Tools to help you get a good night's sleep

Here's the convo!

Host:
Well, was better sleep one of your New Year's resolutions? How are you doing with that? Sleep expert Amanda Jewson joins us now virtually. So nice to see you!

First up, you've got a lot of tips to help here, and you've got a smart alarm.

Amanda:
Yes! Okay, can you hear it? I think I've timed it perfectly. Listen...

Host:
Oh, it's birds!

Amanda:
Correct! That's right. And you'll see it's the sun coming up. I really have a hard time always showing this when I'm in the studio. I'm going to turn this off, but just watch it as I turn it off here.

Okay, now if you imagine this going the other way, these smart alarms are so smart. It's a sunrise alarm clock. I mean, it really gently mimics the sun. So if you want to imagine this, it'll kind of slowly, slowly, slowly build, and then birds are literally waking you up in the morning.

You can't make this up—this is how I've woken up since basically the birth of my second daughter, so eight years. And this is why I have so much energy.

Host:
Good for you! Now, I can imagine that this is really impactful in a very dark room.

Okay, so my alarm goes off at 2:30 AM. I’m kind of thinking if the light goes off, it's going to bug my partner.

Amanda:
This is a great question! I get that question all the time. It almost never does. I mean, unless I were to leave the room and forget that I have the alarm on, that's the only time it's ever bothered my partner.

The way it wakes you up—remember that your brain is going to fixate on the fact that there’s light in the room, and it’s going to catch you in the lightest part of your sleep. So when it catches you, you’ll probably get up to turn it off before the birds start chirping.

Host:
Okay, try to beat the birds, then!

Amanda:
Exactly!

Host:
Give it a shot. You also suggest tracking sleep data. I do that, and it’s funny because sometimes my watch will tell me I’ve had a great sleep, and I’m like, “I don’t feel like it!”

Amanda:
Okay, lies! That’s such a good point. So, I do cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia with clients all the time. Sleep tracking can sometimes increase anxiety around sleep.

But if you’re just starting your sleep journey—it’s a new year, it’s January—sleep tracking can be helpful to get some baseline data.

I just have a regular old Apple Watch here, but honestly, anything works. There are lots of products that can track your sleep and give you data. That’s your baseline data that can tell you, "Okay, based on this, and based on how I feel in the morning…"

And I love that you talked about how you feel. How you feel is actually the biggest thing. Now, if you continually wake up and you’re not feeling rested, there are some apps that you can download right to your phone that can track your movement. They even track your sounds and snoring.

For folks who might have sleep apnea and are snoring, these apps can record it. That’s data you can bring to your doctor and say, “Hey, I’m not feeling good in the morning. Here’s the data. This is me snoring. What can we do?”

And often, it’s the first step in getting more testing to see if there’s anything actually wrong with your sleep. So, I always suggest if you’re starting on your sleep journey, get some data behind it first.

Host:
Okay, okay. Amanda, our alarm for this segment is telling me we’ve got less than a minute left. Do you want to talk about tea, or do you want to talk about eye masks?

Amanda:
I really want to talk about tea because this is something that works into a routine. Your pre-bed routine is key!

The most calming part of your night should happen then. Valerian root, specifically, has been known to interact with brain receptors regarding sleep and feelings of calm. A 2023 study showed that valerian root in mice reduced chronic pain.

If you have chronic pain, this is easy, and it’s going to make you feel good. Add it to your routine.

Host:
Our alarm is about to go off! We’re going to get people linked up to your social media for lots more tips.

Amanda:
Thanks so much!