Biohack your sleep

In this article series, we’ll take an area of wellness and offer top tips from our experts and in-house practitioners to get the best out of the area. If you are new to biohacking, check out our recent article, which explains more.

Let’s start with biohacking for sleep.

We spend around a third of our lives sleeping or trying to sleep. Of course, your sleeping setup (bed, room, temperature) is important, but sleep quality is also down to what you did (or didn’t do) during the day.

Some of these biohacks can be done simply; others may require a funky-looking tool:

1. Light exposure: Get at least 10 minutes of natural daylight as close to waking up as possible. It helps to set your circadian rhythm and kick-start your body’s natural Vitamin D production. After sunset, wear blue light-blocking glasses to protect yourself from screen exposure and artificial glare. We were not designed to be exposed to artificial light after sunset.

2. Energy protection: Turn off electronic devices an hour before you go to bed and don’t sleep with electronics switched on (even WiFi) unless you need air conditioning. One biohacker we spoke to even recommended pulling your bed 12 to 18 inches away from walls to reduce your electric energy exposure.

3. Consumption: Avoid caffeine after 2:00 pm. Try to eat four hours before bed and remember that drinking alcohol in the evening is a stimulant. Again, consider what you do after sunset: avoid overeating and move with the seasons. This is more natural for the body.

4. Power down hour: Relax without social media, watching TV, catching up on emails, or anything related to tech.

5. Bedroom prep: Keep the room cool and open a window to allow in fresh air. Smart Sleep systems are becoming popular to personalize the environment. When staying with us, our Sleep With Six Senses room standards provide a handmade mattress of natural materials and organic cotton sheets to allow your body to breathe.

Do you know if you sleep well? Ask one of our sleep experts for a sleep tracker, and they will review the results with you the next day. The insights will be enlightening and hopefully soporific.