Best Moment: The One Thing You Should Never Do Before Bed: Dr Cheri Mah

Steven Bartlett (0:00)

Quick one, I want to say a few words from our sponsor NetSuite. One of the most overwhelming parts of running your own business, as many of you entrepreneurs will be able to attest to, is staying on top of your operations and finances. Whether you're just starting out, or whether you're managing a fast growing company, the complexities only increase. So having the right systems in place is crucial. One which has helped me is one called NetSuite. They're also a sponsor of this podcast, and NetSuite is the number one cloud financial system, bringing accounting, financial management, inventory and HR into one fluid platform. With this single source of truth, you'll have the visibility and control to make fast informed decisions, which is crucial in business. I remember the chaos of scaling my first business and trying to keep everything in order. It was an absolute nightmare, and it's tools like NetSuite that make this easier. So if you're feeling the pressure, let NetSuite lighten the load. Head to netsuite.com/bartlett, and you can get a free download of the CFO's guide to AI and machine learning. That's netsuite.com/bartlett.

I'm someone that tells myself that I sleep with something playing. I grew up with a radio in my room, so as an adult now, I'm always looking to play something as I fall asleep. Is that going to hurt my sleep quality?

Cheri Mah (1:08)

I would say if you're accustomed to this, I would say that's fine to continue to do so. I am not a fan of having the TV on and having the bright light exposed to you in that hour before bedtime, because it also can just be very psychologically stimulating. But if, like you said, it's a radio or it's a podcast that you feel is helping you relax, then I'm a fan of it.

Steven Bartlett (1:27)

Do you think Diary Of A CEO will help people relax?

Cheri Mah (1:30)

It might. It might help you at least think about your sleep a bit more and challenge you to do maybe one change tonight.

Steven Bartlett (1:37)

We consider that to be a scientific endorsement of the podcast. Okay, so I've got sound down. You are a fan of the white noise machines.

Cheri Mah (1:46)

I am, because sometimes there's external noises like a garbage truck or construction that you're not always able to control. So if you can at least mask over it temporarily, that can sometimes be helpful to keep individuals more asleep during the night time. And there's even some now that are adaptive. So if the door slams, then the volume temporarily increases and then will decrease. So there's almost these smart white noise machines that are coming out on the market. So that's from a noise standpoint, and earplugs are going to be helpful if you're traveling. When you're at home, you can obviously use those to dampen down any external noise.

From a temperature standpoint, you want it to be cool. I think this is an area that a lot of people can benefit from because they often sleep in much warmer temperatures than what we know is probably more conducive to sleep, which is cooler. 60 to 67 degrees has been shown to help individuals stay asleep and fall asleep. That may be frigidly cold for some, but you have to find the temperature that's right for you. I would say, decrease your temperature by, say, one degree or two degrees every couple of days, and then you can find the temperature that works well for you. And there's even technology now where there's mattress covers that can help you regulate temperature from much cooler to warmer. So if there's differences in bed partners, that's a way that you can actually accommodate both of their preferences.

Steven Bartlett (3:05)

So that's about 16 to 20 degrees Celsius. What about when I shower or I bath? Because often I go and have a shower then I get straight into bed after.

Cheri Mah (3:16)

Yes.

Steven Bartlett (3:17)

Is that good or bad?

Cheri Mah (3:18)

I would encourage you to shift that timing a little bit earlier into the night. So an hour and a half before you are planning to go to bed, I would shift your shower. Because when you are taking a hot bath or hot shower, it increases your core temperature. But when you fall asleep, your core temperature drops. So you don't want that competing signal to be right before bedtime. But if you back that shower up an hour and a half, that should be sufficient time that we think potentially there's an augmentation of helping that drop in temperature. And some smaller studies have shown that that can help decrease the time to fall asleep and also enhance deep sleep, which has implications for muscle recovery, regeneration. And you get more of that in the earlier part of your night.