Snooze Solutions: Life Hacks for Getting More Zzs

— -- You have sleep problems. We have solutions.

PROBLEM: Why am I so tired?

Hack 1: If you don’t know why you’re tired or waking up? Use technology.

To understand the issues with your sleep, try a sleep-tracking device. You have three main methods:

Apps

Free or inexpensive apps like SleepBot use your phone’s microphone and accelerometer to detect noise and movement. What I like best about this method is that you can correlate wake events with noises recorded by the phone’s microphone.

Was it your partner’s snoring that woke you or the neighbor’s car starting up as he goes to work on the early shift? Once you know the issue you can try to solve it.

These devices also tell you the basics: time you're getting to bed, total sleep and wake time.

Fitness wearables

Devices like the Fitbit or Jawbone Up can track when you go to sleep, when you get up in the morning and if you were restless. Even this basic info can provide some key indicators of sleep issues.

Stand-alone sleep trackers

Devices like the S+ from Resmed, The Beddit strip and the Sense Sleep Tracker can tell you even more detailed information about your sleep--including environmental data about the room (temperature and changes in light), breathing rates, snoring and wake-up events.

I even tested some of these against a medical sleep study and they fared pretty well. But they are not a substitute for a visit to your doctor if you think you may have sleep apnea.

PROBLEM: You can’t fall asleep.

Hack 1: Go to bed at the same time every night.

The number one way to fall asleep easily is to go to bed at roughly the same time every night. If you don’t know how much your sleep routine deviates you can just write down your bedtime for a few weeks or use one of the technologies above to track it.

Hack 2: Try a steamy bath.

If you standardize your bedtime and still have trouble falling asleep, draw a hot bath. The water raises the temperature of your body and then when you get out it mimics the body’s natural sleep pattern of dramatically lowering your body temperature. This elicits some of the sleep cues that can send you off to 'lala land.'

A note about blue light: Some people are more sensitive to blue lights and the avoidance of screens before bedtime makes a huge difference.

PROBLEM: You wake often.

Hack 1: Find out what is waking you up.

Using the sleep tracking apps that correlate wake-ups with noise, see if you can pinpoint the cause of your awakenings. If it’s sound-related, you can try ear plugs or you can opt for white noise. By masking intermittent sounds like street noise, white noise can help you stay asleep. Of course there’s an app for that like the appropriately named free app called, wait for it, White noise.

There have been headphones on the market for some time flat-over-ear models called Bedphones (didn’t work for me but some reviewers on Amazon loved them) and new earphones not on the market yet called Kokoon that look interesting.

Hack 2: Temperature

Experts say the optimal temperature for sleep is between 60 to 68 degrees, but it's different for every person. So whether it’s menopausal night sweats or a partner who likes the room chillier than you do, being cold or hot is a frequent culprit in wake-ups.

There are also numerous products on the market that can help regulate your temperature.

PJ's

LusomePajamas use technical wicking materials (like those in performance sports clothing) to dry heat off the body and prevent night sweats.

Mattress pad NuYu Sleep System goes on top of a mattress and is controlled by your phone to regulate a consistent temperature through the night.

Bed

The SleepNumber Dual Temp bed now has air chambers that can be set to different temperatures for different sides of the bid.

PROBLEM: You wake and can’t fall back to sleep.

Hack 1: 4-7-8 breathing.

Try inhaling through your nose for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 7 seconds and breath out through your mouth for 8 seconds. This breathing cadence helps slow down a racing mind.

There are lots of deep thoughts about why this works, but the one that resonates most is that no animal running for its life is able to breathe slowly out of its mouth. It’s a sign to your body that all is well and it can calm back down.

Hack 2: Fight monkey brain.

If you have racing thoughts, get up go to a different room and void yourself of the need to carry those thoughts in your mind. Instead, put them on paper.

When you feel sleepy go back to bed and lie down. This practice of getting out of bed is part of a larger behavioral modification technique that bases itself in only being in your bedroom to sleep--no screens, no work, no lying in bed worrying about the fact that you are not sleeping.

Do that worrying somewhere else so you don’t associate your bed with negative thoughts. One sleep doctor I spoke to said many insomniacs sleep much better in hotels because those locations aren’t associated with the negative sleep thoughts they have in their own beds. This can be true for middle of the night insomnia or people who just have a hard time falling asleep during their regular bedtime.

PROBLEM: You wake up frequently with pain.

Hack 1: Try rolling it out.

Chronic and muscular pain is listed as the number one reason people suffer occasional insomnia. If it’s lower back pain, try stretching your hamstrings before bed (maybe after a hot bath). If you have used a foam roller before you can also try rolling out your glutes, hamstrings IT band and back.

While there isn’t a lot of research on this, anecdotally it feels great and if you try it at the gym and like the sensation, add rolling to your bedtime routine.

PROBLEM: You have trouble waking up

Hack 1: Use light-based alarms.

Set an alarm for 6 a.m. and before the alarm is set to go off, the light will start to glow 20 to 30 minutes earlier to cue the body’s natural circadian rhythms. Other alarm apps on your phone can use the accelerometer to gauge your sleep cycles. They'll then try to pick the best time in an alarm window to wake you, so you’re not in a deep sleep when it goes off.