Who knew the summer weather could mess with your sleeping habits? Check out this global CEO’s 5 sleep rituals! [Fridays: Mindfulness by Miles]
Miles Everson’s Business Builder Daily speaks to the heart of what great marketers, business leaders, and other professionals need to succeed in advertising, communications, managing their investments, career strategy, and more.
A Note from Miles Everson:
Hello, everyone!
Each Friday, I am sharing with you my insights and advice on a topic or event that I find useful in my everyday business life and personal life. My hope is that my own experiences and personal interests can also help improve your overall well-being.
This week in particular, I am talking about a health tip I’ve been implementing in my day-to-day life. What’s this tip all about?
SLEEP!
Keep reading to find out how sleep impacts your health and how you can start getting the best set of “Zzz” in your life.
Miles Everson
CEO, MBO Partners
Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute
Mindfulness by Miles
There are plenty of things to look forward to during summer.
Tropical weather…
Vacations…
Time spent by the beach…
… and more.
However, as good as these activities sound, one of the cons of summer is it causes people to get less hours of sleep.
Why is it harder to sleep in the summer?
Photo from ANU
According to a 2019 study by the PubMed Central, increased daylight hours contribute to more episodes of waking up. Exposure to light affects the body’s circadian rhythm, or the internal clock that regulates the sleep-wake cycle.
Additionally, higher temperatures keep many people awake during summer as it moves the body into a heightened state of awareness. This is also due to delayed melatonin release, which usually happens when it gets dark.
With increased daylight hours messing with your circadian rhythm and higher temperatures keeping you awake, it may feel like you’re fighting a losing battle.
… but don’t fret!
You can still get the proper amount of sleep even during the long summer days.
—
Miles Everson, CEO of MBO Partners, says summer 2022 is fast approaching and that brings warmer days and longer hours of daylight in the US.
He states during this season, he loves going on early morning summer walks with his wife and 3 dogs, and enjoying the long lake-filled days that end in sunset BBQs. However, as exciting as summer sounds, Everson knows the activities it brings can cause him to start getting fewer hours of sleep.
… and while filling up on vitamin D is great, not getting the right amount of sleep can have major consequences on his overall health.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), those who don’t get enough sleep can go through a host of negative side effects. These include:
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Heart disease
- Obesity
- Depression
… and more.
That’s why when Everson learned that one-third of Americans report not getting enough sleep, he decided to add sleep to his self-care routine so he wouldn’t be part of that population. After trying a few methods, he came up with 5 tips for achieving a full night’s rest:
1. Limit food and caffeine consumption towards the end of the day.
Many studies on sleep recommend ceasing consuming caffeine after 2 p.m. Because of this, Everson implements his own food and drink cutoff time.
Some time ago, when he noticed he wasn’t sleeping well at night, a friend of his recommended only eating food up to 7 p.m. Anything after that had to be water or non-caffeinated tea only.
Trusting his friend’s advice, Everson tried it and found that it truly does work! Limiting his food and caffeine consumption also compelled him to do intermittent fasting. Through this type of fast, he learned that the body also needs a break from consuming food and drinks.
He states people who constantly eat are also constantly telling their bodies to work. While eating is a good thing, overeating can cause multiple issues and overdrive organs and other systems of the body.
That’s why Everson believes people also need to allow their bodies to rest. As soon as he tried this for himself, his sleep levels got better.
2. Avoid using electronic devices at night.
Everson understands that after a long workday, what others might want to do is dive into the latest Netflix series to relax.
He says it’s easy to get wrapped up in one of the hit television series nowadays, catchy Instagram reels, or latest TikTok dance trends, but stimulating the brain late at night will negatively impact one’s sleep.
For instance: A lot of people have heard about blue lights and many have even purchased blue light glasses. The reason this eyewear became a trend is that the light from screens has negative impacts on one’s melatonin levels and other aspects of the eyes.
If a person has low melatonin levels, his or her body won’t regulate a proper sleep schedule. Instead, that individual will toss and turn from various positions to get his or her body to wind down and fall asleep.
… and so for Everson, it’s worth putting his phone on “Do Not Disturb” mode to not only be unbothered by notifications but also keep his body at healthy functioning levels.
3. Consistency is key.
As in his point on electronics being turned off, Everson actually places his phone on “Do Not Disturb” mode and only certain people like his wife and children could buzz his phone in the middle of the night. This allows him to avoid getting distracted by a late-night message about something that can be dealt with in the morning.
He states it’s vital for him to make sure his body and brain know it’s time to go to bed. For him, teaching himself to wind down at a certain time allows him to actually develop better and more consistent sleep patterns.
What else?
After doing some research, Everson also learned that having a consistent sleep habit allows the body to have a good biorhythm. This means if a person keeps a consistent turndown and wake up time, he or she will actually be aiding the body’s circadian function.
Everson says if he had to choose only one out of his five sleep rituals, he would prioritize this over the others. He explains that after 10 days of consistently going to bed at the same time, he got better sleep in general.
He also recommends trying out the apps Sleep Score or Sleep Cycle for those who want to keep track of their sleep patterns.
4. Follow a few de-stress sequences.
Similar to developing the habit of sleeping at a consistent time, Everson found that having an “evening ritual” also helps him wind down at night.
Note: This evening ritual looks different for everyone. For Everson, his ritual includes going on an evening walk or doing some gentle yoga sequences. He says these activities let him get his last-minute daily jitters out.
When he asked his friends and family if they had any rituals, he received multiple answers. Some of them unwind at the end of the day by journaling, meditating, stretching, going on a nightly skincare routine, or reading. Many of them also said that when they don’t do their rituals before they go to bed, they tend to not get a good night’s sleep.
So, Everson says it’s important to commit to a certain evening routine. This helps people manage their stress and hormone levels better and signal their bodies that it’s time to sleep.
5. Create a sleep sanctuary.
As someone who values his sleeping habits, Everson pays particular attention to his five senses. He makes sure his sleep techniques fit into each of the five.
Examples:
For the sense of smell, he uses a lavender pillow spray or sometimes a lavender-scented diffuser.
For the sense of taste, he has found that drinking chamomile tea helps promote sleepiness and relaxation.
For the sense of touch, he recommends trying a Mypillow or Buffy weighted sleep blanket—both are scientifically designed to promote sleep.
For the sense of sight, he focuses more on sleeping in the dark so his body understands it’s time to wind down. As a general practice, he and his wife dim the lights a few hours before bedtime.
For the sense of hearing, he recommends getting a sound machine or an app that can help zone out any noise. Everson says he personally uses the Calm app. He says for anyone living in a city with lots of noise, a sound machine or app can make a vital difference in one’s sleeping habits.
There you have it—Everson’s 5 sleep rituals!
According to him, sleep is an overall important factor in everyone’s health. Having trouble getting a good amount of sleep can be an indicator that you need to adjust your routine.
Sure, no one wants to feel sluggish or moody during the day. That’s why as a huge proponent of creating a proper sleep routine, Everson encourages you to try some of his 5 tips. He says these will not only get your body to function at healthy levels but also help you get better rest in no time.
We hope you find today’s topic interesting and applicable to your own lifestyle and sleeping patterns too!
(This article is from The Business Builder Daily, a newsletter by The I Institute in collaboration with MBO Partners.)
About The Dynamic Marketing Communiqué’s
“Fridays: Mindfulness by Miles”
High-performance businesses are run by people who think and act differently.
In other words, these are people who are high-performing individuals.
Companies and individuals of this kind have found ways to escape the grind of commoditization and competition by focusing on the RIGHT goals.
High-performing businesses and individuals are also “return driven” businesses and “career driven” individuals. They conscientiously develop unique capabilities and resources that allow them to deliver offerings in ways no other firm or individual can.
Every Friday, we’ll publish tips and insights from MBO Partners and The I Institute’s “The Business Builder Daily” newsletter.
These will help you gain knowledge on the things that Miles Everson, the CEO of MBO Partners, often talks about regarding the future of the workforce.
We’ll also highlight other mindfulness advice on how you can be a high-performing individual both in your career and personal life.
Hope you’ve found this week’s insight interesting and helpful.
Stay tuned for next Friday’s “Mindfulness by Miles!”
Cheers,
Kyle Yu
Head of Marketing
Valens Dynamic Marketing Capabilities
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www.valens-research.com
