Sleep

Intro

Leading on from my recent posts on building positive habits and overcoming problems.. lets talk about sleep. Many people are almost constantly sleep deprived and this makes daily life a lot harder. This is magnafiyed in emergency situations, which increases your chances of injury or death.

Sleep is actually a mix of different types of sleep woven together. Light sleep (alpha and theta), deep (delta) and Rapid Eye Movement(REM). The tired feeling is usually called by a lack of REM sleep, you have a REM sleep cycle every hour and a half.
Each REM cycle is longer, the first is 15 minutes and the last can be longer then an hour.

Sleep Routine

A sleep routine is something practiced in the hours before bed, I talk about some aspects below.

Light

Light is a big killer of good sleep, your bodies rhythm is timed to light cycles, this is why you wake up at dawn. Looking at a screen, usually a mobile device when in bed tricks your body into thinking it is daytime. City living does not help with this, especially the bright lights and sounds of the city.

Consider using programs like flux, which dim your laptop screen and actually change the wavelength of light to help you sleep. Avoid looking at screens and hour before bed, also consider using dim lighting a few hours before bed. If you do have to move around after dark consider using lights with red bulbs, red light helps you see in the dark better and is less harsh on your eyes.

Blindfolds are also very useful, I have one specifically for sleep which is very comfortable. Light causes your body to get ready to wake up, like when you wake up at dawn.

Stimulants

You need to be relaxed in order to get quality sleep. Caffeine is the most common disruptor, most people think the effects start half an hour later. What most people forget however, is that only the spike occurs after 30 minutes whereas the effects last for up to 8 hours after. Not only will this stop you from getting to sleep, but will put you into lighter sleep until the stimulant wears off.

Sound

Quiet self explanatory, especially if you are a light sleeper. Earplugs or headphones are the only solutions I can think of. Check out binaural beats and isochronic tones for help with getting to sleep too.

Comfort

Get a mattresses that is right for you... but lets focus on something less obvious. Body position is something everyone forgets.

1)If you suffer from reflux...
It is because of the position of your insides, one of the digestive organs is in a kind of a U shape. When sleep on one side (your right side) the organ is on top and all the acid flows down the tube. Sleep on your left side to avoid this.

If you snore/have sleep apnea...
2)Lying on your back causes your tongue to slide back and it blocks the airway slightly. This causes snoring, sleep apnea occurs when the tongue blocks the airway for so long you suffocate... and your body wakes up(many times a night).