I hit the red zone last night according to my smart watch. Much to my surprise, I got too much sleep. My sleep score was 83, just a smidgen away from the excellent range. My actual sleep time came in at 7 hours, 50 minutes, however, time in bed was logged at 9 hours and 9 minutes. I'm not really worried about drifting above the recommended range as this is only someone else's opinion about what my body needs for full mental and physical recovery. I'm more interested in the trends which are going in a favorable direction.
It appears my body is fairly consistent when it comes to sleep. Most of my deep sleep occurs at the beginning of my sleep while REM appears much later. I'm choosing not to sleep using an alarm preferring instead to allow my body to go through my sleep cycles naturally.
If you are seeking ways to improve the quality of your sleep, I do recommend you find a way to measure and log your time in bed. In my opinion, a smart watch checks all the boxes for measuring purposes. Make your changes slowly giving your body time to adjust to any improvements you introduce into your routine. I believe my most significant change has to do with setting a fixed bedtime schedule. As tempting as it is to stay up late, I make sleeping the higher priority. Also, I'm finding success slowing things down prior to going to sleep. I'm avoiding bright lights one to two hours before I retire setting me up for a faster slumber time once I hit the pillow.
If you want to feel better during your waking hours, consider making changes to your sleep habits. Have a great day.
No comments:
Post a Comment