NOTE: Weeks 3 and 4 can be mixed and matched to select what’s most useful to you. Week 3 covers how food and exercise affect your sleep, while Week 4 covers mental stress and its impact on sleep. Feel free to customize your Sleep30^® Challenge from here on out.

KEEP A FOOD AND EXERCISE DIARY

“Sleep30 challenge works wonderful and helps you feel refreshed when you’re awake.” — Kenzie B., Sweetwater, TX*

The Sleep30^® Challenge offers an excellent reason to make changes to your diet and exercise routines. All of the things that are good for your general health—staying hydrated, cutting down on sugar, eating your vegetables—are good for your sleep health, too.

You’ll have more success with the Sleep30^® Challenge if you can reduce some of the foods and beverages that get you out of rhythm. To help you make those tweaks, try keeping a food and exercise diary during Week 3. Here’s how to do it:

WRITE AS YOU GO AND KEEP IT SIMPLE

• Track what you eat and drink right away.

• The Sleep30^® Challenge doesn’t require calorie counts or ingredients lists. Instead, the goal is to view each day holistically, so you can make connections with how you sleep each night.

CAPTURE THE CONTEXT

• When and where and how fast you eat is just as important as what you eat.

• A few notes that capture context will help you see your food and exercise habits more clearly.

• Example: Rushed through lunch in 5 minutes. Didn’t eat enough. Was starving at 2 p.m.

FEEL YOUR FEELS AND BE HONEST

• Sometimes we eat to live. Other times we live to eat.

• In the spirit of understanding, take note of how you feel after you eat to help get a clear picture of your habits.

• Example: Stress ate too much chocolate and felt guilty afterward. Upset that I didn’t get away from my desk all day.

LEARNING FROM YOUR FOOD & EXERCISE DIARY

• As you track your food, look for patterns.
  • You may notice that on days you eat a lot of sugar you don’t sleep as well.
  • Or that a late dinner prevents you from falling asleep on time.
  • Or that a glass of wine at seven is fine, but a glass of wine at eight wakes you up in the middle of the night.

• The goal is not to remake your diet, but to find places where a subtle tweak can lead to better sleep.

There’s no right or wrong way to use this tool. Instead, use this as yet another source of information and inspiration for improving your sleep.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Sleep Number SleepIQ® sleepers who never eat before going to bed are the most restful overall and get the highest (best) SleepIQ® score, compared to those who eat at bedtime.**

WANT TO FEEL MORE ALERT?

Sleep Number 360® Smart Bed Owner Tip: Get daily tips to help you improve your sleep and your energy.  Learn more to feel more alert every day.  Get personalized tips based on your individual SleepIQ® data and sleep science to help you improve energy levels and sleep better at night.

BEST FOOD PRACTICES

Go to bed too hungry or too full and you may have trouble falling asleep. Nicotine, caffeine and alcohol can also disrupt sleep, according to Mayo Clinic. Limit these substances during the day and avoid consuming them close to bedtime.

Workouts are no different. Overeat before one and you'll feel lethargic. Alcohol causes dehydration, which will make your workouts both unpleasant and more risky. A general rule: leave an hour-long buffer between each drink and your workout. You can work out in the evening, but researchers recommend avoiding strenuous exercise one hour before bedtime. Here’s some other helpful tips to consider:

• Try to eat dinner at least two hours before bedtime.
• Avoid excess sugar, especially 2–3 hours before bedtime.
• A beer, cocktail or glass of wine with dinner is fine. But three or more drinks will affect your sleep.
• No caffeine after noon. The website Caffeine Informer can help you discover hidden sources of caffeine. Read our helpful step-by-step guide to gently cut back on afternoon caffeine HERE
• Try to avoid late-night snacking, but if you do snack, choose foods that help you sleep.

BETTER BEFORE-BED SNACKS

If your food and exercise diary shows snacks are interfering with sleep, we have some ideas to help. Here are the five foods to avoid before bed (and five tasty alternatives):

CAKE

The culprit: High fat foods cause acid reflux. Cake before bed may taste the best, but it may disrupt your sleep.

Replace with: Cheese. Experiment with tasty cheeses on whole grain crackers.

ICE CREAM

The culprit: Dairy can cause upset stomach. It’s heavy, fatty, and may be hard to digest, keeping you up.

Replace with: Low-fat yogurt. The yogurt pairs proteins with carbs, and because it’s lighter, it’s easier to digest. For a dairy alternative, try frozen grapes or cherries.

CITRUS FRUIT

The culprit: Citrus is a natural diuretic and can make you urinate more frequently, keeping you up during the night.

Replace with: Toast with nut butter. Carbs and protein can help you feel satisfied and ready for sleep.

PIZZA

The culprit: Tomato sauce has acids, which can lead to an unhappy stomach.

Replace with: Deli turkey or grilled chicken, which has tryptophan, a sleep-inducing amino acid.

CHOCOLATE

The culprit: Caffeine can keep you awake. The website Caffeine Informer reports half of some high-end chocolate bars contain 26mg of caffeine, almost as much as a 12 ounce caffeinated soda.

Replace with: Granola or trail mix. Packed with protein, crunch and sweetness, granola provides a satisfying and healthy snack. An oatmeal raisin cookie also makes a great bedtime snack.

OTHER FOOD & NUTRITION HELPFUL LINKS

• Healthier Alternatives to Common Sports Foods
• Sleep Too Little and You’ll Eat Too Much
• A Sweet Spiced Cookie to Help You Sleep
• What to Eat For An Energetic Day and Restful Sleep
• 9 Ways to Stay Hydrated for a Great Night’s Sleep

EXERCISE

Whether you’re an everyday athlete or a pro, exercise plays a role in your sleep quality. While we don’t recommend a rigorous workout right before bed, there are benefits of daytime exercise. Our SleepIQ^® data shows sleepers who say they exercise regularly are the most restful overall, have the highest SleepIQ^® score, and the lowest average heartrate and breath rate compared to those who exercise occasionally or rarely.^**

TAKE NOTES FROM THE PROS

Professional athletes must be at the top of their game. But, even if you’re not competing in a major sporting event, you can look to them for some pointers.

For example, star baseball players have said they up their sleep game by using blackout blinds and keeping technology away from the bed. Some pro athletes have found relaxation apps helpful in catching more quality zzz's, too.

Meanwhile, NFL athletes are better able to track their sleeping habits with Sleep Number 360^® smart beds with SleepIQ^® technology. They can monitor things like restful sleep and average heart and breathing rate so they have a better sense of what's going on while they're not awake. They use this information to help with training and recovery to improve their overall health and well-being.

In general, your body typically won't lie to you. When it's gotten enough rest, it'll respond positively. When you short it on sleep, your body will make you suffer the consequences.

YOGA MOVES FOR ALL AGES

Our SleepIQ data shows sleepers who do gentle exercise (like yoga) are the most restful.^** Give these moves a try.

• NIGHTTIME YOGA POSES TO DO IN BED FOR BETTER SLEEP
• 5 YOGA MOVES TO SUPPORT YOUR CORE (watch video)
• 5 STRETCHES YOU CAN DO AT HOME TO HELP EASE BACK PAIN (watch video)

Share what you’re going to focus on this week related to food or exercise. #Sleep30

*Participant received InnerCircleSM loyalty points for doing challenge.
**Based on SleepIQ^® data from 1/2/21 to 1/1/22 and self-reported responses of sleepers using SleepIQ^® technology from 5/12/19 – 1/13/22