alarm clock

Amazing breakthrough! Scientists have discovered a revolutionary new treatment that makes you live longer. It enhances your memory and makes you more creative. It makes you look more attractive. It keeps you slim and lowers food cravings. It protects you from cancer and dementia. It wards off colds and the flu. It lowers your risk of heart attacks and stroke, not to mention diabetes. You’ll even feel happier, less depressed, and less anxious. Are you interested? — Matthew Walker — Why We Sleep, Chapter 6.

So, are you? Well, all you need to do to access this miracle cure-all is return to a natural sleep pattern.

I say “return to” because Americans have lost more than one hour of daily sleep since 1942, possibly more. If you understand all the serious problems created by chronic sleep deprivation, this is a terrifying statistic.

The ability to wake up naturally without an alarm clock every morning is the best and simplest indicator of natural sleep habits. It sounds simple, but sadly, most people need two whacks at the snooze button and a 24-minute battle of will to get out of bed in the morning.

Let’s see what we can do about that.

Acceptance

The first step to fixing any problem is to accept that it exists.

Most people are still yanked out of sleep by the wail of an alarm on a daily basis simply because that’s the norm. As was the case with cigarettes in the late 20th century, the public is only now starting to realize the dangers of chronic sleep deprivation. Luckily, the internet allows us to spread the word much more efficiently nowadays.

Many others consciously sleep too little in pursuit of higher productivity. But it’s now well known that this tactic has precisely the opposite effect. My main reference for all scientific evidence related to sleep is Matthew Walker’s book quoted earlier, but here’s another convenient read.

Indeed, the argument for chronically depriving your brain and body of sleep is about as sound as it is for chainsmoking. It needs to stop.

Awareness

Sleep health still ranks low on the average person’s list of priorities. This ignorance is costing developed nations about 2% of GDP. In other words, if we all just gave sleep the priority it deserves, we could literally double our growth rate.

Want to help curb this terrible waste? Start using a sleep tracker. These days, there are many smartwatches on the market offering this functionality, but I recommend a little mobile app called Sleep Cycle.

The benefit of Sleep Cycle is that you have to start it at night and stop it in the morning. Yes, this is a benefit — even in today’s automated world. Take away this manual touch, and you take away a sleep tracker’s most vital function: raising awareness. Sleep trackers that automatically track your sleep in the background are all too easy to ignore.

Download this app and start using it tonight. You won’t regret it.

Sleep Opportunity

Acceptance and awareness will bless you with a good dose of motivation to improve your sleep habits. And the best thing you can do with this newfound motivation is to give yourself more time to sleep.

But, like most things in life, it’s not as simple as it sounds. For most people, getting more sleep time means an earlier bedtime. And many who try this will struggle to fall asleep without the total exhaustion caused by chronic sleep deprivation. This leads to frustration. And enough frustration leads to relapse into the clutches of late-night digital temptations.

Getting past this obstacle requires a clear shift in mindset. You must accept that you only have direct control over the sleep opportunity you give your body and mind, not whether they will actually take it.

Note that sleep opportunity includes not only a healthy number of hours in bed but also good sleep hygiene. The three most important elements are:

1. Keeping a consistent routine, even on the weekend.
2. Ensuring you have an ultra-comfy bed in a dark, quiet, and cool room.
3. Maintaining a relaxing wind-down routine that involves dimming the lights and avoiding screens for an hour before bedtime.

In summary, good sleep opportunity means at least 8 hours in bed every day, coupled with excellent sleep hygiene.

This much is under your direct control.

When Sleep Plays Hard-to-Get

Sometimes you give your mind every opportunity to sleep it could possibly desire, and it simply refuses to take it. This can be very frustrating, but frustration will only chase sleep further away.

To keep this sleep-disturbing frustration at bay, you need a solid plan. In my experience, there are three main circumstances this plan must cover:

1. A running mind filled with chaotic, often stressful thoughts. When this happens, the best solution is to unload these thoughts into a journal you keep next to your bed. This is a very effective way to get your mind relaxed and ready for sleep.
2. An inspired mind shaping a potentially valuable idea. Here, I prefer to go with it. In fact, some of my best energy technology ideas came to me while lying in bed. However, it’s important to maintain discipline and avoid getting stuck in thought loops. Try to condense the idea into a few words you can write down to securely store your newly formed concept. Once that’s done, your mind should be happy to let go.
3. Nothing special, just not quite ready for sleep. In this case, you just need something relaxing to do. My preferences are reading some silly comic books or enjoying a session in the massage chair next to my bed.

Whatever you do, don’t lie there actively trying to fall sleep. Sleep is one of those things where the harder you try, the harder you fail.

The Reward

If you consistently give your mind every opportunity to sleep and stick to a good plan when sleep plays hard-to-get, it won’t be long before you get your just reward: waking up naturally before your alarm.

At first, it will only happen once every couple of days. Then, every other day. Then, one fine morning, you’ll wake up with a smile and realize you can’t remember what your alarm sounds like.

Once you reach this point, the experience of life changes. It’s unlikely that life will get any easier (you’ll simply level-up your challenges), but it will surely get more vibrant. And that’s awesome 🙂