In this episode of The Healthy Sleep Podcast, John and David Grove dive into the essentials of building the ideal sleep environment. From mattresses and pillows to lighting, temperature, and even white noise, the brothers break down what really makes your bedroom the most peaceful place in your home. They cover everything from choosing the right mattress and pillow to why clean sheets matter to how blackout curtains and white noise apps can make the difference between tossing and turning and sleeping soundly. With their trademark mix of humor and practical advice, John and David share the small tweaks that add up to big improvements in your nightly rest. Key Takeaways Your sleep environment is just as important as your routine. Mattress, pillow, bedding, light, and sound all play a role. A quality mattress is the foundation. It should make you want to go to bed. Pillows aren’t one-size-fits-all. Choose based on your sleep position, and replace them every 1–2 years. Clean sheets and layered bedding help regulate comfort through the night. Keep your bedroom cool — ideally 60–67°F. Use a mattress protector to extend your bed’s lifespan. Darkness matters. Blackout curtains can block streetlights, storms, or your neighbor’s floodlight. White noise apps or machines help mask sudden sounds and keep you asleep longer. Actionable Sleep Tips from this Episode Check your pillow: is it the right fit for your sleep position, and is it time to replace it? Wash your sheets weekly to keep your bed fresh and inviting. Layer your bedding so you can easily adjust the comfort level throughout the night. Lower your thermostat a couple degrees at bedtime, even a small change helps. Block out light with blackout curtains or shades. Try a white noise app (like Windy) or use a fan to mask disruptive sounds. Protect your mattress with a quality mattress protector to make it last. Follow and Connect Instagram: @MattressGrove Listen on your favorite podcast platform Transcript 0:00:00.000,0:00:07.470-Some pillows I've seen... I'm not saying where I saw it. -Mm-hmm. -I don't- yeah, I mean 0:00:07.470,0:00:09.950somebody drools a lot. 0:00:27.840,0:00:33.080Welcome back to The Healthy Sleep Podcast by MattressGrove. I'm David Grove 0:00:33.080,0:00:38.280This is my brother John and we're the owners of MattressGrove and we believe 0:00:38.900,0:00:42.760That your bedroom needs to be the most relaxing, 0:00:43.940,0:00:47.960-peaceful place in your home. -Heck yeah, we do. Welcome. We got the *makes horn sound* 0:00:48.960,0:00:54.480-Let's go. It's time to dang get the dang show started. -I woke up this morning. I was just like man, 0:00:54.480,0:00:57.760-what a wonderful day. -Well good cuz I hadn't been sleeping that good 0:00:57.760,0:01:02.760-so I need to start take practicing a little bit better. -Well, I was using routines from our last program. 0:01:02.760,0:01:06.700-Well, see I need to yeah, I'm gonna start journaling.-Yeah-We talked about journaling 0:01:06.700,0:01:09.720so I'm gonna start journaling. But anyway, so yeah today's 0:01:10.460,0:01:18.000episode is all about the ideal sleep environment. Some people call it sleep hygiene, which is everything 0:01:18.000,0:01:22.220but today we're gonna talk about your environment and what it means. 0:01:22.220,0:01:27.560You know from your mattress to your bedding to the temperature to the lighting to the noise 0:01:27.560,0:01:30.760I mean all that matters right when we're trying to get a better night's sleep. 0:01:30.760,0:01:35.860So we'll walk we'll walk walk through that turn by turn drive through it turn by turn whatever, you know. 0:01:35.860,0:01:41.700-Talk about what it means to have the best sleep environment. -Absolutely. -We talked about routine now 0:01:41.700,0:01:45.260-we're gonna talk about sleep environment. -I mean, to start the foundation is your mattress, right? 0:01:45.980,0:01:53.840-100% 100% -We know that from our industry, you know, you got to really like to go to bed. You got a great mattress 0:01:53.840,0:02:00.280-you want to go to bed! -That's true. And maybe that's my problem. I need a need a new mattress 0:02:00.280,0:02:03.820I mean I get them a new mattress pretty often, but I'm I need to get me a new one. 0:02:03.820,0:02:07.039I think I do so that's that's number that's number one 0:02:07.039,0:02:11.100but that's kind of the easy thing right because I can just push that button and make that happen. And 0:02:11.100,0:02:18.120everybody else can, too. You can just give us a call at MattressGrove and we'll help them out or or or you can go 0:02:18.120,0:02:23.560Get a mattress wherever you want to. Just make sure it's good supportive, and it's gonna give you a long-lasting 0:02:24.100,0:02:25.300support. Another thing 0:02:26.680,0:02:31.440that goes along with the mattress that is equally or close to equally important. It's your 0:02:32.220,0:02:37.660pillow, right? I actually like a cooling pillow because that's what my mattress is. It's a cooling mattress 0:02:38.340,0:02:40.760which means that the cover is 0:02:41.540,0:02:44.520cooling. It doesn't have air conditioning, but it does have 0:02:45.580,0:02:49.280Cooling fibers in the quilt. So it helps regulate my body temperature 0:02:49.280,0:02:54.420And so I like that and so the pillow is the same way. I like a flatter pillow that's cooling. 0:02:54.420,0:02:58.740I don't like, this is me, a lot of people it depends on how you sleep 0:02:58.740,0:03:03.340I sleep on my stomach a lot, which that's not, the chiropractor's probably saying, "Oh, that's not good!" 0:03:03.340,0:03:07.680That's why I have to have a flat pillow because if I have a big pillow and I'm sleeping on my stomach it 0:03:08.480,0:03:14.120kinks my neck. Now if you sleep on your back, you want to probably a bigger fluffier pillow, right a bigger pillow. 0:03:14.640,0:03:17.820-But the pillow is super super important. -It supports your neck 0:03:17.820,0:03:23.760-Yeah-and head and you know again, it's one of those things where I'm like you, I like a real thin pillow. 0:03:23.760,0:03:25.360I actually like a feather pillow. 0:03:25.360,0:03:30.980-Yeah-And so, you know, because I can ball it up and kind of make it and it kind of levels back out 0:03:31.500,0:03:32.900conforms to my neck and 0:03:33.400,0:03:36.020conforms to my head. So, I've tried a 0:03:36.600,0:03:37.100cooling 0:03:37.820,0:03:41.680cover for my pillow as well, and I haven't found the right one yet 0:03:41.680,0:03:45.500I know that that it helps because those feather pillows get really warm. 0:03:45.500,0:03:53.340And so I'm constantly moving that pillow around a little bit. But definitely, you know, getting the right pillow, getting the right support 0:03:54.460,0:03:58.300-is very important. -Yeah. Yeah, no question about it there. 0:03:58.300,0:04:04.040There's a you know, the people that make pillows because we don't make pillows, but we highly recommend a good pillow 0:04:04.040,0:04:07.520You know, they they say that that matters a lot. 0:04:07.520,0:04:14.360Another thing that is important that we may not think about is that we need to make sure that we, you know, 0:04:14.360,0:04:20.620replace our pillows, you know. Every one to two years because again they get dirty. I mean they get it's a hygienic reason. 0:04:21.320,0:04:28.640-Some pillows I've seen, I'm not saying where I saw it. -Mm-hmm. -I don't know. Yeah, I mean 0:04:29.480,0:04:31.160somebody drools a lot. 0:04:31.980,0:04:40.300-Yeah-Always check your pillow before you go sleep at somebody's house or in a hotel. Make sure there's not a bunch of drool. 0:04:40.300,0:04:48.400No, that's not good. Another thing that I know and I would imagine that most people know how great it feels when you get in 0:04:49.840,0:04:55.120clean sheets. They're crinkly. They're tight, you know, first day. I do every day when I wake up in the mornings 0:04:55.120,0:04:59.220I make my bed because I like to I've accomplished something good. I just made my bed. 0:04:59.220,0:05:02.140I mean, you know and it makes me feel good. I mean if I'd go in there and it's dirty, 0:05:02.140,0:05:02.680I don't like it. 0:05:02.680,0:05:07.980I can't ever get it as tight without pulling out all the sheets off and and then it's not crispy clean. 0:05:07.980,0:05:09.860You should wash the sheets once a week. 0:05:09.860,0:05:12.960I mean, it's gonna be... mine will stay pretty pretty good for a week 0:05:12.960,0:05:17.680But after a week... are you saying that you don't brush your sheets every week? I don't wash my sheets every week 0:05:17.680,0:05:24.480-But I but I know that it when I do is better. It's definitely better. -So so refreshing to have clean sheets and 0:05:24.480,0:05:30.120clean pillowcases and everything. So having a couple of layers, you know. 0:05:30.120,0:05:35.600We've talked about backpacking before and when you go backpacking, you should wear several layers because 0:05:35.600,0:05:42.320the temperature changes the environment changes a little bit. Well, when you're sleeping, your environment changes a little bit. 0:05:42.320,0:05:45.000So if you had if you have three layers or four layers... 0:05:45.000,0:05:52.460different layers on you. You can kind of peel layer back and get get comfortable. Some people like to have weighted blankets. 0:05:52.460,0:05:57.600-I know-I don't. I like something really light on me. If it's if it's pushing it down on me 0:05:57.600,0:06:02.680I struggle. And people also tuck all their stuff in and make it real tight 0:06:02.680,0:06:07.020-so when you squeeze in you do you feel it? I guess you feel like a sausage. You can't move. -That's right. Yeah. 0:06:07.020,0:06:11.600No, I know. Yeah, I it's and it's personal preference. You know, like you said, it's personal preference. 0:06:11.600,0:06:15.840Some people sleep cold. Some people sleep hot. Whatever it is, 0:06:15.840,0:06:20.220you just need to figure out to try to balance that so that it's your perfect temperature. 0:06:20.220,0:06:26.020To your point, if you have three layer, if you have a sheet, top sheet and a 0:06:26.020,0:06:32.160blanket and a comforter, you can always pull that comforter back if you need to. You know, studies show that the room 0:06:32.160,0:06:33.460temperatures... this is kind of crazy, 0:06:33.460,0:06:38.840I mean studies show that the room temperature needs to be like between 60 degrees and 67 degrees Fahrenheit. 0:06:38.840,0:06:42.120I think that's a little low especially in the summertime. That's expensive. 0:06:42.120,0:06:43.780That's expensive. 0:06:43.780,0:06:44.820But it works. 0:06:44.820,0:06:50.720I mean I like for mine to be about 65 67 and that way, like you said, I can keep my, I have a down comforter 0:06:50.720,0:06:53.640I'm like, you know, I don't really like it heavy, but I can peel it back, 0:06:53.640,0:06:58.140you know, if I start to. You know, and I and I will I'll wake up. I mean personally I 0:06:58.800,0:07:05.080mean TMI, but I wake up sometimes and I'm perspiring more for some reason. The temperature is the same. It's just my body. 0:07:05.080,0:07:05.740Yup. Exactly. 0:07:06.520,0:07:09.900-You worked out that day a little harder or something, you know. -Yeah 0:07:09.900,0:07:10.760No telling what happened. 0:07:10.760,0:07:16.760Or hey, you know that when we get when we have a cold or something our bodies work so hard to get that virus out of us 0:07:16.760,0:07:21.200-so-Definitely sweating then. Definitely. Definitely definitely sweating then. There's also 0:07:21.680,0:07:24.220all different kinds. I mean you can do, you know, 0:07:24.220,0:07:30.720-cotton sheet which feels a certain way and acts a certain way. You can do like... -Flannel-Flannel, right. 0:07:30.760,0:07:31.600There's all kinds of now... 0:07:31.600,0:07:38.700I mean, there's so many performance for me performance fabrics now you can about get any kind of bedding, you know, materials and again 0:07:38.700,0:07:39.740that's personal preference, you know. 0:07:39.740,0:07:44.960But but if you know that cotton is not good for you because you sweat and it holds the water, 0:07:44.960,0:07:50.060get some performance fabric. Gets you some type of polyester or some type that'll wick that away, right? 0:07:50.140,0:07:56.560-Exactly-And always use a mattress protector.-Always use a mattress.Always always always protect your investment, your mattress. 0:07:56.560,0:08:03.380So whether you spend a thousand two thousand ten thousand twenty thousand eighty thousand on a mattress because some people do, protect that investment. 0:08:03.380,0:08:08.320-Absolutely.-Because it's gonna last you for a while. -Yes. Yes, and and you know 0:08:08.320,0:08:10.980if you don't have a mattress protector then, you know, 0:08:10.980,0:08:17.000your perspiration and other things that are actually going into that mattress do deteriorate the mattress. 0:08:17.000,0:08:21.040-Yeah-So the mattress protector is not just to keep a stain off of or anything, 0:08:21.040,0:08:26.240it's to protect the, like John said, the longevity of your investment, for sure. 0:08:26.240,0:08:30.900So if there's one takeaway make sure you just keep your your room a nice cool temperature 0:08:30.900,0:08:32.100so that, you know, 0:08:32.100,0:08:35.039you don't want to sleep on top of your your sheets. If you're sleeping on top of them 0:08:35.039,0:08:40.919then you probably need to cool your room down something. Then lighting and noise is... our lighting is a big thing, right? 0:08:40.980,0:08:43.940I mean when you're when you're trying to sleep. I mean we talked you know about 0:08:45.080,0:08:47.320phones or devices that 0:08:48.640,0:08:55.040create light that you can't sleep. You're not gonna sleep well because you're messing with your circadian rhythm. Same thing with like, 0:08:55.780,0:09:00.160-you know, your lights in your room. I mean you don't want to have a big bright light before you go to bed.-Right. 0:09:00.420,0:09:04.100Exactly. Yeah, and I mean, you know, I think for me the darker the room 0:09:04.100,0:09:07.320I mean the faster I go to sleep and you know 0:09:07.320,0:09:11.880and I sleep longer. Flashing lights or anything like that, especially moving lights, 0:09:11.880,0:09:15.500you know, car drives by and it shines into your your bedroom. 0:09:16.100,0:09:20.980It's gonna wake you up, and sometimes it wakes you all the way up, but sometimes it doesn't. I mean, I think about it 0:09:20.980,0:09:28.080like when a storm comes in and lightning strikes and you see the light flash in your room. I'm up. 0:09:28.080,0:09:34.660-I know -I'm up and sometimes, you know, it's it's instantaneous and I'm like sitting up in bed going, "What was that?" 0:09:34.760,0:09:36.600You know, I mean, somebody's coming to get me. 0:09:36.600,0:09:41.620-But... -So you recommend, I mean, you know, like blackout curtains if you can get them or blackout shades. 0:09:41.620,0:09:45.700-It will help, I believe. -I think so too. -Yeah. -Yeah, it definitely would. 0:09:45.700,0:09:50.580Yeah, definitely definitely if you have, if you know, like you said, you you're near street or 0:09:51.400,0:09:52.920streetlight or your neighbor, golly! 0:09:52.920,0:09:57.760I mean, who who here has neighbors that their their their light comes on when there's a 0:09:58.220,0:10:02.200bug or a spider goes by and turns it on it comes right in your window. 0:10:02.200,0:10:08.400Golly, you just want to *pew pew*-Or the cats and neighborhood cat. -Neighborhood cat. Yeah, we don't shoot our neighbors lights out. 0:10:08.400,0:10:13.940-No, dont shoot the cat. -Yeah, definitely don't shoot the cats, but don't shoot their lights either. They'll know where it came from. 0:10:13.940,0:10:20.520-Yeah exactly.--Just ask them. Yeah, do you mind or you just get blackout curtains? -Blackout curtains!-They work better. 0:10:20.520,0:10:26.620-That's, yeah, then you don't have to bother anybody. -The neighborly way. -Yes. Absolutely. And then when that storm comes, you won't be woken up either. 0:10:27.180,0:10:28.900Speaking of a storm. I mean, you know, 0:10:28.900,0:10:36.400-thunder's loud. -That's right. -There's a lot of loud noises that happen during the night inside your house and outside. 0:10:36.400,0:10:40.740I know personally I I don't sleep well without a 0:10:40.740,0:10:43.200some type of white noise and, 0:10:43.200,0:10:48.540you know because when we travel, I have a little app on my phone. It's called Windy. 0:10:49.140,0:10:49.920It's free. 0:10:49.920,0:10:56.460but it just and you get the I get to pick whether I want to have a babbling brook or have some leaves falling or 0:10:56.460,0:11:00.100just some white noise. But it just helps me through the night. 0:11:00.100,0:11:04.480So I have a fan or it's an air cleaner, but it I don't even know if it cleans air anymore 0:11:04.480,0:11:07.240-but it makes good noise. -It just keeps all the sounds. 0:11:07.240,0:11:10.520-Yeah -from it from getting to you and I and I've noticed you know 0:11:10.520,0:11:16.920like when we travel together, that it does help, and so I've started using an app at home as well 0:11:16.920,0:11:18.800and the app I use it's a 0:11:19.780,0:11:21.680"Fire" like a campfire. 0:11:21.680,0:11:22.200Oh, yeah. 0:11:22.200,0:11:29.080And then it has a little bit of wind and rustling of leaves and I really enjoy that and it's it's not so 0:11:29.080,0:11:32.260strong that it wakes you up. It's just kind of calming. 0:11:32.260,0:11:35.200So but if I don't have that then, you know, 0:11:35.200,0:11:39.760I sleep pretty good until like a car drives by and I'm like, oh wait a minute 0:11:39.760,0:11:43.000what was that? Or a dog barks or something like that. And then you wake up. 0:11:43.000,0:11:49.020-Yeah-I've noticed that, you know, when you use those apps that, you know, have that constant noise for you, 0:11:49.020,0:11:54.440you don't you don't ever hear the dog barking. You don't hear the cars driving by so you actually stay stay asleep. 0:11:54.440,0:11:59.040Yeah, I like it. It helps me and especially traveling too because you know, there's always... in a hotel 0:11:59.040,0:12:03.420you hear people banging doors, but that's right kind of takes that out, but that's just an idea. 0:12:03.420,0:12:10.560You know again, we're here to bring ideas. We definitely don't have them all if anybody here has great ideas 0:12:10.560,0:12:15.080please go to @mattressgrove on Instagram and 0:12:15.760,0:12:21.300share them because we'll we'll share them here and help somebody else. You know, that's why we do this podcast. 0:12:21.300,0:12:24.980We're really trying to help people have a better life. That's what it's all about. 0:12:24.980,0:12:31.260You know, because if you don't sleep well, I can promise you you're gonna have a harder time with life. 0:12:31.260,0:12:37.840We talked about the mattress and again, you know, we believe and we know that's the centerpiece. That's the one that 0:12:39.260,0:12:39.740is... 0:12:39.740,0:12:41.360really makes a big difference. 0:12:42.440,0:12:46.080Overall, you know, and then all the other things help as well. 0:12:46.080,0:12:50.120But the mattress is is key. And so, you know, a lot of times we may not even think about 0:12:50.120,0:12:52.800how old our mattress is or what is not doing exactly? 0:12:53.680,0:12:59.320Yeah, and the other thing is is that you know, we know that a quality mattress really makes a big difference. 0:12:59.960,0:13:05.340You know and that's where we invite you to visit us at MattressGrove.com and 0:13:05.340,0:13:11.120You know, you can call John or myself and we'll walk you through the 0:13:11.880,0:13:15.520different things that are available for mattresses. Not necessarily just ours. 0:13:15.520,0:13:19.800You know, we want you to get the best night's sleep possible. 0:13:19.800,0:13:27.080-We know that quality matters and so we want to share those share our experience with you as well. -Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. 0:13:27.080,0:13:31.080You know and obviously, we're proud of our mattresses, you know, they're all handmade. 0:13:31.720,0:13:34.020All locally sourced and all that but 0:13:34.800,0:13:38.940We don't we don't do ads on this podcast or we don't accept any, 0:13:39.600,0:13:43.080-but that wasn't ad was it?-Wasn't an ad. -Okay, just to make sure. Alright, perfect. Yeah. 0:13:43.080,0:13:48.840-No, that's not an ad. But it but but if you want a better night's sleep, then go to mattressgrove.com. -That's right. Absolutely. 0:13:50.240,0:13:51.640-Call John and David. -Yeah. Absolutely. 0:13:52.340,0:13:55.980We're here to help. That's what we're here for. We're here to give you all the information we can 0:13:55.980,0:13:59.380I you know sleep tip might be I mean I would recommend maybe just 0:14:00.340,0:14:06.760lowering your temperature of your house or your room depending on how your thermostat set up. Maybe a couple degrees, two degrees. 0:14:07.500,0:14:13.080-And and see how that does, you know, for you. I know that that's the one tip that it's easy to do-Right. 0:14:13.600,0:14:17.240-It won't cost you a fortune either. -It won't.-Well, but but--Just at night. 0:14:17.240,0:14:21.760-Yeah.-And then that that kind of kicks into a routine like we talked about last week. 0:14:22.480,0:14:24.700Before you go to bed, maybe you 0:14:25.420,0:14:30.440change your thermometer down. Yeah the morning go back to it. Change it. New routine! 0:14:31.080,0:14:36.740-Exactly. -I'm getting ready for bed. -Good habit. Yeah, absolutely. I mean we didn't talk about that 0:14:36.740,0:14:40.080I mean you should you know, do you need to sleep with clothes on or naked? 0:14:40.080,0:14:42.080OOooooooOooo... 0:14:43.160,0:14:45.160-That's preference.-Yeah, that's preference, there you go. 0:14:45.240,0:14:51.320-It depends, I mean, clothes you're gonna be a little warmer, so if you're sleeping hot... -Yeah.-...you know sleep butt butt naked 0:14:51.960,0:14:58.320-Okay. -Yep. Anyway.-All right. -I mean cuz yeah, we we do we do like, you know, we we touch on the other thing that you 0:14:58.320,0:15:03.320do. It's easier to do when you're naked in the bed than when you're not, but anyway, but we're not 0:15:03.320,0:15:08.740-Not....-No, we're not gonna talk about that. But but but that's the only other thing we're supposed to do...-Yes-...in the bed 0:15:08.740,0:15:11.940-Yes.-Other then sleep.-Don't watch TV. -No.-Don't play on your phone. -No 0:15:12.480,0:15:18.800Okay, you really shouldn't read either but that's but that's but that we know that's gonna only last for like a few minutes. -Couple 0:15:18.800,0:15:24.740-pages.Yeah couple page up. So anyway, well awesome. Well, once again, you know, we appreciate you guys tuning in. 0:15:24.740,0:15:29.400Thank you very much. You know, if you found things helpful in here again, 0:15:30.100,0:15:36.980you know, hit that bell notification. Like us. I mean, you know, wherever you find this podcast, it's very helpful. 0:15:37.640,0:15:39.520You know, you will be notified. 0:15:40.020,0:15:45.500Or it will pop up when when we run another another podcast and we're gonna keep bringing value, 0:15:45.500,0:15:50.340we're gonna keep getting information and bringing value. Go to Instagram and 0:15:50.340,0:15:54.420you can direct message us there as well. 0:15:55.440,0:15:58.760Any questions you have, we're happy to answer there if you don't want to call us. 0:15:58.760,0:16:03.840That's great. And we'll respond there or any ideas you have. We we are looking for ideas. 0:16:04.300,0:16:09.000We're gonna have guests on so if you want to be a guest reach out to us as well. We'll start guest 0:16:09.560,0:16:16.840-hosting as well. So, anyway, thank you guys. -Yeah. Thank you. -Appreciate it. Yeah, so until next time... -Get some sleep. 0:16:16.840,0:16:17.840Get better sleep.

In this episode of The Healthy Sleep Podcast, John and David Grove break down their unique 3-period framework for sleep. Just like a hockey game, each period matters: your morning, afternoon, and evening habits all contribute to how well you rest at night. They cover everything from hydration and natural light in the morning, to afternoon movement and supplements, to evening “runway” routines like reading and journaling. The brothers also dive into the role of nutrition, alcohol, and—of course—the importance of having the right mattress. Whether you’re building better habits or just looking for one small change to try, this episode gives you practical, real-world strategies to finish your “sleep game” strong. Key Takeaways Sleep is a 3-period game: morning, afternoon, and evening all matter. Morning routines set the tone. Hydration, movement, and light exposure kickstart your body. Afternoon habits like exercise timing and supplements can improve your ability to wind down. Evening routines act like a runway. Journaling, reading (on paper, not screens), and relaxation prepare your body for rest. Heavy meals and alcohol disrupt your body’s ability to recharge. Lighter, earlier eating supports better sleep. A supportive mattress is the “easy button” for finishing strong. Without it, even good routines can fall short. Actionable Sleep Tips from this Episode Start the day with water and natural light to wake your body. Use the afternoon for movement. Avoid heavy workouts too close to bedtime. Experiment with safe, natural supplements like magnesium — but listen to your body. Create an evening runway: dim lights, avoid screens, and pick up a paper book. Keep dinner light and finish eating earlier. Limit alcohol to support deep rest. Journal for a week. Track routines, sleep quality, and how small changes impact your day. Check your mattress. If it’s sagging or past its prime, it may be the missing piece to better sleep. Follow and Connect Instagram: @MattressGrove Listen on your favorite podcast platform Transcript generated by TurboScribe. [David]Welcome back to the Healthy Sleep Podcast by MattressGrove. I'm David Grove. This is my brother John and we are the owners of MattressGrove and we believe and know that better sleep starts with everything you do all day long. [John]That's true, very true. Today's a special day. It's your birthday. Happy birthday, buddy. Thank you. Dang, man. Was it 22, 24, 28 years? Yeah, awesome. Sure. Been getting great sleep for all these decades, right? Incredible. [David]Yeah, learning a lot. [John]Learning a lot, that's right. Great sleep comes with a lot of practice, right? Yeah, so happy birthday. [David]Thank you, thank you. [John]Are you doing good today? [David]I'm doing great. I got a great night's sleep. Woke up this morning, hit the ground running. [John]Fantastic, awesome, good stuff. Yeah, so today's podcast is, the episode is all about what we do, you know, through the day that shapes how we sleep. You know, if we only think and focus on what we do right before we go to bed, we're missing two-thirds of the day, right? Because the day's 24 hours. We only sleep eight hours. Most people don't even sleep eight hours. They're supposed to sleep eight hours. If we do a good job, we sleep eight hours. So what we want to talk about today is morning routines, afternoon or day routines, and then the evening routines. [David]Absolutely. [John]And so we'll just, yeah, we'll just kind of dive into that. You know, again, we do a lot of research and we talk to a lot of people, so we're always open and love to talk to people all the time. So if you guys get anything out of this podcast, be sure and hit that bell notification. And one other thing is, you know, if you know somebody that's not getting a good night sleep, share this podcast with them. Feel free and please do share it with them. That'll help us grow it so we can continue to bring more of these great podcasts. So anyway, yeah, so we, like I said, we got, I mean, we kind of look at it as, I mean, we like hockey, and so we look at the day into like three periods, oftentimes, right? Exactly. First period, morning. [David]Morning period, yeah, absolutely. I mean, that's kind of where everybody thinks of the day starting. So yeah, I mean, I think that, you know, if you wake up at the same time every day, it's one of the best things you can do. It's one of the greatest habits. And the next step makes a big impact, too. Do you grab your phone? Oh, I don't know. I mean, you know, you grab a glass of water, you grab coffee. You know, what is it that you do? And then, you know, start to figure out what does work and what doesn't work for you. [John]Yeah, no, that's true. That's true. I mean, those are great. Those are three things that probably 90% of the people do. Some people may just hit the floor and go right to the shower or the bath or whatever. But, you know, we know that the phone is probably one of the ones that people do more often now that we have phones. Now, you know, you're only 20-some years old. But, you know, back in the day before cell phones, you know, they tell us that, you know, people didn't look at their cell phone because they couldn't. But it's proven that that's really, really bad because really bad for your whole day and your nightly sleep. It doesn't make sense that at five o'clock, six o'clock in the morning, it affects your nightly sleep. But it definitely affects your day because whatever you see, whether it's an email or a social media post or something, you know, if you're looking for, you know, who liked your post, I mean, it could either be a really good or really bad. So it's proven don't do that first, right? First day. And also that blue light is not good at night, but it's even equally as bad in the morning because that it makes your circadian rhythm kick out of space. And so another thing that's important, and we've talked to a few doctors, sleep doctors, that talk about the getting some sun rays, right? [David]Impact the sun, yep. [John]And in ways to get that. [David]Just open the window. I mean, get up, open the window, walk outside on the back porch or something, just to get that first bit of light, that natural light is so important to your body. Again, it's it kicks your body into that, that natural rhythm that your body already has. So yeah, that's a that's a really big one. That's a huge one. Yeah. [John]It definitely sets it sets your stage for your day. And it sets your circadian rhythm. It's like wakes you up, you know, back in the day when we weren't used to work on farms, we had to get up, you know, and milk the cows and, you know, clean the stalls and do all that stuff. And you're up before the sun. And when the sun hits you, you're automatically waking up. But one other thing I remember, she said something that's a good idea. I mean, most of us commute to work. If you don't commute to work, open a window in the shade, get some sun. But if you commute to work, if you have a sunroof, open your sunroof, because you're going to get some of that sun ray coming in. And so that again, that'll set it. The earlier you get it, the better. I wear a sleep tracking ring and it it says I have a time frame. It gives me a time frame like and it's not that long. It's only maybe about 45 minutes to an hour that it says I need to get some I need to get some sun. And so that's you know, that kind of sleep app is probably pretty good because it sets your day. So, Tip, get some sun. Get some sun on your body. Yep, good vitamin B. [David]That's a natural wake up thing. So that kind of says, what about your alarm? You know, you get your alarm and then you hit snooze, and then you hit snooze, and then you hit snooze. Oh, has that ever felt good? I've never felt good after snoozing. [John]It feels good when you hit it, but when you wake up, it is no good. So to snooze, yeah to about that in the snooze button is really your enemy. It feels good, but when you wake up, all of a sudden, man, your just day is just not, you just, because what happens is we go back into like an REM sleep after your body says, hey, it's time to get up. It's it's whatever time that, you know, you're wanting to wake up five, six, four, whatever time it is. Like you said earlier, make it make it a consistent time. Seven days a week, not five days a week, but it definitely affects you because it takes you out of your natural sleep patterns, because we all have natural sleep patterns. Absolutely. So yeah, don't hit snooze button. [David]The best mornings are the mornings where you wake up right before your alarm goes off. [John]That's the point. Yes, good point. [David]Man, I mean, my day is so much better. I mean, my morning starts off great. So again, those are the things that usually, your goal is to wake up right before that alarm goes off. It's wild how your body knows where you are and if you get the right amount of sleep. [John]Yeah, that's right. So another thing that I like to do is I like to work out in the morning. It kind of sets the day. Now, I don't have to do a hard workout. I mean, even a little walk and, you know, a walk will get you some sunlight if it's not too early, but, you know, it'll get you some sunlight and also get your heart rate going and cleans you out. So a light workout in the morning is great. Some people like to do heavy workouts, but just anything. It doesn't have to be a workout. A walk. I mean, a walk is good. [David]Don't you think? And, you know, and then you're gonna take in some water, which is a good thing. You know, hydrating your body after you've been asleep is a big key thing, too. So yeah, no, I think that, you know, when you get up and you start moving, it really starts your day off right. No doubt about that. [John]Yeah, the water is important. I know I've changed my routine. I used to drink coffee first in the morning, and then I read that that's really bad because, like you mentioned, you lose up to a liter, liter and a half of water through, you know, just your body losing it over the night, and the first thing you do is throw coffee into your system. With caffeine, it's really harmful. So if you do that, just start drinking water. I drink two glasses of water before I drink some coffee, and I drink decaf in the morning because my sleep app says that's what I'm supposed to do. It says I'm supposed to wait for two hours or whatever after I wake up, again, for my natural rhythm to kick in. So then I can drink my coffee. Right. [David]Oh yeah, absolutely. Well, and one of the other things is that, you know, when I change, and I don't do this all the time, but I try, is that, you know, when I prepare the night before for my morning, I know where my keys are, I know where my wallet is, I have everything ready, then when I wake up in the morning, I'm not stressed. I'm not worried about where my keys are, I'm not worried about all those things. I did them the night before. And so, you know, again, it's kind of like my morning is so much better, and I can move forward, you know, just waking up, and then I can focus on my exercise, my water intake, and those things. So, you know, that's what I've experienced through the morning process, is that, you know, the less things I have to worry about in the morning, the better my morning is. [John]Yeah, no, that's true. That's, I think, the highest performers say that, too. Yeah, a lot of times they don't wear, you know, they just wear the same thing all the time. They wear a black shirt with, you know, black pants, a gray shirt, a white shirt, you know, it's got a whole wardrobe of white shirts, black pants, I don't have to worry about it. I haven't gotten there yet, but I think it's a good idea, you know, if you struggle with that in the morning. [David]Yep, exactly, exactly. So, I mean, yeah, so you get through your morning routine, now you get into the afternoon, and all of a sudden you're like, okay, well, how's my afternoon impact sleep? And so, well, think about it. If you, you know, if you're taking caffeine in, what happens? Your body is getting that energy, and it takes a long time for caffeine to get out of your system, for sure. [John]It does, yeah, it does. It takes longer than you imagine. I actually, I'll share a little story. I didn't do the right thing, and I drank a Red Bull, like, at 6 p.m. this past weekend, and I don't know, I just felt like I needed to. Some UFC fights were coming on, and I thought I should stay up. But anyway, to make a long story short, I ended up not going to, not staying up, even seeing it. I went to sleep, but man, I woke up, and I kind of went to sleep pretty easy, but then I woke up at like 2 a.m., and man, my heart was racing. I was like, good Lord, I couldn't think any, I mean, I just, I was like, God, what's going on? And so I drank some water, and laid back in bed, and did my little routine, which my routine is, I'll go through the alphabet, and I just start with A, and I start thinking about, like, where does it start with A? It's the ant, you know, awesome, and then I go to B, and then go, and hopefully I don't get to Z. [David]If you get to Z, you gotta start with the numbers, probably. [John]Exactly, that's not good, that's not good. But, but yeah, it was weird. My heart was racing, and it was just so, and I know that was, that was not smart, but I do share that, because I think even if you have an iced coffee, like after two or three, the, the half-life of that caffeine, and how, you know, everybody's metabolism is different, but it takes a lot of time, a lot more time for it to get out of your system. [David]Yeah. [John]So you might be able to go to sleep, but it's still in your system, and you wake up, and you're like, holy, this is not good. [David]No. [John]Holy, yeah, this isn't good. So, so I'm not doing that anymore. [David]No. [John]It's a bad, bad decision. [David]You'll do it again. I probably will. But not soon, because I remember, that's right, not soon. That's right, no, yeah, because I, and it is, I mean, caffeine, anytime that I drink caffeine in the afternoons, I, I toss and turn trying to go to bed. [John]Yeah. [David]So it impacts me a little differently, but yeah, no, it is, it definitely makes a big impact to you, and that, that's something that, that you need to think about, and you know, we don't think about it until we're trying to go to sleep. So again, these are, these are tips and things that we've learned along the way that, you know, we encourage you to think about. Just, just think about it, because, you know, again, we go through our days sometimes, and we just kind of grab whatever we've been grabbing and doing, whether it's food, or drink, or anything like that, so. [John]It's our habits, yeah, our habits. If they're good habits, that's good, but you know, it's, you get on that autopilot, and you reach for your phone first thing in the morning, or you go to the coffee first thing in the morning, or in the afternoon, you drink, drink coffee, and it's like, I shouldn't have done that. Right. But we're on autopilot a lot of times, and, and that's where I think, you know, again, if we're, if we're aware, and we don't, you know, we just do one thing at a time. We can't do all those things. I mean, you just, let's just focus on one thing. So I'm focusing on not drinking coffee. [David]No more Red Bulls. That's right. [John]Lord, but yeah, no, that's. [David]Well, we were talking about exercise, and you know, if I exercise too late in the evening, I do the same thing. I toss and turn. I can't go to sleep. My body's, my blood's pumping, and my heart's still, you know, jacked up, and I'm just like, I just can't get there. So, you know, again, those are things that I've learned about my body, and I've also done some research and stuff about exercise late, and stuff like that. So it's, it impacts everybody differently. [John]But exercise during the day is okay. I mean, you know, we can do that. So if you want to do a hard exercise, you know, just do it before, you know, two, before it gets too, too late in the afternoon, you know, before six or seven, probably. But, and again, it depends on when you go to sleep. If you go to sleep at nine, then you need to do it four or five in the day, if you're gonna do a hard workout, for sure. Because, yeah, definitely, it definitely affects, you know, how we're, how we're, how we go to sleep. Because you can't, I mean, obviously, you've all worked up, you know. If you play soccer, you play a match of something, and then all of a sudden you go home, it's like, you're gonna be up for a while, because your body's trying to calm down. So that's a good point. And, you know, I, here's another thing that was interesting. Well, we're talking about eating routines. Two, is I took, I took a magnesium, and you could take three of these tablets. And I took one, and it actually calmed me down. I mean, it actually, not after, it was just a normal night. This was a Monday night, I think. And then, so, you know, so I think that's a good supplement, you know, check with your doctor or whatever. But I just took one. It said you could take three, because my body, I know supplements affect me. [David]Right. [John]A lot. So I have to be careful. I, I mean, you remember I took that Lion's Mane. [David]Oh, man. [John]I mean, I, you know, I wanted to be smart, you know, because Lion's Mane is great. Do research, and then take some Lion's Mane. So, you know, I'm smart. I go to my local health food store, and it's a supermarket, and they, I'm looking at all the little capsules and everything. And this lady comes back, can I help you? I said, yeah, I'm looking for some Lion's Mane. I want to be smarter. And she said, oh, yeah, it'll make you smart. But we got some fresh over here in the, yeah, it was in the, in the, in the cooler area with the other mushrooms and the, and the vegetables. And so I said, well, great. I mean, how much do I take? Oh, she said, just whatever. What do I do with it? We'll just put it on, you know, salad or something. Well, I went home and, and, you know, we were fixing homemade tacos. Great. So I started chopping this stuff up, and it was weird. It's like stringy, kind of white. And I started putting on my tacos. Great. I ate it. Didn't taste great. But man, that night, oh, boy, I about wanted to vomit. And all the next day. So you know what, I threw that away. So that being said, you just have to be careful. You know, obviously, I ate too much. I'm not doing that anymore. No, maybe, maybe start with the caps. If it says take three, I'm gonna take one. And then I'll work up to it. That's right. But yeah, so the magnesium did, did seem to, you know, just kind of help. Just, just, I could feel it a little bit. I don't really need it. But I was, I'd like to know, I mean, you know, what it does. [David]Right. And I think, you know, melatonin is another one that a lot of people use and stuff. It does help. I mean, it can help. And you just try not to use it all the time. You know, I mean, again, these are things that, you know, experiment with your body and what you, what works for you. And, you know, they work for some people. [John]Yeah, absolutely. [David]It's just one thing. But yeah, it's starting in those evening habits and things and talk about some things that really, really benefit you for the evening. Like I was saying earlier, you know, prepare for the morning so that your morning is better. But some of those things are things to wind yourself down. Yeah, I need to go put, make sure my keys are where they're supposed to be in my wallet. Everything's where it's supposed to be picking out your clothes, stuff like that. Settles your body down for that night knowing that, okay, it's time for me to go to bed, you know, and so all, all of these little tips and things are just, just to help everybody that we've, we've, you know, experienced and talked to several people about. [John]I love it. I love it. Yeah. I mean, if you, and again, if you think about it, just like you said, if you, if you have everything in place, then it's not something you have to worry about while you're sleeping. Right. And you wake up and then you don't have to go through the ABCs. [David]Right. You know, you don't have that, oh my gosh, waking up. [John]Yeah. [David]Wait, wait, I didn't do this or didn't do that. And so, yeah. And then, then you're up at three o'clock in the morning, flashlight, you know, looking for stuff or turn lights on and, and aggravating other people. And so, you know, because, you know, I mean, if you're up, might as well wake everybody else up, right? [John]That's right. Bang, bang some pans, make some noise. Absolutely. So yeah, no, that's right. Any kind of ritual you can do and, and whether it's like you're talking about setting all your clothes, making sure that's done, brush your teeth. Brush your teeth. Don't forget to brush your teeth. I hope everybody brushes their teeth, but you know, some people may not. They may, maybe they forget, but things happen. Yeah, it does. It does. And then, you know, other things you can do is, you know, you can do like a light stretch. I think stretching is really good. You know, we all, as we age a little bit, it's, it's, we get tighter. So. I need to start that then. Right. I'm getting older. Yes, yes, you are. Yes, you are. Today. It's amazing. You're older today than you were yesterday. Yeah, I know. That's weird. [David]Yeah, that's kind of weird. [John]I don't feel it though. No, I hope not. No, no way. Other things, you know, I know we, you and I talked about reading and, you know, we both have a hard time reading, but it actually puts me to sleep, puts you to sleep. We talked about it. So, you know, I need to read 10 pages. I may get to five and then I'm out. Boats on my belly. I wake up. Oh, I got to read five more pages or else I just go to sleep. Right. That's right. Yeah. [David]Yeah, exactly. It is. It's like the first page and I'm out. But again, it's, it's kind of, I've tried to do digital book and that's even worse. [John]Yeah. [David]I mean, it is. It's like, oh my God. My eyes were killing me, but my body's just shutting down. [John]Yeah. [David]Yeah. I like, I like pages. [John]Yeah, I do too. I like to feel them. Yeah. Yeah, no, I agree. And also if you don't have like the blocking, you know, sunglasses or you don't have a tablet that you can read on. I mean, that's going to keep you up. Yeah. I mean, you may again, may go to sleep, but then you wake back up because that blue light tricks your brain and thinking it's actually supposed to be awake. Right. [David]Yeah. I mean, and you know, a lot of times you, you'll lay down and you can feel your eyes trying to open back up. [John]Yeah. [David]You know, you're just, you're not relaxed at all. [John]Yeah. [David]And that's usually it's from the blue light. Yeah. [John]So, so avoid meals, heavy meals. You get to have a little snack, but heavy meals and alcohol. Right. [David]Yeah. I mean, you know, I think, you know, like alcohol, like one drink obviously is probably not going to hurt you. [John]Right. [David]And if you, if you overdo. Yeah, it's not good. [John]Right. [David]It's bad. [John]Yeah. [David]It really does mess up your, your, uh, your body to relax because you're trying to produce, uh, you know, process that alcohol. [John]Sure. Sure. [David]That's what I was like to heavy foods, you know, heavy, greasy foods, or, or, you know, we'll keep your body working extra on that digestive track. And so, you know, it doesn't get the time to rest and eating early, you know, I mean, can, can help it again. These are suggestions for you to try. And, um, you know, there's a lot of them here. So, I mean, that's, we went over a lot of stuff. I'd hate for somebody to just go do it all. [John]Yeah. It'd be like, this isn't any fun. Yeah. [David]So just one little thing, but if you do, we'd love to hear about it. [John]Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Let us know. Let us know. Absolutely. Um, so, I mean, we think of, uh, the evening routine kind of like a runway. So, you know, it's, uh, it's what we do. We just make it smooth, make it steady. Don't try to do it all at one time. Just do, do some little things, you know, do maybe start journaling or something like that. You know, maybe think about, um, you know, generally what you did that day and how your sleep was. Right. Um, there's tons of apps out there. Um, you know, if you have a sleep device or that monitors it, that'll, that'll help. Um, but even that, you still have to journal it, um, or, or note it, note it, but that'll tell you a lot, you know, just like anything else KPIs, man. [David]Oh, yeah. It'd be amazing what you would learn about yourself. Just, just journal for a week and see what little changes make to your, your entire day. Uh, and then your sleep. So, I mean, again, that, that third period is very important, but, but, you know, again, you got to start the game in first period, second period is very important as well, but that third period, you got to finish, you got to finish. [John]That's right. [David]Yep. [John]But if you take care of that first and second, yeah, it almost guarantees that that third period is going to be good. Right. It may, it may not be perfect, but it'll be good. Um, and, and, and good can turn to great for sure. Um, yeah. Awesome. So, um, we didn't talk about the other thing that really matters, um, that we all love is our mattress. Um, obviously, you know, if you, you can do all these things, you can do your first and second, third period perfectly. But if you don't have that third period comfort support and durability, if your mattress is sagging, your back's hurting, if it's not giving you the right support, if it's over, you know, uh, a few, uh, eight years, our bodies change a lot. So you need to look at that, but, um, make sure you got a good mattress. [David]Well, and, and, you know, when you're ready for, to try some things, a new mattress is the ultimate time to try it. You know, anytime you get something new, y'all, you know, it's great to try some new things. Um, so, you know, get you a new mattress, start working on some of these different, you know, different routines and, and it'll be amazing what happens, but a good mattress is always going to help you out. [John]Definitely. Definitely. And we talked about that before that's kind of the easy button, you know, obviously, um, we, we, we run mattress grove on mattress grove and, um, we, you know, obviously we love to help people get a better night's sleep. That's why we're here. Um, and if, if we can help them with a mattress, we're happy to help there. They can go to mattressgrove.com or, or, um, they can hit us at, you know, @mattressgrove on, um, Instagram. And, uh, you know, if you go to mattressgrove.com, our, our number comes right up to our shared number. Yeah. Give us a call. We'd love to talk to you. You know, we'd love to talk to anybody about sleep, um, about routines. Uh, obviously we can talk about mattresses too. Um, so, uh, yeah. [David]Try something, try something for sure. [John]Definitely, definitely try. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, um, you know, I, I think, um, we talk about, you know, uh, we, we thought we talked about what you do in the morning. We talked about what we do in the second period in the afternoon. We talked about the evening. I mean, if there's just one thing, like you said, try something, try it, try it, whatever it is, journaling or just, you know, try just getting up and not get up, get up, get up every time, every day. But yeah. Awesome. Well, good. Well, well, thank you guys. Um, you know, for tuning in to the healthy living, uh, the healthy sleep podcast by MattressGrove. We appreciate you guys. Um, and, uh, you know, again, if you like what you saw, please hit the like button, um, share it with people that, that, you know, that might need sleep. Say people don't need sleep. I mean, heck, uh, but we appreciate you guys tuning in. Um, uh, hit that bell notification and you'll, uh, you'll know when we do the next one. So until next time sleep, get better sleep.