The Shocking Truth About Sleep

New research presents a natural solution to being smarter, stronger, slimmer, wealthier, more attractive, more likable, less anxious, depressed, and generally far healthier. Sounds dreamy, eh? Is there possibly a natural homeopathic method to improve all these arenas in life; some sort of fountain of youth? The answer is a resounding yes, and the solution is simple: We simply must improve the quantity and quality of our sleep.

But you might already know that.

So how do we actually sleep more and sleep better in a world that wants us awake?

I’ve been lying to you.

For over two years I’ve been blathering on about the importance of a sound financial position. And it is important! But here’s the real truth: if we’re not getting enough sleep, all the other important stuff in life, including our finances, is more likely to suffer.

That science-based realization comes to us from neuroscientist Dr. Matthew Walker in his fascinating 2017 book, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams. In this book, Dr. Walker, an esteemed multi-decade researcher of the importance of sleep, unveils how modern society has slowly, yet unintentionally undermined sleep, putting many of us at measurable disadvantages.

For the last many years, I’ve popped a melatonin each night to help me sleep. Although far from a dreaded sleeping pill, my supplement was still a crutch. That’s now changing, due in large part to this book.

“The number of people who can survive on five hours of sleep or less without impairment, and rounded to a whole number, is zero.”

Dr. Thomas Roth, Henry Ford Hospital

How Much Sleep Do We Really Need?

We’ve all heard innumerable people speak of their ability to get by “just fine” on less than eight hours of sleep. Perhaps you believe yourself to be one of these fortunate individuals.

Dr. Thomas Roth of the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit takes aim at those believing that they don’t need much sleep: “The number of people who can survive on five hours of sleep or less without impairment, and rounded to a whole number, is zero.”

The research is convincingly clear: anyone not getting at least seven hours of sleep—but ideally eight—every night is at a mental, physical, and emotional disadvantage. The downstream effects are alarming. And contrary to popular belief, a sleep deficit cannot be overcome by sleeping in on the weekend.

We Already Know We Don’t Sleep Enough

As with most modern dilemmas, the problem is not a lack of information needed to convince us of our flawed ways. Dr. Walker clearly explains—with supporting data—the myriad ways society has evolved since the Industrial Revolution to undermine the quantity and quality of our sleep. One of the biggest culprits include the forced scheduling of school and work.

The Sleep Tendencies

Early in the book, Dr. Walker reminds us of our natural sleeping tendencies, which are rooted in human evolution. People can be divided into two chronotypes, or categories of sleeping tendency: the morning larks and night owls (Dr. Walker is British, which explains the lark thing. Larks also get the worm).

While we may shift a bit between these two end-member sleep tendency chronotypes through life, we don’t fundamentally swap sides. And boy is that a bummer for the night owls! Morning larks are overwhelmingly favored by modern white-collar jobs and school schedules. For those biologically inclined to rise no earlier than 8:00am, night owls will, as Dr. Walker claims, “…burn the proverbial candle at both ends. Greater ill health caused by a lack of sleep therefore befalls owls, including higher rates of depression, anxiety, diabetes, cancer, heart attack and stroke.”

The Culture of Sleep Deprivation

The other issue is culture. American society tends to view those who sleep well and often as lazy and uninspiring. CEOs, lackluster presidents, and overzealous career magnates are fond of touting their 20-hour workdays. In my former industry of oil and gas, early career geoscientists and engineers are often slapped with years of graveyard shift duties to support the 24/7/365 industrial machine.

Workers are asked to function on little sleep and expected to make sound, multimillion-dollar business decisions with other equally sleep-deprived field employees. It should come as no surprise then that—anecdotally, I admit—most operational mishaps seem to occur between the hours of 10:00 pm and 5:00 am. This study and this study of hospital workers substantiates my anecdotal experience that night shift workers experience more injuries and worse psychological health.

But this grind is considered a “rite of passage” by industry elders, who at the same time expect unattainable incident rates of ZERO, low operation costs, unimaginable efficiency, and a motivated and happy workforce. 

This sort of corporate culture was a major factor in my decision to (sort of) quit my job. Alternatively, those with stock piles of career capital can bend and mold workplace obligations to their favor.

Corporations and Schools Don’t Value Sleep

I’ve never once heard sleep mentioned as a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) or goal at any of my employers, despite often claiming that, “our people are our number one priority.” One of the book’s primary strengths comes in the final chapters, where Dr. Walker presses our modern institutions to rethink our “more hours is better” approach to productivity, learning, and employee and student wellness.

Walker takes aim at American medical schools (particularly residency programs) and corporate culture. The hard-driving American medical pipeline is known for insane hours and high-stress conditions. Young physicians are asked to work nearly unimaginable hours in the highest stakes possible: human life. Tragically, Dr. Walker notes that the sleep deprivation common of physicians in residency programs results in impairment shockingly similar to drunkenness. Yikes.  

Well Rested = Well Paid

In the realm of corporate America, Walker highlights how long working hours at the expense of sleep hurts—not helps—productivity. Ultimately our ability to gain promotions, higher pay, and increased workplace autonomy are correlated with sleep quality, even down to where we live in a certain time zone*. When bonus and raise programs are tied to production and efficiency, sleep becomes a victim. Paradoxically, by working more and sleeping less we undermine productivity.

 * Those on the western edge of a time zone generally get less sleep than their eastern counterparts. “Western edge” cohorts experience a later sunset and sunrise for the same given time. As such, “western edge” employees tend to go to bed later and are forced to wake in darker morning conditions.

We Can’t Get Strong or Lose Weight Without Sleep

So many of us performance-focused climbers put mountains of effort into improving and optimizing our physical training and diet. An overwhelming amount of content exists online to improve these two pillars of athletic performance. Yet sleep? Sleep is only casually and disparately mentioned as important*. Is the dearth of content a result of the fact that so few of us can comfortably speak from a voice of authority (i.e., sleeping five hours and saying sleep is important is hypocritical)?

To put it more bluntly, Walker adds this:

“I was once fond of saying, ‘Sleep is the third pillar of good health, alongside diet and exercise.’ I have changed my tune. Sleep is more than a pillar; it is the foundation on which the other two health bastions sit. Take away the bedrock of sleep, or weaken it just a little, and careful eating or physical exercise become less than effective.”

Dr. Matthew Walker

I can also attest that some of my worst climbing injuries came during periods when I worked graveyard shifts early in my career. For what it’s worth, I skew towards the morning lark category, preferring to rise early and sensing my greatest energy soon after rising. You can imagine how taking calls and dealing with high-importance business decisions at 3:00am clashed sharply with my natural circadian rhythm. Asking a sleep-deprived body to crank hard results in a broken and sleep-deprived body.

*One notable exception is interviewee Dave MacLeod. MacLeod’s stance on the importance of sleep has been firm for years.

(Related Post: Rest: We Need It and We Don’t Get Enough)

Sleep Since Quitting My Job

I know what you’re thinking. This is all nice but how can I actually sleep more?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve both failed to sleep enough, or in particular, sleep well enough.

I now lack two important elements in my life that notoriously undermine sleep:

1.             A job.

2.             Kids.

I can confirm that the first—and I have it on good authority that the second—life mode conspires against good sleep.

But just in the off chance that you have either a job, kids, or both, here are some other more common solutions.

Some Key Elements of Good Sleep

Here are some key elements that have improved my sleep in recent years. These, as well as other important tips, are outlined in the book. The goal is to get at least seven—but ideally eight or nine—hours of high quality sleep each and every night.

1.             A regular sleep schedule.

I go to bed and rise at almost the exact same time, seven days a week.

2.             No caffeine after noon.

This is fairly simple. Caffeine ruins sleep, especially for someone who is sensitive to caffeine (me). I still drink a lot of coffee in the morning though, so I wonder…

3.             A nighttime ritual.

I spend about an hour getting ready for sleep, with the intention of chilling the F out. This includes showering, doing a 10-minute meditation, about 20 minutes of stretching, and another 20 or so minutes of reading until I fall asleep.

4.             Showering at night.

As a continuation of the above, warm nighttime showers are shown to lower body temperature and improve sleep.

5.             Increased bright light exposure during the day and decreased blue light at night.

According to Dr. Walker, modern man’s alteration of natural light patterns is public enemy #1 when it comes to the degradation of sleep. We spend our days indoors and our evenings glued to screens like a midsummer moth on a patio light bulb. Without the corporate gig, I can now spend a lot more time outside during the day. At night, I don’t touch a phone, tablet, or computer at least an hour before bed. If I do, I wear these blue light blocking glasses. I’m not sure if they work or if I just look weird.

6.             Cool to cold sleeping conditions.

I really like to sleep cold. The happy place for people seems to be around 65-68 degrees. I put the thermostat at 68 and use a fan. Back on the road, I would sleep like a baby and rise to find the camper interior at 38 degrees and a dog between my ankles in a Heisman stiff-arm. Granted, we had a strong blanket game.

7.             Ambient noise.

It’s best to reduce ambient noise. We’ve moved from a busy city neighborhood to a very quiet community on the edge of the desert. The changes in noise (and light) pollution are astounding.

However, I actually sleep well with a constant noise, such as a fan or white noise app. I’m not sure this was mentioned in the book.

8.             Eating early and eating light.

I usually fall asleep around 10:30 pm, so I try to eat dinner no later than 6:30pm. Eating a large dinner—or eating dinner late at all—will impact sleep quality. And my waistline.

9.             Reduce alcohol.  

Ugh, I put this one last because I’m still struggling here. I’ve been a drink-a-day guy for as long as I can remember. Dr. Walker insists that, in terms of optimizing sleep, abstinence from alcohol is the only correct answer. For a number of reasons, I’ve been considering reducing my alcohol intake, which has admittedly crept ever-so-slightly northward in the last year or so (i.e., “honey, can I take a few sips of your wine?”). I’ve been experimenting with not drinking a few days a week, and so far, Walker has a point. Damn you, Walker.

Supplement Free

Sleep: A Summary:

Well folks, I really can’t argue with this one: sleep matters.

While the science is certainly convincing, I’d perhaps take issue with some assertions stated as fact by Dr. Walker. For instance, this one:

“ [The] silent sleep loss epidemic is the greatest public health challenge we face in the twenty-first century in developed nations.”

However, perhaps what lacks absolute epidemiological fact certainly makes anecdotal sense. How can we handle other pressing modern challenges if business and political leaders, not to mention all us minions, aren’t entering the day on a clean slate?

My sincere recommendation is to go grab a copy of Why We Sleep. Then sleep on it (the idea, not the book).

---

Remember, the best laid plans mean nothing if you can’t take action today. Have questions? Need some feedback? Hit us up on the contact page.

If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe here for much, much more. And please, send this to someone who might enjoy or benefit from this content.

Thanks guys, see you next week.

Affiliate links are used on this page. If you choose to purchase a linked product, you will incur no extra charges, but we will receive a tiny-baby portion of the sale. Those very small proceeds help us keep the digital lights on around here. We wouldn’t link to a product we wouldn’t buy ourselves. Tis all!