Sleep - The Drawbacks, What to Avoid and How to Improve

Potentially the single most under appreciated factor when it comes to your fitness and overall health goals.

Most of us, myself included, just don’t get enough of it.

Sleep isn’t just about how long your in bed for, sleep quality matters.

High quality sleep, adequate Rapid Eye Movement (REM) cycles and deep sleep all play a part in enhancing your cognitive functioning, keep your immune system & hormone balance healthy, and supporting your mental health. For those of us fitness focused, it improves recovery, benefits your body composition and decreases our risk of injury.

IN THIS ARTICLE:

• 😴 The Effects Of Poor Sleep Quantity and Quality

• 💤 What To Avoid Or Reduce

• ✅ Tips To Increase Your Sleep Quality

• ✍️ Key Takeaways and Practical Recommendations

THE DOWN SIDE
The Effects Of Poor Sleep Quantity and Quality

There really is no upside if you don’t get enough sleep. You feel tired, lack of motivation, reduced recovery capability, higher cortisol levels, poorer body composition (higher fat, less lean mass).

A systematic review and meta analysis by (Craven et al., 2022) looked at exercise performance, measuring anaerobic power, speed, HIIT, strength and endurance performance, when sleeping under 6 hours or over 6 hours in a 24 hour window. (note: this study was performed over only one day, not multiple nights with lack of sleep). There were 227 data measurements from 69 publications.

The authors found that acute sleep loss (over just a 24 hour period) does negatively impact exercise performance on all tests, however the impact is fairly small. This will multiply over consecutive nights of restricted sleep and poor sleep quality.

A Study by (Wang et al., 2018) aimed to see if restricted sleep had an effect on fat loss, they took 36 overweight study participants and split them into two groups, with both groups in a calorie deficit and instructed to restrict daily calorie intake to 95% of their measured BMR for 8 weeks. While both groups restricted calories, one of the groups also restricted sleep by ~60 minutes 5 days per week, however, were allowed to “catch up” on sleep on the other 2 days. The results showed that total weight loss was the same in both groups, but the group that didn’t restrict their sleep lost 83% of their weight from fat, whereas the sleep restricted group lost 85% of their weight as lean mass. That’s a staggering difference. One note is that this study protocol didn’t include any weight lifting or exercise routine throughout, which may have offset some of the lean mass loss. This study also highlights that playing the game of “catch up sleep” doesn’t work so well.

Chronic lack of sleep can also increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes and lower your immune system (Medic et al., 2017).

With the above all factored in, we want our sleep to be the best it can. Not just for our physique and performance goals, but our overall health and mood also.

DON’Ts
What To Avoid Or Reduce.

❌ Alcohol
Some people might find alcohol helps them get to sleep, but it decreases the quality of sleep you get through the night from alcohol disrupting your sleep cycle (Roehrs & Roth, 2001). Alcohol in your system inhibits the amount of time you spend in Rapid Eye Movement (REM) stage of sleep which causes you to wake up feeling less refreshed. (Thakkar et al., 2015).

Not to mention you usually have to get up in the night to go to the toilet, as alcohol is a diuretic, it causes the body to lose extra fluid both through pee and sweat.

❌ Caffeine
A study by (Drake et al., 2013), came to the results that suggest caffeine doses of 400 mg, significantly disrupted sleep when consumed upto 6 hours before bedtime by reducing sleep time by 1 hour. Of course this will vary on a person to person basis depending how you react to caffeine.

Caffeine has a half life of upto 7 hours for adults according to the findings by this review article (Temple et al., 2017).

❌ TV / Blue Light
You will have heard this a million times already, “limit TV before bed”. The science behind this is that blue light exposure can decrease melatonin production (Rahman et al., 2013). The hormone, melatonin, is released by your pineal gland, located in the brain. This hormone helps manage sleep.

A systematic review on this by (Silvani et al., 2022) included 24 separate studies found that:

• 50% of the studies recorded a decrease in tiredness

• 20% of the studies found sleep quality to decrease

• 33% of the studies found sleep duration to decrease

• 50% of the studies found sleep efficacy (time spent in bed while asleep) to decrease

• ~50% of the studies found sleep latency (time taken to fall asleep) to increase.

DO’S
Tips To Increase Your Sleep Quality

Firstly, reduce or avoid the 3 factors listed in the section above, along with:

• Keeping your bedroom as dark as possible

• Ensuring your mattress is comfortable for you and good quality

• Avoiding heavy meals right before bed

• Try and drink most of your liquids throughout the day and not late at night.

I will dive into two topics below more in depth as there is quite a bit to cover.

✅ Temperature
We have all been there on a summer night, sweating, tossing and turning, looking for the “cold side of the pillow”. It’s horrible. Well, having your room at the right temperature can drastically improve your sleep.

Our circadian rhythm and sleep regulation are directly related to thermoregulation. Hotter room temperatures impact sleep by decreasing the amount of rapid eye movement (REM) and slow wave sleep (SWS), thereby decreasing the quality of sleep.

A recent study by (Baniassadi et al., 2023) had 50 older subjects wear sleep monitors and environmental sensors, which monitored the length of sleep, efficiency, and restlessness. The data, which included 11,000 nights of sleep and environmental information found that sleep quality was optimal between 20 and 25 °C and dropped at higher and lower temperatures.

Another study by (Raj et al., 2020) compiled data from 3.75 million nights of sleep from 34,096 subjects. Yes, 3.75 million… They found that for every 1℉ increase between 60℉ to 85℉ (15.5℃ to 29.4℃) sleep quality decreased.

✅ Supplementation
Now, the last port of call is always supplementation. As always, you should consult a medical professional before adding a supplement or changing your diet. It’s also worth noting a lot of so called “sleep supplements” market that they include the below compounds yet fail to disclose in what doses citing “proprietary blend”. If you cannot see how much is dosed in each serving, find a different source that is transparent.

Here are some options for you with studies cited for your reference:

• L-theanine - A natural amino acid which can be found in tea. Studies have shown that L-theanine can be beneficial in enhancing sleep quality. (Rao et al., 2015) & (Dasdelen et al., 2022). L-theanine is not a sedative, instead it increases the level of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA in the brain, which helps reduce brain activity and helps you fall asleep. The study by Rao and Colleagues stating that it’s a “safe natural sleep aid”. Recommended dosage of 100-200 mg per night 30-60 minutes before bed. A double blind study by (Sarris et al., 2019) found subjects reported having greater sleep satisfaction after taking 450–900 mg of L-theanine daily for 8 weeks.

• Tryptophan - Is an Essential Amino Acid (EAA) that is used in the biosynthesis of protein and is also a precursor for the production of serotonin and melatonin in the body. A systematic review with meta analysis and meta regression was performed by (Sutanto et al., 2021) which looked at its effectiveness on sleep quality, along with dose evaluation of under 1g or over 1g taken. They found that tryptophan can shorten wake after sleep onset with the group taking over 1g gaining more benefit.

• Magnesium - Best taken in forms of threonate or bisglycinate due to its higher bioavailability. Magnesium deficiency has been linked to poorer sleep quality. A systematic review involving 7,582 subjects by (Arab et al., 2022) found a relationship between magnesium intake and sleep quality. Findings from the CARDIA study, (Zhang et al., 2021) showed magnesium to benefit sleep quality.

• Apigenin - Is a natural flavonoid, found in the likes of chamomile (yes the tea) and other sources such as parsley and artichokes. A recent review by (Kramer & Johnson, 2024) stated “dietary apigenin intake positively correlates with sleep quality in a large cohort of adults”. Apigenin has even been studies and linked to anti-cancer effects, (Singh et al., 2022).

• Inositol - Often referred to as Vitamin B8, it’s actually not a vitamin and instead is a form of sugar. It naturally occurs in foods such as fruits, beans, grains and your body can also produce inositol from the carbohydrates you eat. It can influence insulin, a hormone essential for blood sugar control and effects chemical pathways in your brain, such as serotonin and dopamine (Levine, 1997). With regards to improving your sleep, (Mashayekh-Amiri et al., 2020) a randomised controlled trial was carried out on 60 pregnant women, finding that myo-inositol supplementation can improve sleep quality, subjective sleep quality, and sleep duration. It’s even been linked to improving health markers in subjects with metabolic syndrome (Santamaria et al., 2011).

Dr. Andrew Huberman, a world renowned neuroscientist and tenured professor in the department of neurobiology at Stanford School of Medicine, has a daily “sleep supplement protocol” which he recommends. I thought I would share it with you all here.

• Magnesium threonate or bisglycinate: 300-400 mg

• L-theanine: 200-400 mg

• Apigenin: 50 mg

He also recommends and takes GABA, Glycine and Inositol, in addition to the above, however these are consumed less frequent, with his recommendation for every 3rd or 4th night. He states that GABA, taken too frequently, can have potential downsides.

Again… To save my own skin, consult a doctor or medical professional before implementing any new supplement to your routine.

JUST FOR YOU
Key Takeaways and Practical Applications

• Lack of sleep and poor sleep quality can lead to a decrease in performance and poorer results in body composition. It can also increase your risk of various health problems.

• Alcohol, Caffeine and Blue Light should all be avoided or reduced in the run up to bed as to not interfere with your sleep cycles.

• Optimal room temperature will vary from person to person but there seems to be an optimal range of 60-80℉. With the cooler end of the range being better for most. (colder the better for me personally)

• Try opening your bedroom window an hour or two before bed to cool the room, or buying a fan / AC unit if necessary.

• Earplugs and Blackout curtains will be your best friend.

• Sleep supplements may work, and studies have shown their effectiveness, try and stick with non sedative alternatives similar to the one’s listed above within safe doses as to not have any adverse side effects. As always with supplementation, used the minimal amount you can which gives you a benefit.

At the end of the day, we want to have the best sleep possible, it improves everything from your mood and mental state, to your performance and body composition. So find what works for you.