Are you yawning and wishing you got better sleep last night? A lot of us are, as research shows more than a third of adults don’t get the seven to nine hours a night that experts recommend. If you’re one of them, you may feel like you’ve tried just about everything to improve your sleep, but the 10-3-2-1-0 formula may be the one that actually works.
It’s a pre-sleep routine and doing it consistently is the key. Making the 10-3-2-1-0 a regular habit can help the body and mind wind down so you can sleep deeply. Here’s how it works:
- 10 hours before bed: cut caffeine - We all know caffeine can make it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep, but did you know it may not completely clear your system for nine and a half hours? That’s why sleep experts advise sipping your last cup no later than 10 hours before bedtime.
- 3 hours before bed: no booze, no food - Alcohol might make you feel tired at first, but it disrupts sleep patterns and can lead to poor quality rest. For better sleep quality, deeper sleep and improved overall rest, cut yourself off three hours before snoozing. The same goes for food, as eating too close to bedtime can make it harder to get comfortable and keep you awake.
- 2 hours before bed: power down from work activities - To get your mind and body ready to wind down, you’ll need to put a hard stop on work-related tasks two hours before you hit the sack. This helps to create “a positive mental divide” between work and sleep.
- 1 hour before bed: power down your devices - You’ve heard this before, but screens give off blue light, which mimics sunlight and stops the body’s production of the sleep hormone melatonin. Blue light can lead to sleep delays, especially when it’s coming from “doom scrolling.”
- 0 hits on the snooze button - That’s right, the ideal number of times to hit snooze on your alarm is none. According to one study, people who snoozed their alarms slept less, had more sleep disturbances and drank more caffeine during the day than those who didn’t. It turns out, the sleep you get between snoozes is low-quality and can add to brain fog and fatigue, so you’re better off without it.
Source: NY Post