The Importance of Sleep – Michael Breus

(Full video after the summary)

Summary:

10 Things Effective Sleepers Do:
1 – Stick to a schedule.
2 – Stop working at the same time every day.
3 – Get ready for the next day.
4 – Electronic curfew.
5 – Meditation/prayer/relaxation.
6 – Exercise daily – you may want to avoid right before sleeping.
7 – Get sunlight every morning.
8 – Journal: Good and bad – get it out of your head.
9 – Hydrate.
10 – Read his books and listen to his stuff.

– A person who falls asleep within minutes is usually sleep deprived which is why the body does that.

– You want to hit stages 3 and 4 of sleep a few times in the night. This will have you wake up fresh and alive and also aids the production of growth hormone.
– Flu shots were less effective with more sleep deprevation.
– R.E.M. is the mentally restorative sleep and main stage of dreaming even though you dream in all stages. This sleep is towards the end of the night.
– The average sleep cycle is between 80 – 120 minutes.
– Sleeping on an idea or issue is the best thing you can do so REM sleep pushes all the crap out and brings in the good stuff.
– The sleep rhythm and core body temperature are connected. When your core body temperature drops your body is getting ready to release melatonin. The body temp drop happens around 1 and 3 in the afternoon too, which is why you feel sleepy then. Siesta time!
– Sleep evolves and is very different to what it was like 10 years ago and the light bulb has been the biggest disruptor of sleep. Michael feels the second biggest disruptor of sleep is overtime.
– Genetics determine if you are a night owl or morning lark. Find out when your core body temperature drops and you’ll know which one you are.
– There are 88 sleep disorders at the moment.
– Basal sleep is the amount of sleep you need.
– Sleep debt is the amount you can lose but different people can handle different amounts of debt. People who sleep more than 10 hours or less than 5 hours will double their mortality rate. This doesn’t include children as they need more than 10 hours of sleep.
– When school start times changed by one hour, the students grade went up one whole letter.
– The more sleep deprived you are the more your brain tells you that you’re ok and awake as a fight or flight mechanism.

– Pain hurts worse when you’re tired or the sleepier you are.
– No sleep = no learning. Sleep solidifies memories and learning. You need both REM and deep sleep. In deep sleep reviews and cleans up the information and REM moves short term to long term memory.
– You have a slower reaction time with less sleep.
– One week of sleeping 5 hours or less each night reduced a man’s testosterone as if he aged 11 years. These hormones fuel muscle and help decision making.
– Muscle memory is affected, you run out of fuel. Your appetite increases, your body goes into low metabolism. The satiety hormone decreases. Basically, you crave more junk and still not satisfied and your body saves it all.
– Travel: It’s good to be able to sleep in the air. Look at www.seatguru.com to see the best seats for you. Carry a sleep kit: eyeshades, earplugs (noise level rated at 32 or below), travel pillow, etc. Remember the biggest deterrent for sleep are light and sound. Jetlag – east is least, west is best. Best to use melatonin and light therapy to realign your sleep pattern. Melatonin will only come out in the darkness. Highly recommends the GoLite.

– Melatonin: The appropriate dosage is between a half and one milligram. Remember it’s a hormone and in stores, it’s sold up to 10 times more the dosage required. It’s also a contraceptive so anyone under the age of 18 should not have it.
– Choose the right hotel that provides housekeeping at certain hours. If there are clubs nearby, do they have soundproofing? Can you choose a room preferably away from families etc. Recommends choosing a room that faces west, away from elevators and vending machines, corner rooms, higher, try to upgrade, no minibar, non-smoking and double beds.
– Naps: A nap with more REM sleep inspires creativity and heightens perception. With more stage 2 sleep increases alertness and motor skills. With more slow-wave sleep improves memory and clears your mind.
– The perfect nap: The first 20 minutes are always Stage 2. REM nap will be in the early part of the day (9 – 11 am), if you woke up at 7 am. Past noon Short Wave Sleep will occur after Stage 2 and before REM. Napping for 90 minutes at 1 pm will be the perfect blend. Napping between 2-4 will give Short Wave Sleep but can make you tired if not careful.
– Nap-a-latte (Nap secret weapon): 6oz cup of drip coffee with ice to get it gold for highest caffeine content, 25-30 min nap. This reduces adenosine buildup. Then the caffeine kicks in and you’re good for 4 hours.
– Guarana is a really potent caffeine and found in so many energy drinks.
– Polyphasic sleep: Before the bulb we slept from dusk to dawn in 2 bouts of sleep. Now we force a shortened 7 hours in one bout. Latin America countries sleep less at night (6 hours) but have a siesta of 20 minutes.

– You can hack your sleep but you have to stick to the above times. There are 4 nap and 6 nap methods called the uberman sleep cycle but it increased depression. You can’t be over 35-40 years old, you can’t be on medications and you can’t do it forever.
– Everybody has a different sleep need and the 8 hours every night requirement is a myth.

Bonus: From Art of Manliness: #661: Get Better Sleep by Stressing About It Less

When you get into bed and you don’t fall asleep just be at peace with it. Your body is not fully fatigued or you’re not really sleepy.

Excessively sleep is when you fall asleep at the same page of the book and have to read it again.

True sleep deprivation will affect your health significantly. Your body looks for any opportunity to sleep. It’s different to insomnia.

How much sleep does one need it like asking how much food one needs. 8 is an average but it’s specific to every individual. Your brain will tell you that you don’t want to finish the whole sandwich the same way it will tell you that tonight you don’t need the full 8 hours.

He explains that a lot of insomnia has to do with fears and worries. Talk to a sleep doctor. There are people who feel their sleep was bad or short but their Fitbit recorded a long undisturbed sleep.

Secondary things to be done to sleep well are exercise, wake early, get sun, dark room, cool bed, etc.

A sleep plan like a puzzle or fun light book is a good way to wind down. Keep a wake up time set. Even a nap can create bigger sleep issues.

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