Do you feel like you only slept for two hours when you wake up in the morning? Does it take you forever to fall asleep? Though you may think you’re alone in this, you’re not; millions of Americans suffer from sleep deprivation and other sleep conditions. 

You may be doing everything right. You go to bed early, you have a healthy diet, you stay away from your phone before bed. And yet, nothing seems to work. You still wake up every morning feeling fatigued and exhausted. 

So what's causing your poor sleep quality, and how do you improve it? Well, we're going to discuss the causes of poor sleep and also the various remedies available. 

There are a few reasons why you may not be getting a good night’s sleep. The reasons can include:

• Anxiety: when you’re worried and stressed, it can negatively affect your sleep routine. If you’re lying awake at night thinking about your day or what you have to do tomorrow, it disrupts your sleep. To reduce anxiety, try reading a book before bed. It’ll calm you down and get you in the right mode for sleep.
• Late night snacking: who doesn't love a little snack while watching a movie? We're all guilty of late-night snacking. However, eating and drinking too close to bedtime can not only cause heartburn but also awaken you in the middle of the night for a bathroom run. 
• Alcohol: having a drink before bed isn’t the right thing to do if you’re trying to get a good night’s sleep. Though it may give the feeling of sleepiness, it ultimately fragments your sleep and often makes you wake up feeling groggy. 
• Temperature: if you’re too hot or too cold, you’re going to wake up in the middle of the night. Before going to bed, try to find a comfortable temperature on your thermostat so you can sleep like a baby – the ideal temperature for sleep is around 68 degrees fahrenheit. 
• Caffeine: some people enjoy coffee after dinner, but you know that’s not a good idea. Any caffeinated drinks like energy drinks, tea, or coffee will keep you energized all night. Keep your caffeinated drinks for morning time. 
• Exercising: while exercising may be good for your body, it can disrupt your sleep if you exercise too late at night. When you raise your heart rate before bed, it takes the body longer to adjust to going to sleep.
• Sleep routine: if your sleep schedule is all over the place, it’s going to affect the way you sleep. Pick a sleep routine and try to stick to it as best as you can. Going to bed and waking up at different times of the day messes up your body’s natural sleeping rhythm.
• Sleep apnea: this is a sleep condition that is caused by breathing that repeatedly stops and starts. It causes the person to wake up suddenly throughout the night. If you believe you have sleep apnea, see your physician. 
  

How to improve the quality of your sleep

While we showed you the reasons for what’s causing your poor sleep quality, it’s time we gave you the ways on how you can improve your quality of sleep. That’s where light therapy comes in. 

How can light therapy improve sleep?

Light therapy is a non-invasive, non pharmacological treatment that can aid with sleep disorders such as insomnia, circadian rhythm sleep disorders, jet lag, seasonal affective disorder, and depression. But how?

Individuals can use light therapy devices that emit a specific amount of light therapy colors for sleep. The light mimics outdoor light, however, without harmful UV rays. It improves sleep conditions as it helps sync the circadian rhythm. Everyone has a circadian rhythm that dictates when we feel tired, alert, and hungry. Our circadian rhythm follows the 24-cycle of the sun. 

Exposing ourselves to light therapy helps realign the circadian rhythm, syncing it with the sun's cycle. As a result, you feel tired during the evening and more awake in the morning due to the chemicals released in your brain, melatonin, and serotonin—both playing a major role in your sleep-wake cycle. 

If individuals undergo at-home light therapy treatments daily in the morning, they'll notice their internal clock improve and experience a good night's sleep. 

Kaiyan Medical produces FDA-approved and MDA-approved red light therapy devices for clinical or at-home treatments for the best light therapy for sleep. They're non-invasive and non-pharmaceutical, meaning you'll get the treatment you need without side effects. Kaiyan's red light therapy devices are easy to use and help you take charge of your sleep.

Lack of sleep is a villain in America and Europe. Light intake is a big part of the problem. Over 65% of adults say they don’t get enough good sleep every week. Most people also don’t get nearly enough natural light for optimal health: the average American spends over 90% of their time indoors.

In addition to not getting enough natural light, people today are surrounded by artificial blue light from screens and overhead lighting. An overload of artificial blue light can cause headaches and make it harder to get to sleep and stay asleep. When we take in all that bright blue light from laptops, TVs, and phones, especially before we go to bed, our bodies get the signal that it's time to be awake, even if we're tired.

Melatonin is the naturally-occurring hormone that regulates sleep and wakefulness. Emerging research is showing that red light therapy treatments can help people produce more of their own, natural melatonin than exposure to other light sources like blue light. Red light therapy is natural light. It’s much less bright than blue light, with a lower color temperature than daytime sun, as the image above shows. Research has shown that red light doesn’t upset your sleep cycle like bright blue light. Red light therapy is showing great clinical results for people with insomnia and sleep disorders.

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The light therapy is a simple, non-invasive treatment that delivers concentrated natural light to your skin and cells. Clinical research is showing that red light therapy can improve sleep quality and duration, and help people produce more of their own melatonin.

Light plays a major role in your sleep cycle. The body’s circadian clock interprets light as a sign of when to sleep and when to be awake. Artificial blue light from phones, computers, and other screens is extremely bright and can knock your circadian rhythm out of whack. Red light has the opposite effect: it’s ideal for evenings because it has a low color temperature—far lower than blue light and much closer to the natural sunset.

Red light therapy treatments are quick and simple: you just sit or stand in natural light for 5 to 15 minutes, ideally every day. This stimulates your mitochondria and gives your cells the natural light they need to make energy.

How Does Red Light Therapy Help You Sleep?

Natural light is a key ingredient for a healthy circadian rhythm and restful sleep. If you struggle to sleep, your light intake could be a big factor. Red light therapy delivers natural light like you’d get from the sun, but without UV rays, excess heat, or the need for sunny weather.

Red light therapy treatments supercharge your cells with the natural light they need to make more core ATP (adenosine triphosphate) energy. This helps your body run more efficiently, heal faster, and has shown great results for producing more natural melatonin and improving sleep disorders like insomnia.

Red light therapy treatments have shown great sleep results in a range of peer-reviewed clinical studies. One study on the sleep of pro basketball players showed that a 2-week course of red light therapy in the evening improved players’ sleep quality in the short term. Based on the results, the researchers suggested red light therapy would be a good non-invasive, drug-free solution to sleep struggles.

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Overcoming Sleep Disorders with Red Light Therapy

Kaiyan's light therapy products are registered with the FDA as class II medical devices for the treatment of pain, strain, and inflammation. While the existing clinical research has been very positive for red light therapy and sleep, keep in mind that Kaiyan's devices are not cleared with the FDA for the treatment of various sleep disorders or melatonin.

Recent research on sleep disorders among people with migraine headaches has shown that red light therapy both decreased headache frequency, and was the only treatment that improved patients’ sleep disorders.

A 2014 study on cognitive function and traumatic brain injury (TBI) recorded that participants had significantly decreased episodes of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and improved sleep.

Analyzing patients’ electrical brain activity, a 2013 sleep study concluded that red light therapy was especially effective at helping people with sleep disorders fall asleep.

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When I’m indoors training under the buzz of artificial lights, my body doesn’t get the natural light it needs. Add computers, cell phones, televisions, etc. and it’s easy to overload yourself with blue light. I used to have trouble sleeping after long training days, but since adding more natural light to my routine with red light therapy, I’ve been falling asleep as soon as I lie down, and I’ve been staying asleep all night.*

Sanne Wevers

Gold-Medal Winning Dutch Gymnast

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Red Light Therapy, Sleep, Depression, and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Research is showing how closely mood and sleep disorders are interconnected. Parts of the brain that regulate sleep have also been found to closely affect mood. A 2013 review concluded that “nearly all people suffering from mood disorders have significant disruptions in circadian rhythms and the sleep/wake cycle.”

This Greatist post on natural light and serotonin gives good background on the connections between natural light intake, mental health, and sleep. It also mentions using Kaiyan's red light therapy devices to get more natural light, even when you can’t get more sunlight.

Trouble sleeping is one of the most common symptoms of seasonal affective disorder, a type of depression most common in the darker winter months. Some physicians treating patients with mental health disorders have said red light therapy both improves mood, and helps people with depression get better sleep.

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Sources and References:

Morita T., Tokura H. “ Effects of lights of different color temperature on the nocturnal changes in core temperature and melatonin in humans” Journal of Physiological Anthropology. 1996, September

Lirong Z., Phyllis Z. “Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorders” Neurologic Clinics. 2012, November.

Color Temperature

The State of Sleep Health in America.

Klepeis N., Nelson W., et al. “The National Human Activity Pattern Survey (NHAPS): a resource for assessing exposure to environmental pollutants”. Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology 2001.

Sheppard A and Wolffsohn J. “Digital eye strain: prevalence, measurement and amelioration.” BMJ Open Ophthalmology. 2018 April.

Gooley, J., Chamberlain, K., Smith, K., Khalsa, S., et al. “Exposure to Room Light before Bedtime Suppresses Melatonin Onset and Shortens Melatonin Duration in Humans” J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011 Mar.

Hamblin M. “Mechanisms and applications of the anti-inflammatory effects of photobiomodulation”. AIMS Biophys. 2017.

Zhao J., Tian Y., Nie J., Xu J., Liu D. “Red light and the sleep quality and endurance performance of Chinese female basketball players” Journal of Athletic Training. 2012, November-December.

Loeb LM, Amorim RP, et al. “Botulinum toxin A (BT-A) versus low-level laser therapy (LLLT) in chronic migraine treatment: a comparison.” Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria. 2018 Oct;76(10):663-667.

Naeser MA, Zafonte R, et al. “Significant improvements in cognitive performance post-transcranial, red/near-infrared light-emitting diode treatments in chronic, mild traumatic brain injury: open-protocol study.” Journal of Neurotrauma. 2014 Jun 1;31(11):1008-17.

Wu JH, Chang YC. Effect of low-level laser stimulation on EEG power in normal subjects with closed eyes. Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2013; 2013:476565.

Vadnie C, and McClung C. Circadian Rhythm Disturbances in Mood Disorders: Insights into the Role of the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus. Neural Plasticity. 2017 November.

McClung C. How might circadian rhythms control mood? Let me count the ways. Biological Psychiatry. 2013 April.

Nutt D, Wilson S, et al. Sleep disorders as core symptoms of depression. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience. 2008 September.

Avci P, Gupta A, et al. Low-level laser (light) therapy (LLLT) in skin: stimulating, healing, restoring. Seminars in Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery. Mar 2013.

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Avoid Alcohol and Caffeine at Night — Caffeine is a powerful stimulant that you should avoid beyond the early afternoon. Most people need hours to process caffeine and overcome the jolt it gives you. Try to avoid caffeinated drinks in the afternoon if you can, but definitely lay off the coffee and soda at night. Drinking alcohol at night can make it seem easier to fall asleep, but in reality, it’s closer to sedation. Try to have your last drink of the evening with dinner, so your body has a few hours to process it before hitting the proverbial sack.

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Getting a good night’s sleep has so many physical, emotional, and mental benefits. Yet with all of the distractions that demand our attention, going to sleep on time and getting enough rest has become extremely elusive to many of us. Why is sleep so important and how can we make it a priority?

In this interview series called “Sleep: Why You Should Make Getting A Good Night’s Sleep A Major Priority In Your Life, And How You Can Make That Happen” we are talking to medical and wellness professionals, sleep specialists, and business leaders who sell sleep accessories to share insights from their knowledge and experience about how to make getting a good night’s sleep a priority in your life.

Carlos is a Software Engineer and UX/UI designer currently living out his dreams as the Creative Director of Kaiyan Medical, one of the largest and most innovative LED light therapy manufacturers in the world. He has over 11 years of experience working for companies worldwide and prides himself in being able to work cross-culturally with people in Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the US. He is passionate about the incredible benefits of light therapy, biohacking, and the integration of Chinese Medicine as ways we can all live healthier and more balanced lives.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to ‘get to know you. Can you tell us a bit about your background and your backstory?

I am a Costa Rican native living in China and currently serving as the Creative Director of Kaiyan Medical, one of the largest and most innovative LED light therapy manufacturers in the world. I am also a Software Engineer and a UX/UI designer and I couldn’t be any happier to be where I am today. Working in the light therapy sector, I’m able to tap deep into my background in sports, as well as my skills in design and creativity,

I’m incredibly passionate about all things light therapy and how we can spread the message of its benefits to people. Apart from that, I’m also vastly interested in learning more about biohacking and the integration of traditional Chinese medicine into our everyday lives, so we can all live more holistically and become healthier and well-balanced.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this particular career path?

I’m a software engineer in love with design and marketing. I have been working on creating great synergy between these 3 for over 12 years. Some years ago, I lived in Hangzhou, China, and I got invited to Shenzhen city to give a design thinking course for a light therapy manufacturing company, Kaiyan Medical. Once I was giving the course, I met the CEO of the company, Alain. We had amazing chats about product development and so on, there he also introduced me to light therapy.I was curious about it and if I’m being honest — a bit skeptical. I’ve had injuries on my neck from the days I used to be a quarterback (around 10 years ago) and have tried everything to relieve the pain. I began using light therapy after my talk with Alain, and finally, after a long time started to feel real relief (with a light therapy handheld). It was amazing. The warm healing sensation on my neck felt satisfying. That was the day I decided I needed to spread the word about light therapy and learn everything about it.

Can you share with our readers a bit about why you are an authority in the sleep and wellness fields? In your opinion, what is your unique contribution to the world of wellness?

Continuing with my story, I kept learning more extensively about all things light therapy. Learning became a bit more personal because I didn’t want to go back to the way I was before — depressed, multiple cups of coffee a day, and sleep-deprived. After my initial, eye-opening moment with light therapy, I then found out its amazing benefits for sleep quality. Now, after many years in the field, I am proud to say that I have dedicated myself to studying multiple clinical trials and developing devices with specific light wavelengths not only for pain relief but also to regulate the circadian rhythm in our bodies.

After experimenting and improving my own sleeping quality, I have set up a dedicated creative and research team of light therapy enthusiasts in order to consistently keep learning and find new ways of implementing light therapy for sleep. Not only that but over the years I have been living in China, I have learned about Chinese traditional medicine and how they regulate sleep in a natural and balanced way, improving, even more, my holistic concept of sleep.

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

Yes, the book is called Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. I read this book in my early 20s and helped me a lot to understand better my designs and development of products. With a very technical background, it can be easy to forget the human part of every device or online product. Reading this book was the perfect introduction to user experience for me. It changed the way I understand and see things.

Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life or your work?

Yes, it is from Albert Einstein. He is widely credited with saying, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly, but expecting different results.” I’m an ex-pat living in China. Because of this, every day is full of surprises and new things. I am basically always out of my comfort zone and I love it — because it allows me to do different things and always find a solution for new problems, reminding me of the words of Einstein.

Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. Let’s start with the basics. How much sleep should an adult get? Is there a difference between people who are young, middle-aged, or elderly?

Not everybody needs the same amount of sleep. I always suggest adults to have between 7– 8 hours of sleep. I also promote the 90-minute sleeping cycle. The 90-minute sleep cycle aims to wake up (at the same time each morning), having had numerous 90-minute cycles to ensure quality deep sleep and REM has been achieved during the night.

It is different for every stage of your life. For example, teenagers should sleep between 8– 10 hours per day, while young kids should sleep between 10–13 hours.

Now, for the adult phase and elderly is the same. The optimal is 7 hours and 30minutes (5 cycles) but can vary depending on habits and climate.

Is the amount of hours the main criteria, or the time that you go to bed? For example, if there was a hypothetical choice between getting to bed at 10PM and getting up at 4AM, for a total of 6 hours, or going to bed at 2AM and getting up at 10AM for a total of 8 hours, is one a better choice for your health? Can you explain?

I love this example because it is exactly how we get lost in perspective. Instead of thinking so much about the number of hours, we should focus on the sun and the light around us. Our circadian rhythms are built around the sun and the earth’s rotation cycle. As the length of daylight changes throughout the year, our circadian rhythms adjust as well. So, instead of focusing on more hours, we should focus on the quality of those hours. I’ll choose to go to bed at 10 pm because it is the closest time after the sunset and wake up at 4 am because it won’t be so long for the sunrise. In this way, I keep my circadian rhythm in check, and I get quality sleep.

As an expert, this might be obvious to you, but I think it would be instructive to articulate this for our readers. Let’s imagine a hypothetical 35 year old adult who was not getting enough sleep. After working diligently at it for 6 months he or she began to sleep well and got the requisite hours of sleep. How will this person’s life improve? Can you help articulate some of the benefits this person will see after starting to get enough sleep? Can you explain?

Getting good quality sleep can lead you to vastly improve your general health. It can also help maintain your weight, lower your risk of heart problems, reduce stress, and improve your mood. It can also help reduce depression, allow you to think more clearly, and get along better with people.

Again, it is all about perspective. Quality sleep and regulated sleeping cycles make our body get in balance with its natural roots. Also, it’s not only your body that needs the rest but also your mind. We need a break from all the chaos of modern life. So reducing the amount and quality of hours in our sleep helps a lot.

Many things provide benefits but they aren’t necessarily a priority. Should we make getting a good night’s sleep a major priority in our life? Can you explain what you mean?

Let’s see it this way — healthy food gives us benefits so we try to eat well every day. However, it’s not every day you feel like eating healthy meals, so you come off it and eat other types of food. It’s okay at first but then you feel its compounding effect long-term — low energy, health problems, etc. Same with sleep. If you go and try not to sleep for one day, I’m pretty sure you can make it — but it will be hard and you will feel terrible the next day. Again, go and try not to sleep the following night — do you think you will function properly? How hard will it be?

Sleep is a major priority. No matter who you are or what you do, your body is asking for sleep time at the end of the day. We evolve in this way, and it’s in our DNA.

The truth is that most of us know that it’s important to get better sleep. But while we know it intellectually, it’s often difficult to put it into practice and make it a part of our daily habits. In your opinion what are the 3 main blockages that prevent us from taking the information that we all know, and integrating it into our lives? How should we remove those obstacles?

I don’t think the information is being blocked from us — I’ll say it’s the environment. Using your laptop or mobile phone to look for information is already bad itself as you are getting a lot of blue light. Blue wavelengths have the most powerful effect on your sleep-wake internal body clock. Both natural and artificial blue light can boost your alertness and mental sharpness. However, keep that constant blue light all over the day, and you will mess up your sleeping cycle.

Second, we are most of the time indoors. We stop checking the sunset and the sunrise. We wake up in a rush to go to work, and we spend most of the time in the closed office. This prevents our mind and body from self-regulating and getting that red light and infrared light that helps us sleep better.

Finally, nowadays being “busy” is promoted as something productive and outstanding. Because of this, we pack up our days full of stuff to be “busy” and “productive.” But, unfortunately, this will create unbalance in our bodies, and we try to numb this unbalance with pills and remedies while the root of the problem is never really treated.

Do you think getting “good sleep” is more difficult today than it was in the past?

Yes, totally. I remember playing outside while getting the sun and always checking the sunset (letting my body and mind know that it was time to gather and rest). These are days with less time in front of the TV and more time for outside activities. Right now, we are being overexposed to so many online stimuli. People are addicted to social media, and there’s always something to watch or to check. No more direct contact with the sun, less control over our cycles, and way more anxiety.

Ok. Here is the main question of our discussion. Can you please share “5 things you need to know to get the sleep you need and wake up refreshed and energized”? If you can, kindly share a story or example for each.

Proper sleep is crucial for health and balance, as I said. So if you want to get the best of your sleep time, here are my5 tips:

Avoid Alcohol and Caffeine at Night

Caffeine is a powerful stimulant that you should avoid beyond the early afternoon. Most people need hours to process caffeine and overcome the jolt it gives you. Try to avoid caffeinated drinks in the afternoon if you can, but definitely lay off the coffee and soda at night. Drinking alcohol at night can make it seem easier to fall asleep, but in reality, it’s closer to sedation. Try to have your last drink of the evening with dinner, so your body has a few hours to process it before hitting the proverbial sack.

Get Active When You’re Awake

Our body’s activity level has its own circadian rhythm. When we’re awake, we’re designed to move. As a result, exercise, especially in the morning or early afternoon, can help you sleep better at night. Regular exercise raises your body temperature, and the cooldown period has a relaxing effect that promotes better sleep. By contrast, exercising later in the evening can make it more difficult to sleep because your body hasn’t fully recovered from activity mode.

Work on your Mental Health

The research is detailed: high amounts of stress throughout the day make it more difficult for our brains to relax and sleep at night. So if you have a stressful day, be mindful about claiming some relaxation in the evening with meditation, reading, walking, or whatever works for you. Bottom line: prioritize your peace of mind before getting into bed.

Keep Your Bedroom Temperature Cool

The human body decreases in temperature while we sleep. Our heart rate and breathing slow down to help regulate this temperature drop. You can give your body a better sleep environment if your bedroom is in the 18–24 degrees range. Hot rooms make it harder to get to sleep and stay asleep. Avoid waking up in sweat by keeping your bedroom cooler. It’s better for your sleeping rhythm if you don’t wake up several times in the night because you’re hot. These small disruptions can build up and lead to larger sleep problems.

Get the Right Amount of Healthy Light

Don’t overlook the importance of light for your sleep quality. Your body and brain respond to the light you’re exposed to during the day, and some kinds of light are better than others when it comes to your sleep quality. You should absolutely try to get outside every day and take in natural sunlight. However, blue light from screens is extremely bright and can trick your brain and disrupt your sleep hormones, especially at night.

Blue light has been a big advancement for screen technology that’s made our phones and computers so powerful. Now, the hormone melatonin is a counterpart to cortisol. Produced by the pineal gland, melatonin helps you fall asleep and stay asleep. Your body typically starts producing melatonin in the early evening, when you’re starting to wind down and get closer to bedtime. But this bright light has been shown to disrupt melatonin production affecting our sleeping cycles.

What would you advise someone who wakes up in the middle of the night and can’t fall back to sleep?

There are a few tips I suggest when this happens: First, get rid of bright lights or loud sounds.

Try to get out of bed and move for a while. Avoid staring at your phone or the clock. Try to meditate or stretch your muscles. Use Chinese traditional medicine and artifacts like Guasha and scents. Use relaxation noises such as birds, rain, or a fireplace.

What are your thoughts about taking a nap during the day? Is that a good idea, or can it affect the ability to sleep well at night?

In fact, an afternoon nap is great for adults, too. There’s no need to feel lazy for indulging in daytime sleep. On the contrary, a short nap in the mid-afternoon can boost memory, improve job performance, lift your mood, make you more alert, and ease stress. So if your body is asking for a nap, you probably need it. Now, I’ll avoid taking naps in the evening or early morning; this can disrupt your day and affect your sleeping time in the evening.

Wonderful. We are nearly done. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

Of course, that will be Jordan Peterson. I’m constantly checking his videos, and I love the way he always explains things. It’s out of this world.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Readers can check my work in light therapy in kaiyanmedical.com and for design thinking & marketing, on lastrescarlos.com.

This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!