Why we sleep. This is message 413 and day 67 in the 8-C Challenge and this message is dedicated to Matt Walker.

A short story and a confession. First the story. Bring people into a lab. Have them read a book on an iPad a few hours before going to sleep. Then have the same person read a printed book on a different night. Then measure their melatonin.

Here’s what you’ll find and this is a quote from Dr. Matthew Walker’s book Why We Sleep: “Compared to reading a printed book, reading on an iPad suppressed melatonin released by over 50% at night. Indeed, iPad reading delayed the rise of melatonin by up to three hours, relative to the natural rising the same individuals experience when reading a printed book. When reading on the iPad, their melatonin peak, and thus instruction to sleep, did not occur until the early morning hours, rather than before midnight. Unsurprisingly, individuals took longer to fall asleep after iPad reading relative to print-copy reading.”

Crazy but true: Reading on your iPad suppresses melatonin production (a key pacing event for great sleep) by a remarkable 50%! Here’s my confession: I have slunk back into a bad habit of scrolling on my phone before bed. I know this affects my sleep. I want to keep a practice of not looking at any screens 2 hours before bedtime. Blue light (really any light) messes up melatonin production. I track my sleep and know how much and what kind of sleep I’m getting each night. I have experienced what Dr. Walker’s study revealed. I’m going to do better.

I mentioned breathing yesterday as one of my fundies. Sleep is another. I used to be a night owl, but have been convinced by how important sleep is. I am in bed by 8 oclock most nights. As ol’ Ben Franklin used to say, “Early to bed; early to rise; makes one healthy, wealthy, and wise.” How many hours are you sleeping each night? If you are not getting 7-8 hours of sleep each day, you are probably not providing your system the opportunity to reset the way it was designed.