Sleep is vital to our health and productivity, but that doesn't always mean we get quality sleep, or that we even want to go to sleep when it's time to.
I used to think that sleep was a waste of time. I'd rather be up doing stuff than spending it idle doing nothing. With that mindset, I'd often stay up til I couldn't stay awake any longer. We're talking 2-3 am, even later. Then, I'd wake up anywhere between 6-8am. One could imagine the type of energy I had the next day (it was sh*t).
Once I saw the value in sleep, as well as utilized an app called Sleep Cycle, I trained myself to get better quality sleep, which allows me to maximize the hours I am awake.
Use the experience and resources I share to better your quality of sleep!
Step 1: Make Quality Sleep A Priority
The first alteration I made was shifting the paradigm I had around sleep. Instead of seeing sleep as a waste of time, which made me resistant to going to sleep, I now see sleep as VERY critical to performing at a high level in life.
If you see quality sleep As important as drinking water, you'll make sure to get proper rest.
Said another way, there is a diminishing return by you staying up late, completing tasks, and risking poor quality sleep. You're better off cutting the cord at a certain time, committing to quality rest, and being super-ready and energized the next day.
PLUS, when you give yourself a cut-off time to be productive, it forces you to figure out ways to get MORE done during the time you do have. It's pretty dope.
Step 2: Track The Quality Of Your Sleep Using the "Sleep Cycle" App
The Sleep Cycle app will do two things:
1) Track your entire sleep cycle and display the time intervals in which you were awake, asleep, and in deep sleep. It's pretty simple, the more deep sleep you get, the more rested you'll feel the next day.
2) The app's alarm will only be triggered when you are in a wakeful state, as opposed to a deep sleep state. Instead of an alarm that wakes you up right at 6am, it will wake you up some time between 5:30 and 6am depending on when you are in a wakeful state. That way, waking up to your alarm will feel like a light tap on the shoulder, as opposed to a hammer to the face.
With an app like this, All you have to do is set it up before you go to bed and track the results after you wake up.
Step 3: Using the tracking results, notice what type of sleep and the amount of time leads to your most preferable energy levels the next day.
For example, I noticed that if I get 5.5 hours of sleep, of which at least a 2/3 of that time frame is deep sleep, I feel amazing and can start my day off even if it's less than the recommended 7-8 hours.
Similarly, if I get less than 3 hours of sleep, it's usually horrible and I get NO deep sleep. The next day I'll likely feel groggy and just plain sh*t.
Step 4: Create An Evening Ritual That Primes Your Mind and Body For Sleep Time
I've always had some type of morning routine, but it wasn't until I watched a video by Tim Ferriss that an evening ritual was something I created.
Almost no matter what, my end of the day routine now looks like this:
- do the dishes
- wipe the dinner table
- reset my office and bedroom (aka put stuff back in their place, clear tables of clutter, close all windows on PCs)
- refill my water bottles (I have three, don't ask me why)
- drink tea and chill out
- in bed by some predetermined time, usually between 11pm-1am
Point is, the last 1-2 hours before bed I'm winding down, clearing my mind, and subconsciously telling my body, "hey, days almost over, we're gonna sleep soon!"
That's the gist of how I trained myself to get better quality sleep. If you're interested in some bonus tips on how to get quality sleep, keep readin'!
Bonus Tip #1: Do so much during the day that by the time it's bed time, your body CRAVES sleep.
When you're well rested, you can really attack your day and get a lot done. I like to approach my day as a sports game, and I'm the athlete. During the game, you play hard and exhaust yourself. You focus. You're on the move. You're ready to react.
Similarly, you have your timeouts, half times, water breaks, and such.
Then, once the game is over, your body and mind are so done that rest is almost the natural, unavoidable next step.
Exhaust yourself during the day, and sleep will come naturally!
Bonus Tip #2: Find What Works For You
I noticed that when I play some sports talk or The Office as I'm in bed, it creates the mental illusion that I'm not going to bed...but I'm just hanging out (or something).
I don't know about other people, but for some reason the process of waiting until I fall asleep is just absolutely dreadful. I'd rather falling asleep be some kind of "I didn't even notice myself fall asleep and it's already the next day and time to wake up" phenomenon.
If I could, I'd shut my eyes, immediately be asleep, then wake up the next day as if only seconds had passed. Typically, that's what my sleep experience is like these days - AND I LOVE IT! So does my body and mind.
Point is, find what works for you and your sleep process. If complete darkness is what works - do that. If wearing a sleeping mask is what works - do that! If something doesn't work, or you don't like it, well, take it out! Simple :)
Final Remarks
It is crucial that you use an app to monitor your sleep cycle. Without it, you can't really know what the heck is going on while you're asleep. With an app like Sleep Cycle, you'll easily discover your secret formula to quality sleep. All you'll need to do then is replicate it.
Oh, secret bonus tip #3, if you're not excited to wake up everyday, to live the life you live, then THAT will also play a role here. If you'd rather be asleep than go and do what you must do that day...well...that's a different topic, for a different blog post, for a different day.
