens, hard conversations, caffeine after 14:00, heavy food after 20:00.
“The hour before bed is the most expensive hour of your day. Treat it that way.”
Pick one change tonight. Keep it for seven nights. Measure it on the eighth. Then pick the next one. That is how the rhythm builds.
Dr. Maya K. · Sleep Science and Nutrition lead
← Back to Journal