Sleepy course 😴 Day 12

Let’s continue delving into the topic of sleep. 🌃

People usually think about sleep only in terms of duration. 7-8 hours of sleep is good, less is bad.

Although, I keep repeating:

Sleep quality is also a crucial metric. ☝️ 5 hours of restful, deep sleep can be more recuperating than 7 or 8 hours of a mediocre one.

But what is restful, deep sleep? Let’s figure it out.

Sleep includes 5 different phases:

Phases 1 and 2 are light, shallow sleep.

Phases 3 and 4 are deep sleep. They are also known as SWS (Slow Wave Sleep).

R.E.M is a phase of rapid eye movement.

During the night you switch between those phases many times. But this switching happens sequentially, not haphazardly. You start with the first, move to the second, and gradually go deeper. You rest for a bit on the fourth and climb back.

One up and down cycle takes approximately 1.5 hours. Most people need 5-6 cycles a night to fully rest. That’s why WHO and other health organizations recommend 7-9 hours of sleep.

Although, there are exceptions. Lucky people with a mutation in the gene DEC2. They only need 4 cycles.

Here’s how it looks in a chart form:

While asleep we need to stay longer at the bottom. Deep sleep is the most recuperating.

Imagine that the sleep phases are floors. You leave on the 5th floor and like to go for a walk. But you often don’t have time for it.

If you stop dwindling and learn how to descend quickly you will have more time for a walk 😉

Many of the exercises we do in this course are like a fast modern elevator. They help us to fall asleep faster and then move quickly through less beneficial phases 1 and 2.

This is all very interesting, right? We will talk later in more detail about each phase. For now, let me tell you what can break our elevator.

Stress

Often, our elevator is broken by ruffians know as cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline. These are all hormones that form the “Stress” gang. They were caught by many researchers.

This gang doesn’t always mean trouble. During the day they can help us be more energetic and when produced in moderate amounts even improve short term memory.

You should, however, avoid them in the evening before sleep time!

Shot from the film "Hooligans", directed by A. Lexi, 2005

What do you do with them?

After the first alarm, try to put aside your work, avoid strong emotions and discussions. If you can, move it to the next morning. Remember, people tend to overestimate the urgency of their tasks. This cognitive bias is known as Urgency bias.

We’ll catch up later on all those tasks 🚀 and finish them quicker than expected! Also, research shows that well-rested people are better and defending against the “Stress” gang.

The tasks:

Start finishing stressful tasks earlier, at least put them off after the first alarm

Avoid talking to people who tend to get on your nerves in the evening
Get another dose of joy from your evening ritual 😌

Stress

The tasks:

The studies: