{"id":26358,"date":"2021-04-27T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-27T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog-staging.saatva-node-stage.tsc-starts-coding.com\/how-to-recover-from-a-bad-night-of-sleep\/"},"modified":"2023-06-21T15:03:05","modified_gmt":"2023-06-21T15:03:05","slug":"how-to-recover-from-a-bad-night-of-sleep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saatva-node-stage.tsc-starts-coding.com\/blog\/how-to-recover-from-a-bad-night-of-sleep\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Feel Well-Rested (Even When You Haven’t Slept)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A bad night of sleep<\/a> can be a bummer of a thing to wake up to. Even if you did manage to catch a few winks, you\u2019ll probably still feel grumpy, irritable, even obviously sleepy. So what\u2019s a sleep-deprived individual who has to function in society to do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While you can\u2019t rewind the clock, you can change what you say about that crappy night of sleep. And if that doesn\u2019t work, there are always other strategies to help you recover the next day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you think your way into better sleep?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re like most people, you probably think you\u2019ve slept worse than you really did. But what if, regardless of how you slept, you were told that you got above-average or below-average sleep?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers put that question to the test among college students in a study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology<\/em>. Ironically, they found that those who were told they got quality sleep performed better on cognitive tests<\/a> than those who had been told the opposite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are several reasons to explain this. For starters, people are notoriously inaccurate reporters of their own sleep quality, which is why it was easy to manipulate the college students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf they were told they got poor quality sleep, they quickly enacted all of the associations we typically have with poor quality sleep, which is diminished cognitive function,\u201d says Kristi Erdal<\/a>, PhD, professor of psychology at Colorado College in Colorado Springs and study co-author.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These associations between sleep and cognition<\/a> are likely stored in the brain\u2019s neural networks and enacted rather than just suggesting the person is \u201cacting\u201d cognitively impaired. On the same token, “good sleep \u2013 good cognition” notions are also stored. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we told them they had good sleep, that was able to override any effect of actual poor sleep,\u201d Erdal says. She compares it to placebo alcohol, namely that what you\u2019re told you\u2019re drinking\u2014alcohol versus non-alcohol\u2014is more impactful on your behavior than what you\u2019re actually drinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to recover from a bad night of sleep<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While you may not technically be able to \u201ctrick\u201d yourself into better sleep, you can at least control what you ruminate on, and that could make the difference. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you keep repeating to everyone in your office how bad your sleep was (and you probably aren\u2019t accurate in that assessment anyway), then it will follow that your brain will call up the bad sleep associations which will decrease your cognitive functioning,\u201d Erdal says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, if you focus on the sleep you did get or the fact that it was probably better than you think it was, you can likely avoid some of that risk of cognitive dysfunction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it\u2019s not all mental, as there are things you can do to charge your physical energy, starting with seeing natural light in the morning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLight helps wake you up by stopping the melatonin<\/a> production,\u201d says Damiana Corca<\/a>, doctor of acupuncture and Chinese medicine, sleep and wellness specialist, and certified functional medicine practitioner in Boulder, Colo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with making you feel more alert, it can make you happier. Even just 15 minutes of exposure to natural light can go a long way in filling your energy supply. It\u2019s best done shortly after waking up, even if it\u2019s a cloudy day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Want to get even more benefits from that light? Do some light movement like a 10-minute walk, especially if you can go outside to do it. That movement will promote blood flow and increase feel-good hormones, which will make you more energized and happier, Corca says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might also consider taking a nap<\/a> between 1 and 3 p.m., focusing on relaxing versus falling asleep. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust the act of relaxing and lying flat can be soothing and restful to the nervous system,\u201d Corca says. Keep that nap under 30 minutes (set an alarm so you don\u2019t overdo it). To make it more enjoyable, get warm, wear a sleep mask<\/a>, and listen to a sound machine, peaceful music, or guided meditation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No matter how awful your sleep was, remember this: One bad night of sleep isn\u2019t a killer. \u201cAfter a bad night of sleep, you typically recover the following night by having more\u00a0deep sleep<\/a>,\u201d Corca says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Recover from a bad night's sleep with these Saatva eye masks<\/p>\n \n \n \n

\n \n \"saatva\n <\/a>\n\n \n

\n Silk Eye Mask<\/a>\n <\/h4>\n\n \n

Drift into dreamland with our sleep-enhancing eye mask made of the finest quality mulberry silk. It keeps light out for more uninterrupted sleep\u2014no matter where you are.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n \n Shop Now\n <\/a>\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n \n \"saatva\n <\/a>\n\n \n

\n Weighted Silk Eye Mask<\/a>\n <\/h4>\n\n \n

Drift into dreamland with our sleep-enhancing weighted eye mask made of the finest quality mulberry silk. It blocks out light for more restful sleep as it gives your eyes the calming, therapeutic effect of deep pressure stimulation.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n \n Shop Now\n <\/a>\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n

There are many easy changes you can make to your daily routine to ensure you get quality shut-eye. Check out our list of the top things you can do during the day to get better sleep at night<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Trouble snoozing last night? Fake a good night’s sleep by following these expert tips.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":26359,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[389,390],"tags":[],"coauthors":[473],"guest":[],"host":[],"class_list":["post-26358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sleep-health","category-sleep-tips"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saatva-node-stage.tsc-starts-coding.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saatva-node-stage.tsc-starts-coding.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saatva-node-stage.tsc-starts-coding.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saatva-node-stage.tsc-starts-coding.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/98"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saatva-node-stage.tsc-starts-coding.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26358"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saatva-node-stage.tsc-starts-coding.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26358\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saatva-node-stage.tsc-starts-coding.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saatva-node-stage.tsc-starts-coding.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saatva-node-stage.tsc-starts-coding.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saatva-node-stage.tsc-starts-coding.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26358"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saatva-node-stage.tsc-starts-coding.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=26358"},{"taxonomy":"guest","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saatva-node-stage.tsc-starts-coding.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/guest?post=26358"},{"taxonomy":"host","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saatva-node-stage.tsc-starts-coding.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/host?post=26358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}