Sleep Hacks with Dr. Jay Khorsandi

JET LAG TIPS

• Jet lag results in moving our circadian rhythms by force.
• Think about what you need to do to go to sleep and once you arrive at your destination, behave as if you’ve been there for weeks.
• Control light: try to mitigate light and get some sleep at the same time as the sun would start going down at the point of your departure.
• On a long-haul eastbound flight leaving the US, try to get as much sleep as possible.
• Once you arrive at your destination, try to function as much as possible as if you were working on the time it is there.
• If you land at your destination and it is daytime, do whatever you can to stay awake. This can mean drinking coffee, and getting onto some ground (grass or the beach) to connect to the environment and get rid of the positive exposure you get from the flight.
• Melatonin can be helpful in circadian rhythm resets.
• Do some light exercise throughout the daytime.

ABOUT SNORING + SLEEP APNOEA

• If you are experiencing disordered sleep, you can visit a practitioner for help with an at-home sleep study and other solutions.
• Sleep apnoea: as we go to sleep at night, our body relaxes, and our tongue creeps towards the back of the throat, and vibrations occur between the back of the throat and the tongue (this is snoring).
• If your tongue falls all the way to the back of your throat you stop breathing, your oxygen levels go down, and your deep sleep is disrupted (this is sleep apnoea).
• At this point, you might also experience arousal where you wake up, or your brain gets knocked out of sequence. This results in lighter sleep for which you pay the price the next day.
• A traditional fix for sleep apnoea is the CPAP machine, which provides pressurized air to keep your throat open and oxygenized.
• Sleep apnoea is common in middle-aged men, especially those experiencing job stress.
• Another solution for sleep apnoea is a dental device, which is all about controlling the airway and opening up the back of the throat again.
• There is also a laser treatment you can try, to tighten tissues and open the airway again.
• Sleep positions: sleeping on your side is better than on your back, but some patients will experience difficulties no matter what position they sleep in.
• Make an appointment with your primary carer, sleep, physician or dentist.

MORNING RITUALS

• Stay away from your phone in the morning, avoid social media and focus on yourself instead.
• In the morning: try meditation, and get some sun (15-20 minutes) to build up melatonin reserves to release at night.
• Move throughout the day and eat proper foods.
• Ensure you stop drinking coffee by 2 pm.

EVENING RITUALS

• As the sun starts to go down, start winding down.
• Don’t eat too late: Dr. Jay times dinner for around sunset.
• Mitigate light exposure and avoid screens. You can try red light bulbs at night to reduce your light exposure.
• Wind down an hour before sleep—you can try reading a book.
• Make sure your room is dark and cool. 68 degrees or cooler is ideal.
• Baths encourage vasodilation, the opening of blood vessels, helps your body expel heat and stay cool.
• The human body will not go to sleep if your hands and feet are not the same temperatures as your core, so try socks and coverings if you need to.

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