The 10-3-2-1-0 Sleep Hack May Be the Solution to Your Sleepless Nights

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than a third of American adults do not get enough sleep. Less sleep is often associated with the development of chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and stroke. Maintaining proper sleep hygiene can help you sleep better each and every night. 

Creating routines around your bedtime can improve your sleep hygiene, which can, in turn, lead to better sleep. The 10-3-2-1-0 is one such pre-sleep routine that helps your mind and body wind down, prepare for sleep and ensure high-quality rest. 

What is the 10-3-2-1-0 sleep hack?

Most adults require a good 7 to 9 hours of quality sleep each night. Not getting enough sleep can, in fact, increase your risk of developing serious conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and abnormal heart rhythm. Having a sleep routine can help you feel rested and ready for the next day. The 10-3-2-1-0 is a pre-sleep routine that helps you relax and signals both your body and mind that it’s time to wind down. Here is everything you need to know.

10 hours before bed: no more caffeine

Caffeine is the most commonly consumed psychoactive substance in the world. Caffeine consumption should ideally end 10 hours before bed since it can disrupt your sleep-wake cycle when consumed closer to bedtime. The half-life of a single dose of caffeine is about 3-7 hours, so your body takes a minimum of 10 hours to eliminate caffeine from your bloodstream. Along with coffee, caffeine may also be present in other drinks, such as sports drinks, soda, energy drinks, some teas and chocolate. Certain medications may also contain caffeine. You must read the labels of medications or drinks you are consuming to avoid caffeine consumption around your bedtime.

3 hours before bed: no more food or alcohol 

Although consumption of alcohol before bed may seem to be relaxing, it is a common disruptor of sleep. It leads to decreased sleep quality and causes frequent overnight awakenings, which ultimately makes you feel tired throughout the next day. 

You must also avoid consuming certain foods 3 hours before bed since they can lead to heartburn (acid reflux) and disrupt sleep. A few such foods include fried, spicy and high-fat foods. You may also want to avoid foods high in added sugars such as candies, cookies and desserts since they can also lead to poor sleep quality.

2 hours before bed: no more work

You may want to end all work-related activities 2 hours before bed to ensure you get good quality sleep. Relaxing your mind will help you prepare for sleep. You can practice meditation, muscle relaxation and journaling to calm your mind after work. This helps to create a buffer time zone between your work and sleep time, allowing your brain to slow down and promoting a better quality of sleep.

1 hour before bed: no more screens 

You must avoid using smartphones, televisions, computers, tablets or other devices that give out blue light 1 hour before bed. The human sleep-wake cycle is quite dependent on sunlight. When it is bright, people are alert. In contrast, when the sun sets and it becomes dark outside, your body produces a hormone called melatonin. 

The blue light from electronic devices is similar to sunlight, often making the body think it is still daytime. As a result, your body makes less melatonin, disrupting the normal sleep-wake cycle. The longer you expose yourself to screens, the more it impacts your sleep.

Don’t hit snooze in the morning

Hitting the snooze button may disrupt your sleep cycle, making you feel more tired. It is often better to get up with one alarm. The sleep between the alarms is often fragmented and low quality, which may decrease your overall alertness and motivation throughout the day. Along with making you tired, snoozing alarms can also make you late for your daily activities.

Other sleep hygiene tips

A few common tips that will help to maintain your sleep hygiene and ensure good quality sleep every night include:

• Keep electronics out of the bedroom: Keeping electronics out of your bedroom will ensure you are not getting exposed to blue light from them, which can disrupt your sleep-wake cycle.
• Create a routine: Creating a sleep routine prepares your body and mind for sleep. It signals to your body that it is time to sleep, ensuring timely and good-quality sleep.
• Avoid late-night exercise: Although exercise is good for your health, doing it 1 to 2 hours before bed can disrupt your sleep. Exercising close to your bedtime can increase your heart rate, adrenaline levels and body temperature, thereby making it difficult for you to fall asleep.
• Keep mid-day naps to 30 or shorter: Keeping your naps to 30 minutes or shorter can keep you energetic throughout the day. However, longer naps can interfere with your normal sleep time and make you feel lethargic and disoriented.
• Make your bedroom dark: Making your bedroom dark ensures high-quality sleep. Even low light can increase your risk of nighttime awakenings and disrupt your sleep cycle.
• Don’t watch TV or scroll on your phone in bed: Scrolling your phone or watching TV in bed exposes you to blue light, which may lead to a higher time of falling asleep and low-quality sleep.  
• Wind your mind down before bed: Winding your mind before bed ensures your mind is calm and your body is preparing to fall asleep. This, in turn, ensures you get high-quality sleep and do not experience any awakenings.

Try this bedtime routine tonight 

Better sleep means a better quality of life along with better mood, improved productivity and reduced stress. Instead of tossing and turning in your bed, you can try this 10-3-2-1-0 sleep routine. Although getting used to any routine is difficult, starting with small changes to your bedtime routine can help you stick to it. Hopefully, this routine will help you unwind and make falling asleep and getting good quality sleep easier.