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sleep cycle optimisation
Randall88
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Soo, I've been trying to optimize my sleep for quite some time now.. you know the feeling, when you wake up and feel alert and ready to go straight away (compared to feeling like s*it, sluggish and brain-fogged all day).
I usually try to hit either 6, 7,5 or 9 hrs of sleep (based on the circadian rhythm).. however, it doesn't happen to me too often that I would jump out of the bed feeling perfect. Sometimes even, I wake up naturally after a random time slept (in between the 1,5 hour cycles) and I feel good. And at other times, I sleep for a long time, without an alarm clock and feel bad and sluggish all day.
Isn't the body 'supposed' to wake up naturally after the optimal time slept ? Even though I try, it seems that I am unable to control my sleep pattern in a predictable way to have a perfect night of sleep every single time.
Anybody here managed to master their sleeping patterns and could share some advice ?
I usually try to hit either 6, 7,5 or 9 hrs of sleep (based on the circadian rhythm).. however, it doesn't happen to me too often that I would jump out of the bed feeling perfect. Sometimes even, I wake up naturally after a random time slept (in between the 1,5 hour cycles) and I feel good. And at other times, I sleep for a long time, without an alarm clock and feel bad and sluggish all day.
Isn't the body 'supposed' to wake up naturally after the optimal time slept ? Even though I try, it seems that I am unable to control my sleep pattern in a predictable way to have a perfect night of sleep every single time.
Anybody here managed to master their sleeping patterns and could share some advice ?
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As for sleeping with no alarm and waking up groggy, that's probably because the night before you didn't get enough sleep or some other problem. Lots of effects of sleep on the body are on a one day delay.
Waking up at the right point in your REM cycle is only part of the answer. You also need to be getting enough sleep consistently, and sleeping at consistent times. In general, try to set a one-hour window for bedtime and a four-hour window for wake time, and stay within those windows every night.
Will need to try a bit better in the future. And I also started to use an iPhone app again (I used it in the past, but it wasn't very helpful), so I'll see how it works out now.
Getting a puffier, firmer goose down pillow solved a lot of issues for me, including achy neck muscles.
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Getting 6 hours consistently with the same bedtime and wake time, I'm up. My body even wakes up naturally a few minutes before the alarm.
Which kinda sucks because my sleep brain very briefly thinks, 'aaaaawww, I could have slept another 3 minutes!'
Also, don't use snooze. It's such an awful feature and in no way does that extra 10 or 15 minutes help. You just end up groggy and with less time in the morning.
1. Alcohol can negatively impact the quality of sleep.
2. I find exercise really helps my sleep. If, during the day, I am moving lots and burning lots of energy, not only do I fall asleep faster but I feel like I have a much more deep sleep. If I spend the whole day lounging around and not moving, it takes me longer to fall asleep AND I'm restless during the night. This is very anecdotal, but I've heard others say similar things before.
1. Avoid drinking anything with alcohol or caffeine (even if it's just a coke) late in the evening. Both can affect your sleep. Although, in my experience, just a tiny nightcap is usually okay--especially if you have a lot of calming down to do before sleep. (Just one shotglass of something is prooobably okay, but see how it works for you.)
2. Be as consistent as possible, though I know this is harder for some than others, e.g. people on a varying retail schedule, etc. If you can't go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day, then at least try to get the same duration every day. Your body does have an internal clock, and if you are sleeping at the same time and for the same length for a consistent enough period of time, then your body will just "know" to start waking itself up after a certain point. When you are consistent, the clock gets better and your sleep more efficient. When your sleep is all over the place, it's like neverending DST for your internal clock, i.e. it's always adjusting and never quite accurate. In addition to caffeine or other sleep-affecting substances, this could also partly explain your waking up when you don't want to.
3. Make sure you are comfortable, which could involve trying different things. Some people prefer a mattress that's so soft it's like sleeping on air, whereas other people prefer a mattress that's a little more firm. For me, it varies and depends on what kind of activity I've been up to, and my father was the same way. Some days he would sleep on his feather bed, but other days his back kind of hurt and it honestly felt better to just sleep on the floor, so he would do that. The same applies for softness/firmness/shape of pillows. Also, some people sleep better with a pillow in their arms and/or a pillow between their knees (when sleeping on their side), so that's something you could try as well. You could also try out body pillows either in front of you and/or behind you when you sleep. They are good if you like to have something in your arms/legs when you sleep, but also good if you like being "tucked" between pillows.
4. Sound makes a difference for a lot of people. Some people absolutely HATE this, but it's true that some people sleep better with a fan on in the room. Or if not a fan, some other type of thing that produces a steady, consistent noise. Other people prefer sound machines that play the sound of rain, flowing water, the ocean, or what have you. But a lot of people find that kind of new agey and weird. If any of those work for you, it's worth a try at least. Personally, I think the advantage of these isn't so much the sound itself that helps sleep as much as it is that it nullifies small, sudden sounds that might otherwise affect your sleep--especially during the early stages of first falling asleep.
5. Light makes a HUGE difference in terms of falling asleep, staying asleep, and ESPECIALLY waking up. People always focus on the falling asleep and deep sleep but too often neglect the importance of waking up properly. Your body responds naturally to sun cycles, so your body is all set to sleep when it's dark outside. That part is easy. But your body will also recognize the gradually rising sun--i.e. a gradual increase in the amount of light in the room--and will start to slowly wake itself up naturally. The truth is that even if you get a mostly great night's sleep, but you are waking up to an alarm to a pitch black room at 4am, then your body still feels caught off guard by that. Sleep has "layers" or "phases", and your body falls into deeper sleep by descending gradually through these "layers". The natural way to wake up is for your body to come back out of deep sleep one layer at a time, which it will do based on the gradually increasing light in the room. Waking up your body when it doesn't feel ready can be part of what's making you feel like shit, even if you're getting a good number of hours in. I know that in my case, it would always make me feel really depressed when waking up very suddenly in the dark like that---especially during the winter months. What I would recommend is putting a lamp next to your bed that gives off a very soft/low YELLOW light (do not use the white light of your tablet/iphone--that actually negatively affects sleep). Turn that on for a while before you go to bed to simulate "sunset light" for a while before you turn in. When your alarm goes off in the morning, reach over and flick your little soft lamp on for some "sunrise" light. You will notice a significantly different response in your body as opposed to just rolling out of bed in the dark. If it is worth it to you, you can also buy something called a sun lamp which literally gradually dims/brightens like a sun cycle to help your body's sleep rhythm, but a really good one can be expensive. But it's something to consider if you're interested.
Not even just. The amount of sugar you'd be ingesting before bed is absurd.
Yeah, I'd honestly advise people to avoid soft drinks altogether. The sugar is bad enough, but also the TYPE of sugar makes it worse. They are terrible for your body and the absolute worst possible thing for your teeth. I gave them up years ago, and I'm sure my body is grateful.