Sleep technology is big business. Clocks, bedside devices, and mattress sensors designed to measure our sleep are all extremely popular.
Perhaps you received a gadget for Christmas or decided to use one you already have to improve your sleep this year.
At this point, the following questions remain:
“How do I make sense of the information my device provides?” Or “What does it actually mean to improve my sleep? How can I do that?”
Fortunately, the answer is easier than you think.
Most sleep technologies (or consumer sleep technologies) are very good at determining how long you slept last night, how enhanced that sleep was, and when it occurred.
These are the three most important factors to consider when maximizing the benefits of sleep: quantity, quality, and timing.
Sleep amount is simply the total number of hours and minutes you sleep. An adult needs an average of at least 7 hours of sleep each night to maintain optimal health.
Sleep quality, at least when measured objectively, is the percentage of time you spend trying to sleep versus actually sleeping. No one sleeps 100% throughout the night. About 85% or more is completely normal.
Sleep timing, as the name suggests, refers to the time you go to bed at night and wake up in the morning.
The key here is regularity. Currently, the recommendation for good sleepers is to go to bed and wake up within the same hour each day. If you currently suffer from insomnia, he will likely want to keep that time to around 15 minutes, as curing insomnia requires tighter control over your sleep.
There are good reasons to focus on quantity, quality, and timing. These are the aspects of sleep that best correlate with physical and mental health.
The amount of sleep is such a strong predictor of cardiovascular health (high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke) that it is included in the American Heart Association’s eight essential factors for cardiovascular health (along with diet and exercise, among others). It contains.
Sleep quality, or lack of sleep as insomnia, is a risk factor for various mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, alcoholism, and suicide.
Regularizing sleep timing has received recent attention in the field of sleep health and is rapidly emerging as important for all-cause mortality and other health considerations.
That is, people with the most irregular sleep will die sooner than those with more regular sleep, regardless of the cause.
However, it is important to note that sleep timing is not the only measure of regularity in this study. Nevertheless, sleep timing is an important factor in determining sleep regularity.
Sleep quality and sleep timing are also important for suicide. Specifically, waking up in the middle of the night is associated with a higher risk of attempted or successful suicide than waking up during the day.
How to optimize the quantity, quality and regularity of your sleep
Make sleep a priority first. Too often we prioritize work and social activities at the expense of sleep. This compromises all three aspects of her sleep health.
Sleep is a pillar of good health, so treat it like a good diet and regular exercise. (OK, OK. Maybe the other guy isn’t as good at both.)
Next, determine your ideal bedtime and wake-up time. Get at least 8 hours of sleep and try to get at least 7 hours of sleep.
Are you a morning person, a night owl, or somewhere in between?
When we feel sleepy and wake up is determined, in part, by biological circadian rhythms. When choosing a sleep schedule, try to respect your natural rhythm.
Of course, your daily responsibilities may limit your flexibility in your sleep schedule, but try to find a balance that respects your natural rhythm. To maximize regularity, it’s important to maintain the same schedule seven days a week.
If you have to compromise, focus on a regular wake-up time rather than a bedtime. Waking up at the same time every day resets your circadian rhythm and helps you maintain a regular sleep schedule.
Third, make your bedroom conducive to sleep. This includes many of the sleep hygiene recommendations you’ve probably heard. Keep your room dark, at a comfortable temperature, and free of anything that might disturb your sleep, such as a TV or electronic devices. Use a bedtime routine. I don’t do anything in bed except sleep.
Fourth, get plenty of bright light in the morning, especially in the first few hours after waking up. Light is the biggest signal to the brain that we should wake up and is the most powerful regulator of circadian rhythms.
In addition to light, physical activity, diet, and social activity also help regulate rhythm.
In fact, social rhythm therapy is an evidence-based treatment for mood disorders that focuses on regularizing the timing of sleep and other behaviors to stabilize mood. Therefore, focusing on regularizing your sleep schedule and circadian rhythm may also improve your mood.
Finally, try not to stress about your sleep. No one sleeps perfectly, and everyone wakes up several times during the night.
Ironically, trying to sleep actually makes it harder to fall asleep. One of the biggest factors that disrupts sleep for many people is the stress that comes from not getting a good night’s sleep. Instead, realize that even if you didn’t sleep well tonight, there’s a good chance you’ll sleep better tomorrow night.
How technology can help improve your sleep
The good news is that consumer sleep technology is generally very good at determining the quantity, quality, and timing of sleep.
Most of these devices use movement, and many also use heart rate, to determine whether a user is awake or asleep.
From there, you can calculate sleep time (by counting up all the hours you sleep), sleep quality (by dividing the amount of sleep by the amount of time you’re in bed and trying to sleep), and sleep timing (by reporting the time on your clock). ) can be calculated. the first and last minutes of sleep or by user input).
You can use this information to determine whether you meet the basic guidelines listed above. Track how your sleep quantity, quality, and timing change as you change your sleep habits.
Read more: Sleep tracking: Does Fitbit meet clinical standards?
However, keep in mind that not all the information provided by the gadget is equally useful. Many offer their own “sleep scores”. These are generally black boxes, so we don’t know how they actually relate to sleep health. Most sleep experts recommend ignoring these scores.
Many gadgets also claim to measure sleep stages (often referred to as light sleep, deep sleep, and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep).
However, independent assessments have uniformly shown that they have poor ability to identify specific sleep stages and often mislabel a large proportion of specific sleep stages. This is actually not that surprising.
Read more “Awakening to the potential of AI to measure sleep”
The gold standard measure of sleep relies on measuring electrical activity in the brain. Movement and heart rate cannot be expected to measure sleep in the same way that brain activity is measured.
Therefore, relying on sleep stage information from this type of gadget to assess sleep quality can lead to unreliable conclusions.
However, if you adhere to three things: sleep quantity, quality, and timing, that may not be a problem.
Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.