Not enough sleep, but right?
Inspired by this post from user case. The post is not new, and it did not make it to the main page. But I came across it today and decided to write something about sleep. I am sure that this will be useful to many Khabranovites, and to casual readers too.
Preface
I live in the region, I study in the center of Moscow. I study 5-6 days a week, often classes start at 8-30. A one-way journey takes 2-3 hours (bus + metro or train + metro). There were 2 things that really bothered me about this routine.
1) Most of the day's life is spent on the road (on average 5 hours a day), in which you can neither study nor engage in any hobbies. Just listen to music.
The schedule of wake up - leave - study - come - lessons - sleep (lessons can be crossed out) did not suit me at all, but there was no time or energy left for anything else.
2) You have to get up early and go to bed late in order to at least get something done. Often, by the end of the week, coffee and energy drinks would keep me going. Terrible. Of course there are different solutions to the problem, but all of them were rejected. The conditions in the dorm are terrible, renting an apartment is not cheap, I like the university, but I want to live a full life.
Thus, I came to the conclusion that problem 1) can be solved by sleeping less (there will be more free time), and problem 2) can be solved (hello captain)
, getting better sleep
(from the word sleep, not sleep)
.
Oddly enough, I found that both problems can be solved at the same time. I studied a certain amount of literature and came to a program that I have been following for more than a year, since then I sleep 5-6 hours a day (when required, and often required - 3-4 hours). At the same time, I feel great, I get up easily in the morning, I haven’t drunk coffee or energy drinks for a year. The head and muscles are fresh at both 10 and 11 pm. I would like to share with you what I am doing.
For the lazy: the main ideas are in bold
For the moderately curious: you can read this huge number of letters in their entirety.
For those who are very interested: I wrote a little and only the main thing. For more information use Goojje other sources.
UPD:
In general, the article was written from memory and “notes,” but here are a few books that definitely influenced me: 40 Sleep Hacks: The Geek's Guide to Optimizing Sleep Kacper M. Postawski — How To Sleep Less…
I will try to adhere to a certain structure of the narrative so that it is easy to perceive all the information. Plan. 1. GENERAL THEORY ABOUT SLEEP (as well as well-known misconceptions about sleep) 2. MY DAY REGIME (compiled using all sorts of articles, brochures and even one serious book) 3. COMBATING INSOMNIA (a common cause of lack of sleep) + what can and cannot be done before sleep. 4. CONCLUSION AND WARNING I recommend starting with the second part, leaving the first for last if you find the rest interesting.
I. GENERAL THEORY
Have you heard that an adult needs 8 hours to sleep, and a child needs 10? Forget it. It is not true. If you meet a person who only needs to sleep half as much, this is not a zombie or a superman. He just has the right regime and routine. Sleep phases.
In short, sleep occurs in the following. phases: - Light dozing, this is when, for example, you get stuck in front of a monitor or listening to the lecturer’s voice, and when you wake up, 5 minutes have already passed. The second phase is full sleep, but not deep. Characterized by rare bursts of brain activity.
Doctors say that often in this phase “the brain tries to turn itself off.”
The third phase is deep sleep. The most important part of sleep.
In it, the brain and body relax, and the most intensive restoration of the body's resources occurs. The heart rate slows down and the body temperature drops.
There is virtually no brain activity.
The fourth phase is the REM sleep phase. In English, it is called Rapid Eye Movement, because, according to experts, in this phase the pupil of the eye runs back and forth under the eyelid like crazy. The body also rests there, but not as intensely as in the deep sleep phase. In 95% of cases, it is in this phase that you dream. This cycle of four phases occurs several times during sleep, and not just once, and the further you go, the larger the share of the fourth and first two phases becomes, and the faster the deep sleep phase passes, although in the very first cycle deep sleep lasts the longest. Thus, at this stage, the conclusion is simple: the more DEEP SLEEP, and the DEEPER it is (i.e., in fact, the less brain activity, the lower the body temperature and the slower all processes in the body, the better for deep sleep). Yes, by the way, the cycle begins with the REM sleep phase... This is not all you need to know in this part. First, I want to draw your attention to the effect of body temperature on your activity and sleepiness. The dependence is simple: the higher the temperature (within reasonable limits, of course) - the higher your activity. If you think that a person has a temperature of 36.6 during the day, you are mistaken. It jumps quite strongly, sometimes the amplitude is up to two degrees! (say from 36 to 38). Hence the conclusion. During the day, the temperature should be high so that the body works well, and at night it should be low so that the brain can more enjoy the deep sleep phase. And finally, a rather important thing is melatonin. Have you heard about this hormone? It is located in the pineal gland and, to a slightly lesser extent, in the retina. To briefly describe its influence on our topic: the more it stands out, the more we want to sleep. And it is released when our eyes are in conditions of lack of light (which is why it is sometimes called vampire hormone). And in bright light it, accordingly, is destroyed, i.e. what we need.
II. MY MODE
So, a complex of things that I do.
1) Consistent sleep schedule.
WHAT? I advise you to get up at the same time every day. If on weekdays you need to get up at 6 am, then on weekends you need to do the same. At least approximately. Not at six, but at seven - half past seven for sure. FOR WHAT? The reason is simple. The body “gets used” to getting up at the same time + sleeping at the same time. Do not forget what is described in the general theory about the time of awakening. IMPORTANT! You need to wake up in the REM sleep phase. How will you find it? Just move your alarm clock back and forth for 10-20-30 minutes throughout the week. And you will definitely find a time when it is VERY easy for you to get up.
2) Exercise in the morning.
WHAT? Serious exercise, not lame 10 squats, bending to the floor and abs. Serious exercise that will make you sweat (don't forget to shower after). Personally, my program includes pull-ups, push-ups, a large number of abs, lifting weights (light, but many times), all this in fast mode for at least 20 minutes. FOR WHAT? See part one. Exercise seriously increases body temperature, and therefore the performance of the body and brain, if it is part of your body.
3) Owner, we need more light.
WHAT? Yes, you need a lot of strong, bright light. Preferably real sunlight, if not possible, bright (naturally, not blinding) light in the workplace. FOR WHAT? And again, see part one of my post. Melatonin is destroyed in the light, and you want to sleep less. If you don’t work in the brightest conditions, go for lunch somewhere outside (well, not when it’s -20 outside, of course).
4) Requires physical activity throughout the day.
WHAT? Well, if you have the opportunity to go for a run after work (or during class in general), go to the gym or pool. FOR WHAT? All the same. Keep your body temperature high enough to keep your body active and your brain fresh.
5) Drink a lot of water
WHAT? Come on, don't pretend you didn't hear. This is said in many places, it is useful for many things. For sleep too. FOR WHAT? The body needs a lot of water. I don’t remember the exact numbers, but at least a couple of liters a day just for the normal functioning of the kidneys and liver. When the body has enough of everything, it can relax enough during sleep. PS We are talking about WATER, not any liquid.
6) Do not drink: alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, energy drinks.
WHAT? Probably the most difficult thing, right? I’ll be honest, I’ve never smoked, I easily gave up caffeine and energy drinks (their taste never appealed to me), I couldn’t give up alcohol
