Sleep

It is better to think about quality rather than quantity when dealing with sleep. Quality can be determined not only when your are asleep, your routine while you are awake is important too.
Try to improve one step at a time. Little progresses make big differences.
Our biological clocks are regulated by external stimuli such as:
1. sunlight
2. temperature
3. meal time
Circadian rhythms work also without external stimuli
Homeostatic pressure determine our need to sleep. This need start when we wake up and keep increase while we are awake.
During night we attain the more efficient sleeping time near 2-3am (twelve hours later there is a compensation time span, it is really common for most of us to feel drowsy.
Light stimulate seratonin production, a neurotransmitter that increase well being and which melatonin is a derivative.
Blue light, dring the day as beneficial effects such as increase performance and reflexes. It is also reduce melatonin levels. It is a bad habit use blue light during the night as you might expect. Professor Idzikowsky define consequences of that bad habit (blue light from monitors before going to sleep) “junk sleep”. It is self explanatory.
In literature exist 3 chronotypes:
1. He who go to sleep and get up early (AM)
2. He who go to sleep and get up late (PM)
3. He who stay between 1 and 2
Check out the online quiz and find what is your chronotype (thanks to University of Monaco).
Melatonina is a hormone that is produced by the pineal gland. It regulate your need to go to sleep.
Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant. It is the world’s most widely consumed psychoactive drug. Unlike many other psychoactive substances, it is legal and unregulated in nearly all parts of the world. It reversibly blocks the action of adenosine on its receptor and consequently prevents the onset of drowsiness induced by adenosine. Caffeine also stimulates certain portions of the autonomic nervous system. Optimal dose for athletes is 3-6 milligrams per kilograms of body mass. It is a half-life that can be arrive up to six hours. Use caffeine as a power boost, not as a substance that you need in order to do the minimum.
Stop waking up late during the weekend, try to keep your morning routine as much as possible.
Is is proven that 90 minutes is the range needed to pass through each sleep phases. The more important are:
1. light sleep: in which information are consolidated and motor skills performance increase.
2. deep sleep: brain produce delta wave, the least frequency wave emitted (where we are awake brain produce beta waves that have an higher frequency). More deep sleep the better. We have the most beneficial effects and one of them is the production of growth hormone.
  
  born new cells, fix tissue and leave a feeling of renewal.
3. REM (Rapid Eye Movement): dreaming phase, here the mind trick us with dreams while the body is paralyzed. Studies report that REM sleep increase creativity.
It is not possible to get back lost sleep. Try to go to bed early or sleep for too long is time wasted. Our body is able to adapt, if you want to recover something, focus on keep your routine without too much worrying.
Keep a fix time to wake up is the best method we have to increase our sleeping quality.
Focus on cycles per night. A cycle is 90 minutes of sleep.
Try to find out how many cycles are best suite for us. If for example we have seen that we need 5 cycles per night, we must try to not have three consecutive nights with less cycles. It is really important to find out How many cycles we need to feel restful and increase our daily routine performance. We must be ready to feel our body and mind responses while change cycles per night. Try at least for a week before switch.
Do not think that sleep can only be done only monophasically. In a time window of 24 hours there are other opportunities to compensate a poor night sleep.
Our biggest problem is psychological. Common bias that we need 8 hours of sleep per night is a real beast. It is difficult now think that 4.30 is enough.
When we get older, our sleep habit shift one bit at a time from a monophasic to a polyphasic sleep.
Sleep on your side is the recommended position. Better if your slave side, because is the side least used so less sensible. In addition, the dominant side can be think as “the reactive” side that can help you defense against attacks while sleeping (in order to sleep well we need to feel secure).
Try to use your bedroom only for sleeping activities.
“Mouth breathing increase the number of sleep apnoea as well as probability to snore.” - Patrick McKeown The Oxygen Advantage
You can find if you have a good mattress if while you are on your side, the distance between the mattress and your head is less than two fist.
Double bed, as the word say must be at least 180 centimeters (width). Lesser the space we have higher is the probability to disturb our or our partner sleep. Sleep with someone else have benefits pre and post sleep. In an ideal world, we only [pre/post]sleep together.
Duvet optimal values: 13,5 tog during winter, 4,5 tog during summer, 9,0 tog during autumn and spring. In hot summer obviously we can use only a duvet cover or nothing at all.
Bedroom best practices:
1. minimal forniture, cleaned space and color neutral.
2. can be totally overshadowed (use a night mask can be bothersome, we must be as free as possible).
3. temperature should be between 16-18 celsius degree.
Use your bed only for sleeping.
Try to avoid a bottle of water near the bed. Think: why do you need it? If you wake up with a dry throat probably is because you are breathing with your mouth while sleeping. If you wake up in order to go to the bathroom, maybe you have drink too much before sleep. In addition keep a bottle of water near your bed, let your mind think about it during night, with higher probability to think you need a sip.
The best alarm clock is a sunrise simulator. A device useful not only for whom suffering SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) but for everyone that try to wake up with a “sunrise”. A sunrise simulator has beneficial brain and body effects in addition to emotional feelings and well being.
Benefits that come with R90 program (all tips mentioned above and below) become effective only in addition to good nutrition and body exercises. Tackle these three problems together and each one enhance benefits to the rest. Your life surely will be better.
Tryptophan is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. It is essential in humans, meaning the body cannot synthesize it and thus it must be obtained from the diet (fish, banana, dried fruit). Tryptophan is also a precursor to the neurotransmitter serotonin and the hormone melatonin. Sport athletes use Montmorency’s cherry as bio-hacking supplement. Glyn Howatson professor of Northumbria University has lead numerous studies that prove his beneficial effects and his efficiency after an intensive physical activity. In addition Glyn proved that these black berry increase melatonin production.
Oregon State University stated that 150 minutes of physical training per week, enhance sleep quality by 65%.
Sleeping pills can give addiction, memory loss and sleepwalking
Think about your sleep in a time window of 7 days. One night is not enough to draw conclusions
Usually it is more problematic to travel eastward rather than westward. Good tips are:
- Go to bed and get up early some days before your departure.
- Expose to sunlight early each day and avoid it during the evening
Sunlights is a lot of more effective rather than caffeine to keep you awake and sleeping pills to make you sleep.
An unbalanced sleep, typical to shift workers can lead to different problems such as depression, immune system imbalance, increase risk for cancer, cronic cardiopathy and metabolism disorders (type 2 diabetes). It is proven that being under these changes has severe health consequences. A study done to a sample of 70.000 nurses with a time window of 22 years has proven that after 5 years of shift work, probabilities to early death increase. Play with our internal clock has consequences. Always.
winter blues: winter tendency to slow down mood and wants. You can try to avoid winter blues trying to go out and get direct sunlight between 11am to 16pm
National Sleep Foundation recommend for newborns from 14 to 17 sleep hours per day. A quantity that decrease while children grow. 9 to 11 when they start to go to school and 8 to 10 at the age of fourteen.
Help your children to sleep well using pre and post routines and avoid/banish stimulant substances such as sugars.
Teenagers sleep more because is your body that need more sleep.

Pre Sleep Routine

A pre-sleep routine enhance your sleeping quality. Sometimes is better to reduce sleeping time in order to do your routine. Remember that it is a way much better quality rather than quantity in sleep.
Keep your bedroom with fresh air (not cold) is really important.
Have a warm shower rise your body temperature. When you get into bed, a little colder than you, works as naturally thermal excursion. In addition a lot of people feel comfortable getting into bed clean. It is not indispensable having a full shower, a rinse is enough.
Intensive training during afternoon or even evening increase bloody pressure (already at his maximum levels at that time) and for that reason it is not recommended before sleep, above all for the erderly. However going for a walk, yoga, stretching or low intensive exercises are recommended because as we said earlier rising your body temperature before sleeping can help.
Soften all surroundings is another tip. Switch off lights or keep them low, if possible choose lights with a warm color temperature.
Recommended activities:
1. Have a shower
2. Tidy up
3. Writing (thoughts, appointments, TODOs for the next day, stoic diary, …)
You might eat at least 3 hours before going to sleep. It is possible to have a snack but only before your pre-sleep routine (that is around 90 minutes).

Post Sleep Routine

Post sleep routine enhance our efficiency during the day.
If you wake up and your mouth is dry probably you breath throughout your mouth while asleep. Conversely if your mouth is wet, you are using your nose to breathe.
Cortisol (steroid hormone released in response to stress and low blood-glucose concentration) has his maximal level soon after your wake up time. It is useful start your day with relaxing activities, such as meditation, yoga, daily journal, reading…
When you wake up, get direct sunlight, it enhance our clarity of mind, it balance our biological clock and it prepare our body to switch from melatonin production to serotonin production.
Avoid un-healthy snacks (with too much sugar or difficult to digest).
If it is possible, have breakfast outdoor or at least in a room with a lot of sunlight. If outside the sun is not rise yet, switch on an artificial natural light.
It is a good habit doing some exercises, both high or low intensive. Having a walk, yoga, Taiji..
Easy mental activities such as listen to the radio, iron some clothes, tidy up, read and fix something are welcome.

NAP

Nap with steroids: assume caffeine before having your nap boost results. NB (the desired effects arise approximately 30 minutes after consumption).
It is not necessary to have perfect conditions. You can make a nap while you are in a sitting position.
It is not important if you fall asleep or not. It is important that you take advantage of this resting time, “switching off” your brain.
Find a way to rest. Rest improve your efficiency and concentration, it is scientifically proven.
In addition, switching off your brain reduce stress and keep your productivity high during all day.
If you sleep (1 cycle, 90 minutes, or more) during the day, it is preferred to choose between (13-15, 1pm-3pm) and (17-19, 5pm-7pm). The first one is better because is like the night period between 2am and 3am where the circadian stimulus is at his higher rate.

Quotes

We do not really know what sleep is. This may be upsetting for outsiders. - Philippe Mourrain

Breakfast is the most important meal. Period.

References

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