Sleeping

Last week I published a text about the daily cycle. It didn´t have anything about sleeping which is at least as important as maximizing the effects of the peak hours and minimizing the effects of a daily slump. I will also explain in the end how I improved my sleep. It is based on my own experience and has some scientific facts, but don´t copy my habits. Instead, do it on your own, if you feel it is needed.

Most adults need from 7 to 10 hours of sleep

You can see many business leaders, presidents, politicians, and other famous people boast about their lack of sleep. Most of them lie to themselves. One percent of the people can live a full life with less sleep than six hours a day. Genetic mutation accomplishes this trait in the people. There are some deciding factors for the need of sleep. Maybe the most important one is your age. Children need more sleep than adults. Children need at least ten hours of sleep every day depending on their age. After becoming an adult the need to sleep is somewhere between seven and ten hours. Professional athletes and other people who exercise a lot must sleep for about ten hours. It is normal for athletes to have a nap during the day. I assume that applies to people with lots of cognitive activity during the day too. These people probably need a little bit less sleep than athletes.

Sleep is the ultimate performance enhancer

Sleep is the ultimate performance enhancer. Sleep helps you to clear out toxins from your body. It solidifies your immune system. Your chances of getting diseases diminish. It improves your memory utilization. It helps you to store your memories which improves your ability to learn. You can use your working memory better and it also strengthens your long term memory. It helps you to make better decisions. It improves your willpower and diminishes decision fatigue. You will also be more focused during the day. It even enhances your physical performance. Sleep deprivation has all the inverse effects compared to the enhancing effects.

How I improved my sleep

A couple of years ago I didn´t sleep that well. I couldn´t get sleep very fast after I went to bed. I could turn around in the bed for an hour or for many hours before I could sleep. I was tired for the whole day after this. Now I have fewer problems and I usually fall asleep fast after going to bed. It took a while before it got better. I did several things. First, I started to turn off my laptop before 10.00 pm. I think this was the best single thing I did to improve my sleep. I don´t have a smartphone, iPad, or similar equipment that emits the worst kind of light, blue light. Some scientists recommend not to use these things for about two hours before going to sleep. In my experience, this works well. There is another reason to do this too. It reduces the need to think about all the tasks for the next day. It also reduces unwanted signals from the world. I used to think them so much that ”smoke came out of my head.” I couldn´t sleep because of this.

I also have a limit for getting caffeine during the day. The maximum amount of coffee for me is about half a liter, which is about one pound. I have to drink all the coffee before 01.00 pm. There is no exact science behind this. Scientists have different opinions about this. They say that caffeine stays in your body from five to ten hours after drinking. Some people don´t suffer from this at all. They can drink coffee whenever they want. Start experimenting in timing the caffeine intake if you think that this is one option for you to improve your sleep. Exercise during the day is recommendable, but I avoid heavy exercise if I have to wake up early in the morning. Staying outside for a while every day has helped me to sleep better. I have no idea if there is any science behind this phenomena but to me it is useful.

I also have about the same bedtime routine every day. I think you have to design your own if you have trouble sleeping when you go to bed. First, use the bed only for sleeping and having sex. Do not use it for anything else. Second, start going to bed at the same time every day. You can have one or two exceptions during the weekend. Your main sleeping hours need to be the same every day. Third, I also don´t have my laptop in that room. Put your smartphone, laptop, and iPad before you go to bed to another room if you have one. If you need to use an alarm of your smart device to wake you up in the morning, keep it so far that you cannot start seeing the blue light after you go to bed. I doubt there is any science behind this, but I find it useful. Fourth, use blackout shades in your bedroom when you are in bed. Fifth, change your bedsheets weekly. Sixth, don´t leave any unfinished tasks or business behind when you go to bed. For example, if you use to-do lists, finish them early. Seventh, I express gratitude for three things before I start sleeping. I am sure there is no science behind this, I just lie to myself that this helps. If you don´t believe in expressing gratitude, forget it.

Please be aware that these methods I used to improve my sleep might not work for you. These methods are not dangerous and probably need tinkering. Find out what is best for you. You can read more from sources like:

Why We Sleep, Matthew Walker
Sleep Revolution, Arianna Huffington

Until next week,

-TT

Daily cycle

You have a biological clock like most living things. This clock is called a suprachiasmatic nucleus, or SCN. It controls your body temperature, metabolism, and sleeping patterns. Your SCN produces personal fluctuations in your bodily functions. Even though people have different fluctuations, they are similar in many ways. This text focuses on the daily cycles during the moments you are awake.

People with normal fluctuations and owls

Let's keep things simple and acknowledge that there are two kinds of daily patterns. First, and a much bigger group of people have normal fluctuations. Then there is a second group called owls who have an inverse type of fluctuations compared to normal people. To understand how you can use these patterns into your advantage, you have to first find out which group you belong to. The best way to do it is to have the next day off and go to sleep in a normal time without artificially controlling the moment you wake up or you go to sleep. Now ask yourself three questions:

1. When did I go to sleep?
2. When did I wake up?
3. What was the midpoint of the sleep?

The midpoint of sleep for normal people is somewhere between 02.00 am and 05.00 am. If you are an owl, the midpoint of your sleep is 06-00 am or after. Age can make a difference. Around puberty most people are owls. After becoming twenty, people start changing their sleeping patterns from owls to normal. If you cannot define your type after a first attempt, try again. Your type defines the optimal timing for different tasks and the way you normally feel during the day.

Two different three-part daily patterns

Let's divide your daily fluctuations to two different three-part patterns:

1. Normal people have a peak-slump-rebound pattern
2. Owls have a rebound-slump-peak pattern.

What these patterns mean is that all the people have to maximize the advantages of the peaks and rebounds and minimize the effects of slumps. Peaks are the high points of the day. They are good for analytical tasks, you feel happiest, most refreshed, and focused during them. The best thing you can do during the peaks is to perform the most important analytical tasks. Normal people have their peaks somewhere from early to midmorning and owls have their peaks somewhere from the late afternoon to evening. Peaks are the ideal times for doing analytic tasks or making decisions. Rebounds are good for creating insights. Your creativity is at its highest point in rebounds. Brainstorming sessions should be performed during them. Normal people are the most creative in the late afternoon and owls are most creative in the morning.

Minimizing the effect of slumps on you

Slumps start in the early afternoon and end in the early evening. The exact timing depends on the person. You can find out the exact timing by checking out how you feel in the afternoon and how productive you can be. Repeat this often enough and you will find the timing for your slumps. The most fatal failures and errors happen during the slump. Avoiding them is as important as using your peak hours for the most important tasks. If you can only relax during the slump, do it. Take a short nap, have a long break, preferably for the whole afternoon, and forget all the important things. If you cannot have a break in the afternoon, do the less important tasks, like answering your emails or some other administrative tasks.

The next best thing after having a long break in the afternoon is to have a shorter break that lasts, for example, from 20 minutes to an hour. The perfect afternoon break has several elements. None of them includes your workplace or your colleagues. Do not stay close to your desk or even the building where you work. Leave your smartphone to your desk and go outside and start moving. Have someone with you, preferably someone who doesn´t care about your work. To have an ideal break, you need to be detached from your duties.

Sleep is an important way of recovering from the day and avoiding slumps. I will write about it next week.

-TT