Sleep Score of 95 is New Record

I knew my sleep report was going to be super strong based on how I felt when I woke up this morning.  The sleep report confirmed what I was subjectively feeling.  95 despite one score in the red zone because I was one minute outside the desired range of seven to nine hours which is labeled as the ideal time period.  I'm sharing this publicly because I'm a firm believer that consistent quality sleep leads to a maximized life in the waking hours.  Last night's report is the result of one year of experiments.  While I do not consider myself to be a sleep expert, I do have one year of results to indicate what happens when you make minor adaptations that lead to outstanding results.  

If you are seeking better sleep, I'm sharing some ideas based on my experiments.  

1. Sleep affirmation.  Every night before I go to bed I read a note on my nightstand...I'm getting better at sleeping.  This is for my brain.  I'm training it as if it were a pet.
2. Consistent go to sleep and wakeup times.  I was slightly later then normal last night because of my time on the tennis courts which ended at 8pm.  Despite going to bed late, I fell asleep at 9:15pm.
3. Reduced daily meals and zero snacks.  The last couple of days I only ate once per day as I wasn't hungry.  Processed foods and artificial foods are not in my vocabulary.  I know what happens when I stray away from healthy food choices and it's not good.
4. Learn something new every day.  I'm focusing on new languages and playing the piano.  
5. Turn off the TV.  The only time I use it is when my wife wants to see a movie or I'm watching self improvement videos.  I watched an hour of professional doubles matches and some instructional videos for the 2handed backhand which I'm still mastering.
6. Limit alcohol.  I hate to admit this but I skipped my wine last night since I was home late.  This may be the one variable that has kept me out of the excellent range this past year.
7. Don't freak out if you wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble falling asleep right away.  This happened last night.  The key here is that if this happens between sleep cycles it doesn't hurt the quality of your sleep as long as you eventually go back to sleep and finish your sleep cycles.
8. Exercise.  You may not need to be in the gym every day but you do need a certain level of activity in order to reach optimum sleep.  Walking is a great activity as long as you exceed at least 6,000 steps per day.  I seem to function best when I combine daily walking with three to five hours of tennis or pickleball time per week.
9. Fill your mind with positive thoughts.  What you do in your waking hours gets worked out during your sleeping hours.  Positive thoughts inspire positive dreams.
10. Don't give up when you have a bad night of sleep.  I'm finding that one bad sleep score usually brings on a higher score the next night.  The brain seems to adjust when sleep is disrupted.  I find this especially true when I need to wake up early to catch a flight or if I happen to be in a different time zone.

I'm going to keep measuring my sleep next year and comparing the results year over year.  The next big deal for me is getting a smart ring to eliminate incomplete scores when my smart watch fails.  This doesn't happen often but I want to be as accurate as possible with my measurements, especially if I'm sharing the results with others seeking improved sleep.  I have some additional funds in my health savings account that need to be used prior to the end of the year so I'm going with a Samsung smart ring.  I've been wearing a sample ring on my right index finger to see if there are any possible inflammation issues and everything appears to be okay.  Good luck on your search for better sleep.  Let me know how you're doing.  Have a great day.