I don't think I've ever met someone who said they don't like to sleep.
I most certainly love it.
Some, are morning people and get up and going with no efforts whatsoever, for others instead, getting up in the morning is a quest.
I belong to the latter group.
My mother always says how as a child I loved to sleep.
From infant days to my toddlers years up to the age of 8 I would take long naps in the afternoon.
Growing up in a country where taking a nap in the afternoon is basically a cultural thing, she saw no harm in my keenness in sleeping plus what parent doesn't enjoy having a few hours of peace where they can focus on something else that isn't feeding or watching out for their kid.
WHEN SLEEPING ISN'T GOOD FOR YOU My love of sleep really should have instead woken up some flags and when it did I was already about 10 years old.
I contracted a virus that made me miss school for weeks and I had to do lots of blood testing too.
It was then, that our family doctor pointed out (the unrelated fact) that I had minor Thalassemia also known as Mediterranean Anemia.
Minor Thalassemia is when there's a defect in a gene that helps control the production of either the Alpha or Beta globin, a protein present in the blood.
Minor Thalassemia is far from being life threatening, other than giving the symptoms of mild anemia, but it makes you a carrier of the trait as it's hereditary, so one should still take notice before having kids because if your partner is also a carrier then the chances for your children being affected rise dramatically.
How is this related to sleep? Well, I just felt more fatigued than other kids for doing the same things: playing, going to school etc.
As an adult this hasn't changed, if anything, it got worse as I developed hypothyroidism and although I use medication, I still struggle with some of the symptoms like fatigue, and difficulty in concentration.
So, recently I tried to experiment with other things to find energy and combat my morning grogginess and feeling tired even though I just woke up.
One of these experiments has been Bulletproof Coffee which has given me high levels of energy and ability to focus for longer periods, but the real challenge for me is getting out of bed.
It's not that I don't look forward getting up, I do, just I love to sleep! And it's not that I stay in bed loafing, I actually sleep, the K.
O.
type of sleep that if you saw me, you'd think I've not slept in days! Then I remembered reading some time ago about sleeping cycles or stages, so I did some more research and found out how sleeping cycles can work to my advantage.
WHAT ARE SLEEP STAGES? First of all there's to know that there are 2 types of sleep the NON-REM Sleep and the REM Sleep.
NON-REM (NREM) SLEEP This consists of three stages of sleep, each deeper than the last.
Stage 1 (Transition to sleep) - Duration: about 5 minutes.
Details: Eyes move slowly under the eyelids, muscle activity slows down, and you are easily awakened.
Stage 2 (Light sleep) - Duration: between 10 to 25 minutes.
Details; eye movement stops, heart rate slows, and body temperature decreases.
Stage N3 (Deep sleep) - Details: difficult to awaken, and if woken, you do not adjust immediately and often feel groggy and disoriented for several minutes.
In this deepest stage of sleep, your brain waves are extremely slow.
Blood flow is directed away from your brain and towards your muscles, restoring physical energy.
REM (Rapid Eye Movement) SLEEP REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep is when active dream the most.
The eyes actually move back and forth during this stage, which is why it is called Rapid Eye Movement sleep.
REM sleep (Dream sleep) - About 70 to 90 minutes after falling asleep, you enter REM sleep, where dreaming occurs.
Details: eyes move rapidly, breathing shallows, and heart rate and blood pressure increase.
Also during this stage, arm and leg muscles are paralyzed.
HOW TO HACK YOUR SLEEP We've learned about the stages of sleep and now we know that if we wake up in the middle of a cycle the result is far from positive.
the logical thing to do would be waking up between cycles, right? Correct! The best way to feel rested is to wake up at the end of a sleeping cycle.
But how do you know when it's the end of a sleeping cycle? Good question! I started using an app for that, because as you, know there's an app for everything! I checked what Android Apps were there to help waking up at the right time and know that there are many, so find the one that is right for you.
There's some that analyze your sleep either through wearable tech or by keeping the phone next to you, which I am not personally fond of.
I just wanted something simple that would wake me up between cycles and I found the solution in an app called Sleep Time.
When you open the app you see 2 options.
1) Sleep now and 2) You pick.
If you click the Sleep Now, it brings up a number of options when it's best to wake up.
You select the time that most suits you and it connects to your phone alarm clock.
Alternatively if you select the You Pick, it asks for the time you wish to wake up and based on that it suggests the best times you should go to sleep.
I tried it for a few days now and it seems to work.
I woke up and felt awake in about a couple of minutes and I had that feeling you get when you had a really good sleep so I think I will continue to use this method of waking up between sleep cycles to see the long term effect.
I most certainly love it.
Some, are morning people and get up and going with no efforts whatsoever, for others instead, getting up in the morning is a quest.
I belong to the latter group.
My mother always says how as a child I loved to sleep.
From infant days to my toddlers years up to the age of 8 I would take long naps in the afternoon.
Growing up in a country where taking a nap in the afternoon is basically a cultural thing, she saw no harm in my keenness in sleeping plus what parent doesn't enjoy having a few hours of peace where they can focus on something else that isn't feeding or watching out for their kid.
WHEN SLEEPING ISN'T GOOD FOR YOU My love of sleep really should have instead woken up some flags and when it did I was already about 10 years old.
I contracted a virus that made me miss school for weeks and I had to do lots of blood testing too.
It was then, that our family doctor pointed out (the unrelated fact) that I had minor Thalassemia also known as Mediterranean Anemia.
Minor Thalassemia is when there's a defect in a gene that helps control the production of either the Alpha or Beta globin, a protein present in the blood.
Minor Thalassemia is far from being life threatening, other than giving the symptoms of mild anemia, but it makes you a carrier of the trait as it's hereditary, so one should still take notice before having kids because if your partner is also a carrier then the chances for your children being affected rise dramatically.
How is this related to sleep? Well, I just felt more fatigued than other kids for doing the same things: playing, going to school etc.
As an adult this hasn't changed, if anything, it got worse as I developed hypothyroidism and although I use medication, I still struggle with some of the symptoms like fatigue, and difficulty in concentration.
So, recently I tried to experiment with other things to find energy and combat my morning grogginess and feeling tired even though I just woke up.
One of these experiments has been Bulletproof Coffee which has given me high levels of energy and ability to focus for longer periods, but the real challenge for me is getting out of bed.
It's not that I don't look forward getting up, I do, just I love to sleep! And it's not that I stay in bed loafing, I actually sleep, the K.
O.
type of sleep that if you saw me, you'd think I've not slept in days! Then I remembered reading some time ago about sleeping cycles or stages, so I did some more research and found out how sleeping cycles can work to my advantage.
WHAT ARE SLEEP STAGES? First of all there's to know that there are 2 types of sleep the NON-REM Sleep and the REM Sleep.
NON-REM (NREM) SLEEP This consists of three stages of sleep, each deeper than the last.
Stage 1 (Transition to sleep) - Duration: about 5 minutes.
Details: Eyes move slowly under the eyelids, muscle activity slows down, and you are easily awakened.
Stage 2 (Light sleep) - Duration: between 10 to 25 minutes.
Details; eye movement stops, heart rate slows, and body temperature decreases.
Stage N3 (Deep sleep) - Details: difficult to awaken, and if woken, you do not adjust immediately and often feel groggy and disoriented for several minutes.
In this deepest stage of sleep, your brain waves are extremely slow.
Blood flow is directed away from your brain and towards your muscles, restoring physical energy.
REM (Rapid Eye Movement) SLEEP REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep is when active dream the most.
The eyes actually move back and forth during this stage, which is why it is called Rapid Eye Movement sleep.
REM sleep (Dream sleep) - About 70 to 90 minutes after falling asleep, you enter REM sleep, where dreaming occurs.
Details: eyes move rapidly, breathing shallows, and heart rate and blood pressure increase.
Also during this stage, arm and leg muscles are paralyzed.
HOW TO HACK YOUR SLEEP We've learned about the stages of sleep and now we know that if we wake up in the middle of a cycle the result is far from positive.
the logical thing to do would be waking up between cycles, right? Correct! The best way to feel rested is to wake up at the end of a sleeping cycle.
But how do you know when it's the end of a sleeping cycle? Good question! I started using an app for that, because as you, know there's an app for everything! I checked what Android Apps were there to help waking up at the right time and know that there are many, so find the one that is right for you.
There's some that analyze your sleep either through wearable tech or by keeping the phone next to you, which I am not personally fond of.
I just wanted something simple that would wake me up between cycles and I found the solution in an app called Sleep Time.
When you open the app you see 2 options.
1) Sleep now and 2) You pick.
If you click the Sleep Now, it brings up a number of options when it's best to wake up.
You select the time that most suits you and it connects to your phone alarm clock.
Alternatively if you select the You Pick, it asks for the time you wish to wake up and based on that it suggests the best times you should go to sleep.
I tried it for a few days now and it seems to work.
I woke up and felt awake in about a couple of minutes and I had that feeling you get when you had a really good sleep so I think I will continue to use this method of waking up between sleep cycles to see the long term effect.
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