The World’s No.1 Sleep Expert, Matthew Walker, reveals the 6 Sleep Hacks You NEED:

Sleep Hack #2

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Welcome to the next chapter of our Master Your Sleep series!

In this video, sleep scientist Matthew Walker dives into the importance of darkness for optimal sleep. Discover why creating a dark environment can significantly enhance your rest and get practical tips to make your nights more restful.

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Prefer reading? Check out the transcript below:

Host: When you think about where society is, I was going to ask you, you know, you said you wanted to do the work you're doing now for the rest of your life. So do you think the work you're doing now is going to become increasingly more important and relevant? Is the (sleep) problem going to get worse or is it going to become less significant based on the trajectory of societies you see?

Matthew Walker: You know, I'm mixed. I think when I wrote the book, I started writing a book that was called Why We Sleep back in probably about 2014 or 2015. At that point, sleep was the neglected stepsister in the health conversation of that day. You know, we were speaking a lot about diet and exercise, which was wonderful, but there was no voice of sleep. I was so sad about that because I could see so much disease and suffering that was coming so clearly by way of a lack of sleep, but it wasn't there on the public buffet menu for consumption of knowledge. So that was part of the motivation for trying to write the book.

So I would say now—and this is not because of me or the book or anything like that—but is sleep more of a conversation in this day and age than it was six or seven years ago? I think I would say yes, there is a greater awareness of sleep. But with that awareness, I think one can still question the pragmatics. Meaning, just because we're talking about it more does not mean that people are still failing to either get the sleep that they need or that they are unable to get the sleep that they need. And those two things are different.

One is that you are healthy and you can generate the sleep that you need, but you don't give yourself the opportunity, time, or life—I should say sometimes because it's sometimes not your choice—life does not give you the chance to get sleep. And if only you had the chance, you could sleep. That's one version. The second version is, no, I'm giving myself the right opportunity to sleep, but because I'm anxious or because of other issues, I am not able to generate sleep. I suffer from insomnia and sleep problems.

So those two things I don't see having changed since this public movement, this increasing movement of sleep conversation came on the table. So in that regard, I'm more pessimistic than I am optimistic. I think it will only get worse.

If you look at rates of insomnia, for example, they're only increasing; they're only escalating. Rates of anxiety disorders are the very same thing, and those two things are intimately intertwined. I wish my mission was extinguished within the next couple of years because society started sleeping wonderfully well. I don't think that's going to be the case, so I think I've got my work cut out for me to try and help people with better sleep.

Host: Is it so, it's getting... we're getting worse at sleeping?

Matthew Walker: I think modernity is making it so much more difficult for us to sleep. Modernity, I think, when you think about—we often think about sleep as a biological process, and it very much is. But also, it's so environmental as well as biological. Meaning, when you were to say, "How did you sleep last night?" think about all of the external factors that changed it. Well, I had to be up at this time; I had to catch a flight this time; my partner went to bed at this time and she woke up at this time; there was this noise that sort of happened; I'm now sleeping in a hotel room. You know, there are countless externalities, and those externalities are shaped by this thing called the modern world.

And in the modern world, if I could really be cynical—and I'm not someone I'm very optimistic and I'm very non-cynical—but you could argue from a capitalistic standpoint that society does not want you sleeping because what society wants from a capitalistic point of view is that you're either producing or you're consuming. And when you're sleeping, you're neither producing nor consuming. And so, there are lots of ways that I think society and the modern world have conspired, willfully or not, conspiratorially or not, to decrease and try to diminish sleep.

In fact, I think the CEO of Netflix several years ago—and I'm sure that YouTube comments will correct me if I'm wrong here—but I believe his very statement was that we are deciding to commit war against sleep. That was their goal. And it just stunned me that we're going to go to war with sleep; we're going to remove you from your sleep. So there are lots of ways in which I think society does not help us.

Light is another good example. We are a dark-deprived society in this modern era because we're exposed to light. We are not giving ourselves the right temperature cues; you know, we go into an office where it's 20 degrees at 70 degrees Celsius, whatever it is, stable; then we come home and we regulate our temperature at home to be the same thing. We take on board probably too much caffeine in this day and age, although I am actually an advocate of drinking coffee and I can explain why too. But anxiety, as I said, is a huge issue. All of these things are preventing and classic roadblocks to sleep.

Sleep Hack: Optimize Your Sleep Environment

Key Points:

• Control Light Exposure: Ensure your sleeping environment is dark. Light exposure, especially from screens, can interfere with your body’s natural sleep-wake cycle. Consider using blackout curtains or an eye mask to block out light.

  
  

• Regulate Temperature: Maintain a cool and consistent temperature in your bedroom. Ideally, your sleep environment should be slightly cooler than the rest of your living space. This helps signal to your body that it’s time to sleep.

  
  

• Manage Noise: Minimize disruptive noises that can affect your sleep quality. Use earplugs or a white noise machine if necessary to create a more peaceful sleeping environment.

  
  

• Limit Caffeine and Alcohol: Reduce consumption of caffeine and alcohol, especially in the hours leading up to bedtime. Both can disrupt your sleep patterns and impact overall sleep quality.

By focusing on these environmental factors, you can create a sleep-friendly environment that promotes better, more restful sleep.

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