How to hack your sleep cycles
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We’ve all experienced that sluggish feeling when you’ve snoozed your alarm, thinking those extra 10 minutes of warm blankets will be well worth it, but then we've not been able to shake the sluggish feeling for a good 3 hours into the day.
Waking up feeling groggy and confused is the worst but what if there was a way to hack your sleep cycles and wake up feeling refreshed every day?
Everything in the world is made up of cycles - seasons, the tide, days, unfortunately the monthly visit from Aunt Flo; and sleep is no exception.
There are 5 main phases of our sleep cycles, lasting approximately 90 minutes; these are known as stages 1-4 and REM. In regards to the triune brain model, the area of the brain that is responsible for our sleep patterns is the ‘reptilian brain’ and the limbic brain - both areas are responsible for basic survival aka. homeostasis and regulation of your body’s biological clock (circadian rhythm). These are mainly controlled by hormones and exposure to light. Our circadian rhythms (24 hour cycles) match to the light-dark cycle of day and night; whilst dips in melatonin can increase drowsiness. These dips typically occur mid-afternoon (siesta time) and 2 - 4am. This means that these are our least productive times of the day and performance may improve with an afyernoon nap! Say it louder for the people in the back!!
There are many factors that can influence your sleep-wake cycle, including: medical conditions, medications, stress, sleep environment, and what you eat and drink. Jet lag or shift working is also an example of when the circadian rhythm gets mismatched with the time of day.
The stages of sleep:
To understand why you may feel sluggish, it’s important to take a look at the stages of sleep: The average twenty-year-old tends to get 5-6 cycles per night, and when this is plotted on a graph it represents a skyline. This is known as sleep architecture.
Stage 1 ‘The cat nap’ (1-7 minutes) - This is the changeover from being awake to being asleep. Initially, when we drop off to sleep, our bodies release chemicals which help us to slow down and relax. This period is often called restful wakefulness. During this phase you may find that you twitch, jump (often accompanied by that dreaded ‘falling to your certain doom’ sensation) and are easily woken.
Stage 2 ‘The power nap’ (10 - 25 minutes) - In this stage there is further relaxation of muscles, eye movements stop and the core body temperature lowers. On an EEG graph you will see low brain waves with small bursts of activity (spindles).
Stage 3-4 ‘The deep slumber’ (20-40 minutes) - It's most difficult to wake up during this stage. This is when the body repairs. A growth hormone is released which; stimulates muscle and tissue growth, enhances immune function, and boosts energy for the next day. This stage is what allows you to wake feeling refreshed. As a physiotherapist, one of the main things I recommend in my first consultation is focusing on sleep hygiene. A good sleeping pattern allows for restorative and healing sleep which will promote the healing process of injury and psychologically put you in a more positive mindset. The hormone progesterone causes our body temperature to rise and feelings of fatigue. This can explain why we feel more tired during PMS but find it difficult to sleep as a drop in body temperature indicates it's time for some beauty sleep. Thanks hormones!
Stage 4 ‘REM’ (90 minutes after falling asleep) - This is when your brain is most active and dreaming occurs. This phase can last up to 1 hour. REM sleep is when we consolidate our learning by processing information from throughtout the day and plays an important role in long-term memory function. This is why you may find that you have weird and wonderful visions of things that may have been mentioned or were even a passing thought during the day! This phase helps to restores your mind and aid with processing your emotions. Waking at this point can leave you feeling confused and disorientated. So when someone says “go to sleep, you'll feel better in the morning” it's pretty accurate as you've had chance to restore and emotionally recover.
Pressing the snooze button interferes with your body’s natural wake mechanisms. Your brain gradually brings you slowly to the surface of wakefulness, like scuba diving, which allows you to acclimatise by increasing your body temperature and alert hormones. When you're abrubtly awoken by your alarm and then hit the snooze button, your body and brain become confused and think we're going back to sleep which starts to reverse the wake-up process. When the second alarm goes off we enter a state called sleep inertia, or as I like to call it, the caveman state. You know, the one where you grunt at everyone and hobble around in a neanderthol slumber, gradually unfolding into the sleek, sassy professional that you are! Research has shown that this can last between 10 minites - 4 hours and chronic snoozers will find it more difficult to break the habit.
What does this tell us?
So, with further understanding of sleep cycles and the function of the brain, how does that help us to hack our sleep cycles? Well…we know that:
Sleep cycles last an average of 90 minutes.
It’s most difficult to rouse after stage 3 and it can leave you feeling groggy and confused.
Restoration and physical/emotional recovery happens in stage 3-REM.
Sleep is mainly governed by daylight and hormones.
We are least productive during siesta time (2-4pm) or 2-4am.
This means that you can now create a plan to allow you to wake in the correct stage to feel refreshed and energised. You can still use the snooze button strategically, I'll explain how below! It may take a little trial and error but you will notice a great improvement in the way that you feel.
Here are some top tips to improve your sleep and help you to wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go:
Top tips:
Simple maths.
We know on average we should aim for 7-8 hours of sleep per night and sleep cycles are approximately 90 minutes. You can work backwards from your wake up time to figure out when you should be aiming to sleep in order to complete your full cycles and wake in stage 1.
90 x 5 = 450 minutes
450 / 60 = 7.5 hours
So, if you want to wake at 6.30am, you should be aiming to go to bed at 10.30pm (including 30 minutes to actually drop off!).
If all of this maths is too confusing or quite frankly, you can't be bothered, try the next point!
Use a sleep tracker app.
I use the sleep cycle app which I find works well. This is a quicker and more accurate way to determine your personal sleep cycles by recording sound and movement. They often come with relaxation sounds and a graduated alarm clock.
Create a routine.
Once you've figured out the rough time you should aim to go to bed, it's all about consistency and forming the habit. I know as twenty-somethings we have our social lives and personal interests to consider so maybe aim for a routine at least monday-friday? You'll start to find your body clock naturally wakes you up, long gone gone are the days of weekend lie-ins *sob*. Your routine will start before you go to sleep, see below.
Prepare for bedtime.
Some people find that activities such as yoga, reading or a hot bath can help to wind them down, ready to go to bath. You can also experiment with essential oils such as lavender, vanilla, rose geranium and jasmine. You can add these to your bath, use a diffuser (I love mine) or create your own mist with a mix of a few scents.
Reduce blue light exposure.
Blue light is a stimulant emmited from TV and phone screens which supresses the amount of melatonin (your sleeping beauty hormone) your body makes. Blue light glasses can act as an effective shield to reduce your exposure to blue light but the best option is to stop looking at digital screens 1 hour before you sleep.
Make your bedroom a place for sleep.
By making your bedroom a calm and non-stimulating environment this conditions your brain to expect to sleep when you go into that room. Simple decisions like removing your TV and not allowing a computer or laptop in there can really help. Blackout curtains are a great way to make the room as dark as possible, telling your brain it's time to knock out the zzzz's.
Diet.
Food that contain the vitamins and minerals to help create melatonin include: almonds, chamomile tea, oily fish, white meat, walnuts, spinach and avocado. It's best try to avoid food/drink that contain caffeine, spicy foods, alcohol and meals high in fats. If you're hungry before bedtime the best suggested snacks are: a bowl of cereal, cheese and crackers, or peanut butter on toast.
Exercise.
Keeping active has been shown to increase the amount of time spent in deep sleep (stage 3-4) and the duration of sleep to allow you to recharge. This doesn't have to be structured exercise, it can be anything that gets you out of breath.
Sunlight alarm clock
These sunlight alarms work by tapping into our circadian rhythms through light and help you to wake up naturally. The light intensity gradually increases to simulate sunrise at the time you set your alarm. You can also set it to wake you during your lightest stages of sleep. Double hack!
Put your alarm clock out of reach.
If you use a sound alarm clock, try putting it out of reach so you have to get out of bed to turn it off. You'll probably try and find creative solutions to not leaving your cozy duvet initially like lassooing it with your dressing gown cord, but trust my it'll get easier!
Use snooze strategically
Instead of hitting snooze and using it as an excuse to return to the depths of slumber, try hitting the snooze button but use this time to meditate, stretch and gradually open your eyes for a gentle wake up.
Time your naps!
If you're strategic with your nap game you can avoid waking in stage 3-REM. Therefore aim for either 15-20 minutes, up to the power nap stage, or 90 minutes to complete the full sleep cycle. BOOM. Napping pro.
So there you have a few pointers to improve your sleep hygiene and hack your sleep cycles. I will leave you this week with an affirmation for sleep (check out my pinterest and facebook accounts for more)
Wishing you love, laughter and serenity.
Sarah xx
Sources:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/9-foods-to-help-you-sleep#section4
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2890316/
https://sleepcouncil.org.uk/advice-support/sleep-hub/sleep-matters/blue-light-and-sleep/
https://www.sleep.org/articles/what-happens-during-sleep/
https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Understanding-sleep/
Thank you for reading!
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