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Sleep

Sleep is critical to be able to function at your peak level and to be happy. Adults should aim for roughly 8 hours of sleep per night. There seems to be valid reasons for waking up early.

Sleep Calculators​

  • Sleep Time Calculator
    • This works off of when you want to go to bed or when you want to wake up and provides some suggested times, but the only input is one of those two times.
  • Sleep Calculator by Sleep Foundation
    • This one takes age into consideration, although once you are an adult it effectively has no impact on the calculation.

Deep Sleep​

The Deep Sleep stage is when your body slows down, information is stored in long-term memory, learning and emotions are processed, and your body and immune system recover. Most people do not get enough deep sleep; on average, an adult’s sleep cycle is about 13-23% deep sleep.

Some steps to improve the quality of deep sleep:

  • Take a warm shower 90 minutes before bed; this trigger’s your body’s process of cooling off to help lower your core temperature
  • Don’t use any digital devices 60 minutes before bed
  • Go to bed the same time every night

Naps​

Naps can help counteract sleep deprivation. Block out all lights and sounds using drapes, an eye mask, sound cancelling device or earplugs. Set an alarm, and ignore anything you “should” be doing.

I find that a 20 minute nap is the sweet spot for shorter naps. I have heard, but not tested, that 90 minute naps can be very effective. Polyphasic sleep cycles use 90 minute naps to make it through the day.