Since the first issue of the journal Sleep was , over 300,000 research studies have dug into the science of sleep. Many of these have been 鈥渟ingle-association鈥� studies, which connect a single element of sleep (i.e., nightly awakenings) with a single outcome (i.e., risk of cognitive decline). However, as we all know, sleep is complex and multifaceted.

In a study published this month in , a global team of researchers set out to explore these intricacies and connect different elements of sleep with various outcomes. Their findings could help reveal how your unique sleep patterns influence your mood, mindset, and both your mental and athletic performance throughout the day鈥攖he study refers to these patterns as 鈥減rofiles.鈥�

The Study Identified Five Sleep Profiles

This study, titled “Identification of Five Sleep-Biopsychosocial Profiles with Specific Neural Signatures Linking Sleep Variability with Health, Cognition, and Lifestyle Factors,”听relied on information from the (HCP). The HCP collects a wide range of health data鈥攊ncluding cognitive tests, brain scans, and self-reported sleep assessments鈥攆rom thousands of participants.

For this study, researchers analyzed data from 770 young, healthy adults to examine how certain aspects of their health and performance corresponded to different attributes of their sleep. Participants reflected on their past month of sleep via a questionnaire, and the resulting sleep data were used to inform the five profiles.

鈥淚t was important for me to go beyond 鈥榞ood鈥� versus 鈥榖ad鈥� sleep. Sleep is multidimensional, and there are a lot of interindividual differences in sleep, health, and behavior,鈥� says lead researcher Aurore Perrault.

What Does Each Profile Say About Your Usual Sleeping Pattern?

After analyzing the comprehensive HCP dataset, Perrault and her team identified five sleep profiles, each associated with specific behaviors.

Every sleep profile also correlated to a unique pattern of brain function, Perrault says, 鈥渟uggesting that sleep experiences are reflected not just in health and behavior, but also in the brain鈥檚 wiring and activity.鈥�

Profile 1: Poor Sleep and Psychopathology

This profile was marked by poor self-reported sleep (taking a long time to fall asleep, finding sleep unsatisfying, waking up through the night due to pain or uncomfortable temperatures, etc.). It was associated with a higher likelihood of depression, anxiety, and negative affect鈥攎eaning emotions like fear, anger, and stress.

Profile 2: Sleep Resilience and Psychopathology

This profile was defined by difficulty paying attention during the day听and negative affect, but was not associated with reported sleep difficulties, potentially suggesting a certain amount of 鈥渟leep resilience.鈥�

Profile 3: Hypnotics and Sociability

This profile was characterized by the use of sleep aids鈥攅ither prescribed or over-the-counter. It was related to worse visual memory and emotional recognition, but, surprisingly, high satisfaction with social relationships.

Profile 4: Sleep Duration and Cognition

Within this profile, short sleep duration (less than six to seven hours a night) was associated with poor performance on cognitive tasks, delayed reaction time, and more aggressive behavior.

Profile 5: Sleep Disturbance, Cognition, and Psychopathology

The final profile tied sleep disturbances and multiple awakenings with mental health issues, the use of substances like alcohol and cigarettes, and poor performance on cognitive tasks.

It鈥檚 important to note, Perrault adds, that every participant displayed all the profiles, scoring high, medium, or low in each one. For example, in general, people with lower levels of education tended to have higher combined scores in profiles 1, 4, and 5, while those with limited household financial resources scored higher in profiles 1 and 2.

Study Limitations

This study focused on young, healthy, and primarily white adults between the ages of 22 and 36, so Perrault notes that research on more diverse populations is needed to validate the findings. Future studies should also analyze data collected over a person鈥檚 lifespan for a more complete health profile; this study was just a snapshot of one point in time.

What This Means for Your Sleep and Performance

This study reiterates and reinforces some existing sleep best practices, such as getting at least seven hours of sleep a night to support cognition. Across participants, cognitive functioning was more related to sleep duration than subjective (self-reported) sleep quality, meaning how long you slept the night before will probably have more sway over your brainpower than how well you think you slept.

The five profiles also demonstrate that sleep is nuanced, and the different elements of sleep likely all help shape your overall function and performance.

While the research did not specifically study athletes, some inferences can be made about what its findings mean for physical performance. For example, those who have poor self-reported sleep (profile 1) may find that fear or stress gets in the way of their performance and benefit from tools to ease pre-race or pre-workout anxiety. In contrast, those who consistently sleep less than six to seven hours a night (profile 4) might struggle to respond quickly and benefit from exercises to speed up their athletic reaction time.

Most importantly, this work reminds us of the importance of prioritizing sleep in general鈥攅specially during more active periods. 鈥淔or athletes, sleep is especially crucial because it鈥檚 when the body does its deepest recovery work,鈥� says , a board-certified physician and certified sleep specialist who was not involved in this study. 鈥淕rowth hormone peaks during deep sleep, repairing muscle tissue and helping the body adapt to training stress. Lack of sleep reduces reaction time, coordination, and endurance, all of which directly affect performance.鈥�

As for how to improve your sleep, Holliday-Bell recommends maintaining a regular bedtime and wakeup time, crafting a relaxing wind-down routine, limiting caffeine and alcohol later in the day, and managing stress through a regular mindfulness or deep breathing practice. Better sleep鈥攊n all its many facets鈥攕tarts with consistency, she says.

Want more听国产吃瓜黑料听health stories?听. Ready to push yourself? Enter MapMyRun鈥檚听 running challenge.

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I bought an eye mask for the first time a few weeks ago. It was an impulse buy at Whole Foods鈥攁long with the whole, organic rotisserie chicken that my fridge didn鈥檛 have room for.

Languishing through the personal care aisle (as I always did in a grocery store, even when I didn鈥檛 intend to buy anything), I saw an eye mask by the beauty brand on display near some hair accessories. It was the brand’s . Though the sight of an eye mask鈥攑un intended鈥攕lotted near hair clips and hair ties seemed odd, the packaging, an unassuming blush pink, caught my attention. So, it was no surprise that I gravitated towards it. The box was smooth. And the face of it was open, purposely, so you could feel the uber-plushness and silkiness of the mask. I flipped it over. Eighteen dollars? For an eye mask? Well, it was soft. Very soft. The open-face packaging did its job because I placed it into my cart鈥攆ar away from my chicken.

Full disclosure: I never liked eye masks. My mom, however, loved them, and I remembered trying one of hers as a teenager, simply because I liked stealing whatever she had. She had this strange way of making everything she donned look better and more interesting than it was. I think a lot of moms are like that. She watched me put it on one night, and I hated it immediately. She laughed when I complained that it felt heavy and suffocating. She took it back.

Because I’m a lifelong night owl, I was excited to try my new mask. (I put it in a quick wash cycle first because I imagined many other fingers had also stroked it before I had.) It was late, around 4:30 A.M., when I slipped under my covers. Lying my head on my (Is it obvious that I like satin?), I pulled the eye mask down over my eyes and dozed off.

I woke up to darkness and lifted the mask. Holy shit, I felt good. Usually, when I wake up, I feel groggy, have watery eyes, and feel sort of zombie-like, as if the nerves in my eyeballs were stretched just a bit further than they should be. But I felt alert that morning. My eyes were relaxed, and I didn鈥檛 feel the urge to blink my lids in rapid succession to wake myself up more.

I grabbed my laptop and logged in to Slack to brag to my coworkers about the great night鈥檚 sleep I had. I texted my mom and best friend a photo of the mask, accompanied by a long wall of text about how well-rested I was. My friend replied: 鈥淚s that underwear? Like boyshorts?鈥� I looked at the photo again. 鈥淟MAO. They do look like shorts. But no, it鈥檚 an eye mask.鈥� I have to agree with my BFF: the thickness and large surface area did make it look like an undergarment.

I told my editor听that I听wanted to test the mask for听one week and write about it, and she told me to go for it.

How I Tested the Kitsch Pillow Satin Eye Mask

Testing was easy鈥攋ust seven days. All I had to do was make sure I slept every night and remembered to put on the mask. I created a spreadsheet, which you can , to keep track of four pieces of data:

1. How many hours of sleep I got: I would text myself when I went to bed to get a timestamp and then would do the same when I woke up the next day. Then I calculated, roughly, how many hours I had.
2. Detailed description of my sleep: I essentially freewrote about how I felt, jotting down anything I could remember as soon as I got up
3. Sleep quality rating: I decided on a 1-to-5 scale. (1: Bad; 2: Just OK; 3: Good; 4: Great; 5: Amazing)
4. Detailed description of how I feel upon waking: Again, I used this as an opportunity to treat my spreadsheet like a digital diary to ramble and reflect on the day I had. I used the same 1-to-5 scale as I did for my sleep quality rating.

(Want to see the two different ways I wear my eye mask at night? Check out the video below.)听

Testing Results

After I woke up each day, I updated my spreadsheet. At night, I rated the day I had.

Day 1: I Didn鈥檛 Know Five Hours of Sleep Could Feel So Good

I already mentioned how great my sleep was on night one. But when I put the mask on for the first time. It did feel jarring because the mask is designed to cover both my eyes and ears. My anxious brain听wondered if I鈥檇 be able to hear an intruder breaking in at night if my ears were covered. To test my theory, I asked Alexa to play some sleep sounds after I put on my mask. I could still hear it, but not so much that it felt distracting. It felt like white noise of white noise. OK, cool. I鈥檓 safe.听

My sleep quality was a 4. I gave the day I had a rating of 5. I felt bright-eyed and had an insanely productive work day. I also felt happy and more engaged in conversations with friends.

Even though my brain felt like it had been superpowered, my body felt heavy and sluggish. I鈥檇 been running a lot recently, so I still felt sore. Because I only had five hours of sleep the previous night, I imagine my body didn鈥檛 have time to recover adequately from my long run the day before.

Day 2: I Woke Up with Lots of Eye Goop

Falling asleep was tough for some reason. I eventually did, though, and woke up to my alarm. I gave my sleep quality a score of 3, mainly because I didn鈥檛 get enough sleep鈥搄ust four and a half hours.

When my alarm rang, I lifted the mask, and the light poured in, heightening my eye sensitivity. It felt like I walked out of a cave. But my eyes adjusted in about ten minutes.

I also had a lot of eye sand, some dry, some goopy. According to the eye goop forms because we don鈥檛 blink at night, so any eye discharge and tears build up on the lash line. I鈥檓 thinking that because I wore it over my fluffy curls, the mask was tighter than usual. It鈥檚 possible the mask restricted my eyelids from moving around, creating the perfect environment for eye gunk to pool around my eyes. I wiped it away with a damp washcloth, and once I started work, I felt mentally clear. I gave the day a 4 rating.

Day 3: I Got Used to Sleeping with Something on My Face

By night three, I finally felt comfortable with the eye mask on. The pressure and pitch-blackness no longer felt foreign or oppressive. Unfortunately, I only slept for about four hours. Enter a two-hour nap sans eye mask. However, I did talk to my BFF, the same one who said my mask looks like underwear, and we had a deep, thought-provoking conversation.

Day 4: The Afternoon Slump Had Me in a Chokehold

Although I slept for seven hours, it was a mediocre seven hours鈥攅ven my rating of a 2 feels generous. I woke up feeling groggy, but that passed after about 30 minutes, and I felt pretty good the rest of the day.

Day 5: From Decent to Great

I slept for about six hours, and my sleep was good overall. Like the previous day, I woke up groggy and then had a burst of energy. When the afternoon rolled around, I was overcome with tiredness. I napped for an hour, which refreshed me enough to go for a run after work and do some errands. I gave the day a 4 because even though the afternoon slump was rough, I had a very productive day and felt accomplished.

Day 6: It Was a Good Day

Queue Ice鈥檚 Cube 1993 hit 鈥淚t Was a Good Day.鈥� I don鈥檛 have much to say about day five. Not bad. Not amazing. Just鈥ood. I was pleased.

Day 7: Like the First Day, I Felt Fantastic

I logged a full eight hours of sleep. I had some wild dessert-induced dreams. Sleep quality? 4. The next day: a 5.

What I Love About the Kitsch Eye Mask

I love the silkiness of the satin fabric. It feels really luxurious against my eyelids. It’s thick but not enough to feel like I鈥檓 lying on an extra pillow, despite the mask鈥檚 name. I like that it still allows for sound to pass through and is flexible enough to accommodate side sleeping.

I鈥檝e been wearing the mask most nights, even though the experiment is over, and my overall sleep quality has improved. When I wear the mask, I feel energized the next day鈥搖sually鈥揳nd find that my productivity and mood increase.

What I Don鈥檛 Love About the Kitsch Eye Mask

Because the mask is so silky, it does shift a bit on my face. The shift is minimal, but it鈥檚 still noticeable. When I first lay down and put it on at night, I find myself adjusting it a few times before it feels secure.

Initially, the mask felt a little too snug on my face, pressing on my eyelids a little more than would be considered comfortable. But after a few uses and washes, it鈥檚 loosened up and now feels perfect for the combination of my head and hair size.

Final Thoughts

Despite some of its flaws, I definitely recommend this eye mask to anyone鈥攅specially fellow night owls who don鈥檛 always get enough sleep but need something to deepen what sleep they do get.

After the experiment ended, I went mask-free on day eight. The next morning, I went to make coffee. I loaded the K-Cup into my Keurig and hit start. I walked away while it brewed. Upon walking back to my machine, I noticed all of my coffee had spilled on the counter, the brown liquid dripping on the floor. It was then that I realized I never put the mug underneath. I鈥檝e had Keurigs for a few years now, and I have never, ever made this mistake. Had I slept with the mask, I鈥檇 probably have been awake enough to remember.

The post I Tested Kitsch’s Charcoal Satin Pillow Eye Mask for One Week鈥擨 Felt Energized Even After Little Sleep appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

We all know that sleep is essential for good health; however, recent research suggests that quality sleep and athletic performance begin with the proper bedtime.

The study, published in June of this year in the journal had nearly 20,000 people wear fitness trackers for a year and discovered that those who went to bed earlier than usual engaged in the most moderate-to-vigorous physical activity the next day, even though participants slept the same amount of time as they typically did. 鈥淕oing to sleep earlier than usual may be an effective strategy to maintain normal sleep duration while also optimizing next-day physical activity,鈥� the researchers wrote.

Personally, I鈥檝e always struggled to stay up late, but I notice that when I give in to my natural desire to go to bed early, I feel more invigorated and ready to tackle my training runs than when I go to bed way past my bedtime. Now, I make it a point to hit the sheets the night before hard workout days and races to give myself the best chance of success.

Of course, everyone’s biorhythms are different. How can you figure out what your bedtime should be to maximize your performance? Three sleep specialists share a guide on calculating the best time to go to sleep based on your performance goals.

What to Consider Before Choosing a Bedtime

鈥淐onsistent and adequate sleep can improve daytime concentration and productivity, which can boost exercise performance,鈥� says Dr. Madeleine Basist, a pulmonologist and sleep medicine fellow at Northwell鈥檚 Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

Getting the right amount of sleep can also help you have the energy to power through your next workout, points out , a neurologist and sleep medicine physician based in Virginia, and host of the podcast.

At baseline, a consistent sleep and wake time can go a long way toward supporting your health and your performance. 鈥淚t helps our brains align our circadian rhythms鈥攂ody clocks鈥攚hich means we can be healthier and more fit,鈥� says , a neurologist based in Nashville, Tennessee.

But every person鈥檚 internal clock is different, and so are the various elements that can impact your optimal bedtime.

Doctors suggest keeping the following factors in mind when choosing a bedtime.

Chronotype: Are You an Early Bird or Night Owl?

Your chronotype is the natural desire of your body to go to sleep at a certain time, Basist explains. It鈥檚 what people mean when they use terms like 鈥渕orning bird鈥� and 鈥渘ight owl.鈥�

鈥淲hen given the choice, choosing a bedtime that is at odds with your chronotype can be challenging as, by definition, you are choosing a sleep-wake schedule that is not aligned with what your body prefers naturally,鈥� Winter says. If your work and lifestyle allow for it, choosing a bedtime that aligns with your body’s natural rhythm is ideal, he adds.

Your Work Schedule

Do you work standard hours, do shift work, or work overnights? You should factor this in here. Depending on when you need to be at work, it will impact the time you should get up, so you鈥檒l need to calculate backwards to make sure you conk out at the right time, Malow says.

Your Day-to-Day Responsibilities

Having young kids and evening responsibilities should factor into your ideal bedtime, too. However, Malow recommends doing what you can to minimize social obligations that can interfere with your bedtime. 鈥淭ry not to overschedule, if you can, so you can get sufficient sleep,鈥� she says.

Sleep Disorders or Medical Conditions

If you have a sleep disorder or other underlying medical condition, it鈥檚 crucial to do what you can to treat and manage it well. But this can be easier said than done. 鈥淕enerally speaking, untreated medical conditions and sleep disorders result in earlier bedtimes as the individual seeks to compensate for poor sleep quality with more sleep quantity,鈥� Winter says.

Desired Training Frequency

Are you planning to train twice a week or six times a week? Your bedtime should reflect that to make sure you get adequate sleep for your recovery. 鈥淎 realistic bedtime should align with your planned daily commitments and training hours,鈥� Basist says.

Desired Training Time of Day

Do you plan to train in the morning, midday, or evening? This should be based on your chronotype as much as possible, according to Malow. 鈥淚f you are a morning lark, aim for exercise in the morning,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f a night owl, exercise later in the day, but avoid too close to bedtime as that can be stimulating and interfere with sleep.鈥�

How to Calculate the Exact Time You Should Go to Sleep for Optimal Athletic Performance

Because your fitness goals, chronotype, and daily life are different from everyone else鈥檚, it鈥檚 important to choose your ideal bedtime based on your own needs.

Our experts recommend going through the following steps to calculate the optimal bedtime for your performance goals.

Step 1: Choose Your Target Wake Time

Few people can roll right out of bed and start training immediately. Even if you feel you can handle this, it鈥檚 best to put a little distance between your wake time and the start of your training to ensure you鈥檒l be able to perform at the level you want, Winter says.

Of course, you鈥檒l also want to factor in the amount of time your workout will take and when you need to be at work or other obligations. (This is less of an issue if you鈥檙e planning on a midday or evening workout, but should factor into your bedtime calculation.)

Step 2: Work Backwards from Wake Time

You likely have a good sense of how much sleep you need to feel well-rested. But suggest getting at least seven hours of sleep, and you鈥檒l likely need more to compensate for higher levels of training intensity as well as your own personal preference. When calculating this, include an extra ten- to 30-minute window to actually fall asleep.

Step 3: Factor in Recovery Demands

If your training involves light to moderate exercise two to three times a week, seven to eight hours of sleep may be enough, Winter says. But if you鈥檙e planning to do more intense exercise for five to six days a week, you may want to aim for eight to nine hours.

鈥淚ncrease sleep time if rigorous training is leaving you feeling tired,鈥� Winter says. 鈥淓lite athletes can see swings of several hours in their sleep depending on whether or not they are training hard or relaxing more in the off-season.鈥�

Still, your personal needs will influence how much sleep you should get. 鈥淪even to eight hours may be enough for some,鈥� Malow says.

Step 4: Account for Sleep Quality

If you struggle to have consistent sleep, you may need to factor in additional time when choosing a bedtime. Malow recommends getting out of bed if you can鈥檛 sleep, noting that if you lie there, your mind will start to associate your bed with not sleeping. But that time out of bed should be considered when calculating when to get into bed.

For someone who doesn’t sleep right away, you might need to hop in bed 15 to 20 minutes earlier than I would.

If you find you鈥檙e regularly struggling to go to sleep at the time of your choosing, Malow says you may need to go to bed later. She also stresses the importance of focusing on sleep hygiene, limiting screen time before bed, and having a winding-down routine before you get into bed.

Step 5: Test and Adjust

The best bedtime for you can be tricky to calculate, given how many variables there are to consider. If you鈥檙e adjusting your bedtime, doctors recommend trying it out for a week while tracking your energy, workout performance, and recovery. Then, you can adjust your bedtime if you鈥檙e still tired or if you feel that your performance is lacking. 鈥淭he key is to understand your individual needs and adjust your sleep schedule accordingly,鈥� Basist says.

I Followed Those Steps to Calculate My Ideal Bedtime

I鈥檓 a morning bird who exercises six days a week, alternating between running, cycling, and strength-training workouts. I have four young kids and work full-time, so I prefer to exercise in the morning before my day gets chaotic. My kids go to bed around 8:30 p.m., and I need to be up around 5 a.m. to fit in a workout before getting them ready for the day.

To get eight hours of sleep, that means my ideal bedtime would be around 9 p.m.

I don’t need to allot much time for myself to fall asleep because I knock out pretty quickly after my head hits the pillow. For someone who doesn’t sleep right away, you might need to hop in bed 15 to 20 minutes earlier than I would.

If I want to do some HIIT the next day, I might need to get in bed right after I put my kids to bed at 8:30.

While there are some nights that I tend to go to bed a little later than 9 o’clock (I sometimes try to squeeze in a couple of nighttime chores), I do feel well rested and better able to push myself when I actually go to bed at 9 p.m.

The Bottom Line

Sleep is complicated, and it鈥檚 difficult to have the exact same bedtime every night. However, doctors say that aiming for consistency is key.

鈥淲hile our brain and body’s neurotransmitters, hormones, and other chemicals are always in a state of flux, their patterns of influence follow predictable 24-hour patterns,鈥� Winter says. 鈥淪ince sleep represents a very dynamic and large-scale state change of these chemical patterns, the timing of when we enter sleep and exit sleep influences those chemical changes dramatically.鈥�

Want more听国产吃瓜黑料听health stories?听. Ready to push yourself? Enter MapMyRun鈥檚听听running challenge.

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Do you regularly wake up feeling groggy and like you didn鈥檛 sleep enough? In our fast-paced existence, adequate sleep can feel not only elusive but like an act of radical self-care.

Many of us are accustomed to an emphasis on how long we sleep, with the recommended amount being . But a 5,000-year-old system of medicine, known as Ayurveda, asserts that when you sleep is equally critical.

The Natural Elements You Embody Inform Your Optimal Sleep Time

Originating in India, Ayurveda emphasizes understanding your body鈥檚 rhythms in pursuit of a more harmonious existence.

According to this ancient belief system, your body has a unique biological clock influenced by many things, including the five natural elements鈥攕pace, air, earth, fire, and water. These elements come together in varying proportions to create , also known as .

How to Figure Out Which Elements Power Your Bodily Functions

There are three doshas: vata, pitta, kapha. Each of the three doshas refers to a . For example, someone with a vata dosha is primarily influenced by space and air. Pitta people contain more fire and water, and those who are kapha are born with a mix of water and earth. (.)

Your predominant dosha鈥攚hether vata, pitta, or kapha鈥攁ffects everything from your personality to your sleep tendencies. There is also the concept of doshic hours, which assigns a predominant dosha to each hour of the day. Understanding which dosha is prominent at a particular hour allows you to optimize your well-being, from your morning routine to your nighttime rituals.

Depending on which doshic hour it is, your digestion may be stronger or weaker; you may have a greater (or lesser) capacity to tackle challenging tasks, your energy levels may peak or drop, you might see a difference in your creativity levels, and the quality of sleep can be affected.

This Is the Best Time to Sleep, According to Ancient Wisdom

According to Ayurvedic principles, the hours between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. are considered crucial for physiological rejuvenation and an ideal time for the body to be at sleep, and it is now proven by science. These hours are associated with the pitta dosha, whose inherent fire (a.k.a 鈥榟eating鈥�) quality aids in the metabolic processes necessary for detoxification, deep cellular repair, and rejuvenation during sleep.

鈥淚t鈥檚 best to be asleep around 10 p.m. so that pitta activity can be directed inward for detoxification and cellular digestion and metabolism,鈥� explains , a board-certified family physician and Ayurvedic expert. 鈥淚f not, we miss prime healing time.鈥�

Staying Up Too Late Reduces Sleep Quality

For example, sleeping between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. is considered more rejuvenating and vital to cellular repair and renewal than sleeping from 1 a.m. to 9 a.m. Even though the total hours of sleep are the same, the benefits are not.

Staying up late disrupts these vital processes and causes our bodies to rejuvenate inadequately, leading to increased anxiety, stress, and digestive issues.

How to Fall Asleep Early (Well, Earlier)

Falling asleep earlier than usual can seem like an almost impossible goal, especially if that means breaking a habit of late-night screen time, not consuming caffeine late in the day, or maneuvering around responsibilities that require you to stay up late, whether you鈥檙e a new parent or work the late shift. Ayurveda respects that. Everyone鈥檚 situation is unique.

However, if you would like to change the habit of staying up late, you can. 鈥淚f our body is used to falling asleep late, it is because we have trained it to do so,鈥� says Patel. 鈥淲e need to retrain it.鈥�

Patel suggests going to bed 15 to 30 minutes earlier every one to two weeks. Or you can take it more slowly if you like. The most effective approach to changing your sleep schedule is a gradual one. The body will adjust.

Try These Tips to Get to Bed Earlier

It becomes even easier to adhere to your new routine once you begin to notice a difference in your mood and mental state. Begin by establishing a relaxing evening routine, such as removing electronics from your bedroom and trying some gentle stretching or yin yoga. Then, try moving your bedtime earlier by 15 minutes each week.

Be patient with yourself if it takes longer. You鈥檒l find this makes the transition much more doable and long-lasting.

Sleeping Earlier Has Many Benefits

Most people find themselves more focused and less irritable during the day after just a few days of falling asleep earlier. By prioritizing an earlier bedtime and aligning with your biological rhythms, you unlock profound benefits. Even a small shift in your bedtime can unleash a cascade of these positive effects, including:

• Enhanced levels
• Elevated
• Increased
• Strengthened
• More restful

By aligning your sleep schedule with timeless Ayurvedic principles, you will discover more restorative sleep and a happier you.

Want more听国产吃瓜黑料听health stories?听.

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I was at the gym, listening to Tim Ferriss鈥� Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice From the Best in the World, when an interviewee mentioned that a pair of sleep headphones had transformed their once-wakeful nights. A lifelong insomniac, I immediately set down my dumbbells, grabbed my phone, and placed an order.

A week later, my arrived.

(TL;DR: this may be the most hardworking headband you’ll ever own.)

How AcousticSheep’s Sleep Headphones Work

These headphones for sleeping are comprised of a simple headband with a pocket in the back that holds two flat Bluetooth earbuds wired to a small controller. They may not appear to be anything special. But if you鈥檝e ever been awake at 3:06 a.m. with a racing mind and the desire for quiet, this simple accessory is a major game-changer.

Unlike Earbuds, I Didn’t Have to Worry About Them Falling Out of My Ears

Unlike earbuds that pop out or cause discomfort, these headphones are soft and comfortable鈥攜es, even for side-sleepers.

You can also simply slip the headphones off, in the morning, eliminating the morning stress of an exhaustive earbud search.

They’re Really Comfortable

The width of the band is just right, making the fit feel easy and secure regardless of hairstyle or texture. I opted for the grey fleece fabric although if you live in a hot environment or rely on these while working out, the Breeze fabric might be a smarter option.

The Charge Lasts

But style and comfort points aside, let’s talk reliability. I’ve never had a connectivity issue with this headband. The Bluetooth works every time I pair the headphones. Plus, the charger seems to last forever (well, weeks), though I do charge it every couple of weeks, just in case.

They may not appear to be anything special. But if you鈥檝e ever been awake at 3:06 a.m. with a racing mind and the desire for quiet, this simple accessory is a major game-changer.

A Few Minor Gripes

Given the single-pocket design, removing the controller for a charge is a little awkward.

The headband usually has to be readjusted ahead of the next wear, as the sound can be faint if the headphones are not perfectly positioned over the ears.

How I Use My AcousticSheep Sleep Headphones

Everyone has a different lullaby. While I鈥檓 lying awake in my bed, I usually listen to , also called 鈥測ogic sleep,鈥� a guided meditation that leads you into a state of deep relaxation. On the night’s that even this won’t help me sleep, it at least helps me accept my wakeful state.

The AcousticSheep sleep headphones may be designed for bedtime, but they also come in handy when I鈥檓 practicing along with online fitness classes at home, as my other earbuds and over-the-ear headphones pop out when I go into any sort of inversion.

You can even rely on your SleepPhones while awake, the accessory providing a soundtrack for hiking, skiing, or for your next Zoom meeting.

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Elite athletes have a remarkable ability to focus on what they can control and let go of what they can鈥檛. They are process obsessives, honing in on the manifold factors鈥攍ike diet, exercise, and recovery鈥攖hat can make the difference between being first and being a footnote. Nutrition, weight lifting, and mental performance have all taken turns revolutionizing training, yet aside from a few rogue proselytizers, sleep has often been perceived as something one must begrudgingly succumb to rather than make the time for. Sleep is the cousin of death, after all.

In , an exploration of circadian rhythms, journalist Lynne Peeples describes how scientists, doctors, and athletes alike are awakening to the power of sleep. Peeples cited research that found that travel, crossed time zones, and recovery are up to 78 percent predictive of who will win an NBA game, and that MLB teams with a three-hour time-zone advantage win 62 percent of games.

A few brands have capitalized on this newfound appreciation for slumber by releasing products aimed at helping athletes rest and recover. The latest sleep aid is from performance eyewear brand ROKA and created in partnership with Andrew Huberman, PhD, a Stanford University neuroscientist and professor behind the popular . The ($125-$195 non-prescription, $195-$300 for prescription) is designed to block blue and green light to鈥攁llegedly鈥攈elp lower stress, sync circadian rhythms, improve sleep, and boost mood. Is it the latest cash cow in a booming industry or the next edge in recovery?

Evolutionary Reasons to Embrace the Dark Side

To know whether something is a gimmick or game changer, it鈥檚 useful to understand the science behind it. Light plays the most crucial role in balancing our inner clock. The human eye perceives electromagnetic radiation (i.e. light) as different colors, depending on the length of the wave. Blue light has the shortest wavelength.

Exposure to blue light in the morning energizes us and sets our clocks in motion so that we鈥檒l start to feel tired roughly 14 hours later, says Kristen Holmes, a psychophysiologist and the vice president of performance at Whoop, a wearable brand credited for its comprehensive sleep data. Getting enough blue light during the day keeps us balanced and alert. However, too much blue light at night from artificial sources鈥攍ike overhead lights or screens鈥攌eeps us wired past our natural bedtimes.

For most of human history, receiving healthy doses of light was not an issue. People spent the bulk of the day outside and didn鈥檛 receive any excess light once the sun set, allowing melatonin levels to rise and sleep to take hold. But our biology has not caught up to our beeping, blinking, blazing world. 鈥淢odernity is not making us healthier,鈥� explains Holmes. 鈥淲e have not adapted to blue light after the sun goes down.鈥�

Blue light blockers offer a literal barrier between our eyes and the brightness of modern evenings and glowing screens. The Wind Down lens also blocks green wavelengths in addition to blue. Raj Dasgupta, MD, an expert in sleep medicine at University of Southern California, explained, 鈥淕reen light, while not as strong as blue light, is still considered to be disruptive to our circadian rhythm due to its impact on melatonin levels.鈥�

According to data recorded by Whoop users, after dimming lights, blue light blockers were the second most important factor in optimizing sleep consistency. 鈥淲e鈥檙e able to see without a shadow of a doubt that these are helping people,鈥� said Holmes. 鈥淪o it stands to reason that the ability to block both of these spectrums of light is probably better than just blue light alone.鈥�

Use Cases for Light-Blocking Lenses听

My own experience with the Wind Down lens was brief but instructive. As someone who frequently uses melatonin as a supplement to trigger sleepiness, I鈥檒l take all the help I can get. Having never tried light-blocking lenses before, I found the orange tint jarring at first. Yet according to Peeples, it can be hard to trust blue light blockers if they are not tinted.

鈥淚f you have a blue light blocking glass that is tinted yellow, orange, or red, then you can be fairly confident that it is going to block blue wavelengths of light,鈥� she says. She points out that there is nothing standardized about this product category, and some clear glasses marketed as blue light blockers might not be as effective.

When I was putting my two-year-old son to bed, he asked, 鈥淒ada, why are you wearing your sunglasses?鈥� As I explained that they were nighttime glasses, he started rubbing his own eyes, a sign that his own biology was working just right (or that Dada explaining things is boring).

Truth be told, I found wearing light blockers clunky. Unlike , I guess I鈥檓 just not used to wearing my sunglasses at night. My Whoop, however, recorded my best sleep efficiency score of the week after wearing them. The Roka x Huberman collection sold out in three days, so clearly there are plenty of folks other than me needing help winding down. The premium nature of the sunglasses鈥攃ombined with Huberman鈥檚 popularity鈥攊s no doubt also a factor.

The Wind Down lens adds to Roka鈥檚 existing performance frames, so the marriage of lightweight glasses with no-slip grips might also appeal to the modern athlete archetype interested in optimal recovery. Yet according to the experts, there are simpler鈥攁nd less expensive鈥攚ays to achieve the same result.

鈥淚t鈥檚 probably more important to just think about the environment you鈥檙e in,鈥� Peeples says. 鈥淒imming or turning off overhead lights, using warmer light bulbs, and not putting your face right in front of a screen are more powerful and less annoying than wearing light blockers.鈥�

Dasgupta and Holmes emphasized the importance of improving circadian health by getting early doses of sunshine, seeking out natural light during the day, and cultivating a stable sleep and wake time.

But Peeples wears light blockers when she works at her computer late at night, and sees other potential use cases for them, particularly when one is in an environment out of their control. 鈥淭hese could provide a real benefit if you are traveling, or in a grocery store, or at a friend鈥檚 house who doesn鈥檛 quite understand the importance of turning down the lights at night,鈥� she says. Or, perhaps, if you are an athlete who needs to wind down the night before a race.

Ultimately, your sleep habits are highly personal, as are the sleep aids that will work for you. We could all probably benefit from a little more sleep, and if wearing Wind Down lenses helps you open your eyes to the power of shut eye, it could be worth the investment. Sleep, as it turns out, is the cousin of performance, and that is intel you shouldn鈥檛 sleep on.

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I first heard about the over dinner with my girlfriends. We were talking about the link between our high stress levels, sleepless nights鈥攚aking up at 2 a.m. randomly, then struggling to fall back asleep鈥攁nd, of course, our social media algorithms, bombarding us hourly with self-care content about nervous system regulation, high cortisol, and stress management.

One friend, a physician鈥檚 associate specializing in psychiatry with an integrative approach, mentioned that she had started sleeping better and meditating more after she began wearing an Oura Ring. I looked down at the sleek gold ring on her middle finger, seamlessly stacked with her other gold rings. As we all leaned in, intrigued by this little device, a soft green glow radiated against her tan skin. No more 2 a.m. wake-ups or end-of-day fatigue? Say less, goddess.

That night, lying in bed, I ordered mine.

How Does the Oura Ring Work?

The Oura Ring uses infrared and LED light to track biometrics, including heart rate, and provides daily scores for sleep, activity, and readiness. Its stress-tracking feature relies on several of these data points to measure four key states鈥攚hich it refers to as Restored, Relaxed, Engaged, and Stressed鈥攖o show how your body responds to life.

Within a few weeks, the ring builds a baseline to reveal long-term stress patterns. It includes data from sleep, exercise, and stress responses, giving you scores (on a 0-100 scale) in three key categories: Readiness, Sleep, and Activity. These scores help you see how well your body is coping and recovering. On average, for example, Oura users experience about 90 minutes in a 鈥淪tressed鈥� state each day. Not all stress is bad鈥攈ormetic stress, or , like cold plunging or exercise, counts toward this number as well. The algorithm then combines all your scores to rate your body鈥檚 resilience to stress. Resilience is measured as: Exceptional, Strong, Solid, Adequate, or Limited.

Like other smart devices, the Oura Ring tracks my steps, heart rate, and exertion. It also measures heart rate variability (HRV), which directly reflects how well my nervous system is functioning. Essentially, a higher HRV often indicates that your body is in a more relaxed and balanced state, while a lower HRV could suggest stress or a need for recovery.

The ring is linked to an app, allowing you to view all associated metrics at a glance on your phone. Remembering to charge another device can be a burden, but I appreciate that the battery replenishes quickly (20-80 minutes on a little ring holder), and it lasts me anywhere from 3 to 5 days before I need to recharge.

Though the price point鈥�$349, plus a year-long subscription of $70鈥攊s admittedly steep, the information and the options for leveraging it have proved priceless for me.

The Good and Bad of Tracking My Stress

Wellness became something of a game for me. How could I use this data to carve out more time for rest, even when my schedule was packed and stress levels were high? I worried the Oura Ring might disconnect me from listening to my body鈥檚 natural cues, but instead, it helped me tune in more deeply.

At first, I did feel a bit neurotic. I was constantly checking the app, as if someone had revealed an analysis that wasn鈥檛 meant for my eyes, like when you see the doctor taking notes during your appointment and wonder what she might be typing. Was this too much information? Constantly having access to a portrait of my health is something I still struggle with.

Another first response: seeing that I was physiologically stressed鈥攚hen I already felt stressed鈥攐nly stressed me out more.

Within a month, my ring collected enough data to accurately depict my stress鈥攁nd, wildly, I was spending three to four hours a day in a Stressed state. I was shocked. But when I started to dig a little deeper, it was validating鈥攁nd liberating. If you鈥檙e like me and my girlfriends, we always try to do it all. And I think I鈥檓 finding that while it鈥檚 possible to do everything I want to do, sometimes I need to slow down before pushing forward. This timeless pursuit is made infinitely easier with the help of my shiny new accessory.

As I began to integrate the tool into my life, I began to check the app less frequently, and began to view the ring as an ally in understanding my wellbeing. The data empowered me to better understand how I handle stress and guided me to incorporate more mindfulness into my life.

5 Ways the Oura Ring Helps Me Live More Mindfully

Here are some ways the Oura Ring has helped me slow down, increase my Restorative time, and improve my meditation, all while managing a full, vibrant, and creative life.

1. I Spend More Time 国产吃瓜黑料

I鈥檝e always known how much being out in nature, and especially sitting quietly near the sea, calms my nerves. This goes double for outdoor movement鈥攊t鈥檚 no wonder surfers get their fix or runners chase that high.

I began to notice that even small breaks throughout the day to breathe or move in nature caused my HRV levels to rise over time. Instead of rushing off to Pilates first thing on Monday morning, I started taking walks by the sea or through a park on my lunch break, leaving my phone behind to avoid distractions. The peaceful surroundings became my moving meditation.

I鈥檓 starting to understand my stress more intimately and have more compassion for what I do to my body to accomplish what I want in life.

Having hard data from the Oura Ring to confirm how beneficial this sacred time was validated my decision; being in a Relaxed or Restored state at the end of a walk helped my brain see the clear connection between my well-being and time spent in nature.

2. I Furthered My Unguided Meditation Practice

Finding stillness in solitude without a guide or a group can be difficult. The Oura Ring helped me stay accountable as I started to meditate daily with its 鈥淯nguided Session鈥� feature.

I began with just a few minutes of sitting quietly, finding a peaceful corner wherever I was, sometimes in the front seat of my car with the windows down, or even on the rooftop at work. The more I practiced, the easier it became to meditate for longer periods at a time.

Oura tracks your heart rate, HRV, and skin temperature during meditation, letting you see how your body has responded once the session is over. I love the little details it gives you: as you enter a more relaxed state, your skin temperature begins to increase. Tuning into the body鈥檚 signals during meditation helps prove its benefits in real time, which is highly motivating. It also helps boost my Resilience, as spending more time in a Restored state strengthens my body鈥檚 ability to handle stressors.

3. Data Helps Me Reflect and Tune In

My biggest fear about wearing a device all day was that I would begin to disconnect from my body鈥檚 natural cues. Initially, it was a very cerebral experience. But over time, I started to adjust to knowing so much about my physiological state. After the initial process of integration, real-time data actually enhanced both my intuitive and physical cues. After all, knowledge is power.

I鈥檓 finding that while it鈥檚 possible to do everything I want to do, sometimes I need to slow down before pushing forward.

For example, I noticed that late-night meals and any caffeine after noon were consistently spiking my stress. Armed with this info, I made small changes, such as switching to green tea or avoiding big meals before bed, and saw an immediate difference in how I felt.

4. I Prioritize Rest

I used to feel guilty about taking time to do nothing. My friends and I always talk about how there鈥檚 a fine line between truly restorative rest days, where you engage in healthy yet relaxing activities, and the alternative: bed-rotting, where you just scroll through social media and snack all day. I鈥檓 a firm believer that each has its time and place, but the Oura Ring鈥檚 focus on restorative sleep and relaxation helped me rethink how I define my downtime.

I started creating small rituals to ensure I carved out time for rest, whether that meant taking a nap, journaling, or simply enjoying a quiet cup of tea. The ring tracked my recovery time, showing me that rest was just as valuable as work in maintaining a healthy balance. These 鈥渘othing鈥� days became essential for recharging, and I stopped seeing rest as a luxury and started treating it as a necessity.

5. I鈥檓 Getting Better Sleep

The most significant change I noticed was in my sleep. The Oura Ring helped me understand how important it is to shift from a Stressed or Engaged state to a Relaxed one before bedtime. Each morning, you can check the app on your phone and see a score out of 100 that rates your sleep quality based on multiple biometrics tracked during the night.

I love a late night and definitely still stay out late when it feels right, but I started getting home earlier to wind my sweet body down. The ring鈥檚 sleep-tracking feature revealed that the more I allowed my body to enter a Relaxed or Restored state before bed, the deeper my sleep became and the higher my Resilience was to whatever stress came my way.

Simple changes such as eating smaller meals (with little to no meat) earlier in the evening, cutting back on alcohol and caffeine, and lying in bed reading made the biggest difference for my body when trying to enter a Restorative state and raise my Resilience.

Now, when my friends and I get together, we nerd out on our Sleep Scores.

The Oura Ring has shown me how to better balance my life. I still experience stress and set a high bar for my productivity, but I鈥檓 starting to understand my stress more intimately and have more compassion for what I do to my body to accomplish what I want in life.

I still don鈥檛 feel great when I see that I have a low Resilience score, but I鈥檓 getting better at meditating regularly and resting efficiently, which are two ways I can have my own back. Collecting both the data and the tools to be more intentional around this feels pretty revolutionary.

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Getting rest can be a difficult endeavor. While the mind should be quieting down by the time your head hits the pillow, the opposite is often true: busy thoughts abound.听What needs to get done tomorrow? What cringey joke did you say earlier in that meeting? What are you doing with your life? When your mind starts to spiral, that鈥檚 the perfect time for a guided sleep .

Incorporating a guided meditation into your evening routine can help you access a calm state before you get in bed, leading to sounder and more restorative sleep.

A Step-by-Step Guided Meditation for Sleep

Settle In and Get Comfortable

First, lie down and gently close your eyes. Make a mental note of where you are鈥攁t this moment, place, and time.

Take a Whole-Body Scan

Begin to feel your body in this position. Feel your entire back body resting against or atop whatever surface you鈥檙e on. Feel the backs of your heels, the backs of the legs, the backs of the arms.

Now, begin to feel the whole front body as it sinks into the back body. Begin to let go of any doing, of any thinking. Remember, it鈥檚 OK if thoughts are still there鈥攋ust have the intention to observe them instead of engaging with them.

Release Any Tension

Release tightness in the soles of the feet, the tops of the feet, the knees, and the hips. The center of the navel, your lower back, your upper back, the center of your chest, your shoulders. Your arms, your wrists, your palms. Your fingers, your toes. The center of your throat. Just releasing tension.

Relax your jaw and all the muscles of your face. Your ears, your eyes.

Bring your attention and awareness to the space between your eyebrows. Relax your forehead, the back of the head, and the crown of the head.

Take a deep breath through your nose. Open your mouth and exhale, letting go of any tension or stress.

Embrace the Ease

Even if it鈥檚 just for this moment, feel your body in a state of complete ease, held by the ground under you, the sky above you, the air against your skin.

No doing, just resting.

Notice if your mind begins to wander off. Bring your attention back to the sensation of ease in your body.

Just Breathe

There鈥檚 no technique to the breath, just a simple rhythm of inhaling and exhaling.

Very gently, begin to deepen your breath. If you鈥檙e comfortable and want to stay here for a longer period of time, feel free to do so.

Come Back Before Sleep

As you come out of the practice, allow yourself to take your time. Very gently begin to wiggle your toes, wiggle your fingers, and slowly roll over to one side, holding yourself there for a moment.

Use your hands to press yourself up to a comfortable seated position, taking a few moments here.

Now, when you鈥檙e ready, blink your eyes open and come back to the space. You can turn off this guided meditation or even start it over and do it again. Whatever you need to access a rested state.

Want more of听国产吃瓜黑料鈥檚 Health stories?听.

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There鈥檚 this old where an alarm buzzes at an ungodly hour of the morning. A man opens his eyes and says, 鈥淭ime to make the donuts,鈥� before dragging himself out of bed and to work in a haze. Those 30 seconds perfectly encapsulate how I feel most days鈥攚ake up groggy, work all day, fall into bed for a restless night of sleep. Rinse and repeat.

Recently, sleep has been anything but refreshing. I鈥檓 anxious when I crawl into bed. When I鈥檓 not well-rested, I鈥檓 useless the next day, fighting brain fog and an unproductive malaise. My mind spirals as I worry that I won鈥檛 be able to string together a few consecutive hours of sleep, making it hard to relax and actually fall asleep. When I wake up, my muscles and joints are cranky in a way that鈥檚 different from the aftermath of a good workout or even age.

According to a , more than half of Americans say they need more sleep, especially women. Most people in the poll also said they were stressed, which creates a vicious cycle, making it harder to sleep.

What Is Sleepmaxxing?

For anyone who has experienced a bad night of sleep鈥攐r a series of them鈥攖here鈥檚 a desperate feeling when you just want some shuteye. These days, people are trading simple bedtime routines for 鈥�,鈥� the trend of that have taken over social media and promise to maximize and optimize sleep.

There鈥檚 mouth tape to promote breathing through the nose, white noise and blue light blockers to minimize sleep-disrupting stimulus, supplements to spur melatonin production, and sleep wearables to track your sleep. There鈥檚 specialized pillows, sheets, and mattresses to create a bedroom haven. There鈥檚 a 鈥�,鈥� tart cherry juice swirled with magnesium powder and topped off with a splash of prebiotic soda or seltzer. Some influencers swear by an elaborate beauty routine, too.

The idea behind sleepmaxxing鈥攇etting sufficient, good quality sleep鈥攊sn鈥檛 new, says , assistant professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins Medicine. 鈥淧eople are finally realizing the importance of a good night鈥檚 sleep. There are so many positive, downstream effects,鈥� she says, on physical health, mood, memory, cognitive function, and athletic performance.

Having covered health and fitness for over a decade, I knew a full night of sleep is crucial for my health and recovery from workouts. On average, I clocked seven hours of sleep, within the range recommended by the . But I always equated more sleep with good sleep, that the reason I didn鈥檛 feel refreshed in the morning was because I went to bed too late. Or, maybe my body just needed more zzzs now that I was older. Even though I knew I woke up more during the night than I used to鈥攁nd had a harder time falling back asleep once I did鈥擨 didn鈥檛 think about the quality of my sleep. I didn鈥檛 look forward to sleeping anymore because I anticipated a night of tossing and turning.

鈥淚f you wake up feeling tired鈥攏o matter how many hours of sleep you get鈥攖he problem is the quality of sleep. It鈥檚 analogous to leaving your favorite restaurant feeling hungry,鈥� says , clinical professor at Stanford University鈥檚 Sleep Medicine division and author of the book How to Sleep. 鈥淵ou want to optimize all of your sleep, the number of hours and quality. You want to go to bed feeling safe and comfortable.鈥�

Both Rao and Pelayo said that most of the practices鈥攍ike not eating or drinking close to bedtime, keeping the lights dim, using blackout curtains or an eye mask, keeping the room cool鈥攁re benign, but there鈥檚 no one-size-fits-all solution. 鈥淒oes everyone need melatonin or magnesium? I don鈥檛 think so,鈥� Rao says. And if your sleep doesn鈥檛 improve, see a board-certified sleep doctor.

I Tried Sleepmaxxing

Would sleepmaxxing help me finally get a restful night of sleep? I decided to go all-in on sleep for a month to find out. But first, I had to figure out what habits and conditions in my apartment might be interfering with my sleep.

The most obvious problem was my bedroom. It鈥檚 not necessarily a sanctuary conducive for sleep. I don鈥檛 have blackout or heavy curtains or blinds. Even in the dead of night, a good amount of light seeps in from the street. I also live off a busy street in New York City, and it鈥檚 not unusual to hear (and feel) the rumble of a truck nearby.

While I try to go to sleep at 10 P.M., when I actually kept track, I realized that my bedtime was all over the place. I partly blame my son, who鈥檚 a senior in high school and up late doing his homework, studying, or binging TV. Knowing that he鈥檚 leaving home soon, I want to stay up with him. When I do head to bed, I鈥檓 often on my phone, mindlessly scrolling social media or reading a book.

Caffeine doesn鈥檛 seem to be a problem. I drink coffee in the morning and sometimes black tea in the afternoon. I drink alcohol occasionally, but much less than I used to. But I do nap. I always have鈥攁 17-minute power nap when a bad headache makes it nearly impossible to work.

I knew that if I intended to stick with a sleepmaxxing routine for more than a week, I needed to keep it simple. To start, I committed to a consistent sleep-wake schedule鈥�10 P.M. to 6 A.M.鈥攖hat鈥檚 in line with my natural bedtime and rise time. While I could go to bed earlier in order to sleep more hours, my internal clock might not be ready, Rao says, and that could lead to lying in bed restless.

I cut out alcohol in the evenings, which have found to be associated with poor sleep quality. 鈥淎 lot of things can be sedating but they don鈥檛 promote a good night鈥檚 sleep,鈥� Pelayo says. 鈥淵ou may fall asleep faster initially after drinking alcohol, but you wake up more often during the night and don鈥檛 feel great the next day.鈥�

Instead, two hours before bed, I sipped on a sleepy girl mocktail. 鈥淭art cherries are a natural source of , a hormone that plays a critical role in regulating our sleep-wake cycle,鈥� says , a registered dietitian based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Sulaver advises drinking the mocktail one to two hours before bed to allow time for melatonin levels to rise.

When it comes to magnesium, it promotes relaxation and is involved in the production of melatonin, according to Abby Chan, registered dietitian and co-owner of . has found a relationship between magnesium supplementation and sleep quality, but Chan warns that most studies are conducted with small populations and have mixed results.

An hour before bed, I closed my laptop and put away my phone, swapping scrolling for reading a physical book in bed with the lights dim.

Since I wasn’t going to install blackout curtains, the next best thing was an eye mask to block out the ambient light. While colder temperatures are technically better for sleeping, according to experts, winter in New York City has been chillier than usual this winter. I added a weighted blanket on top of a duvet, hoping that the extra warmth and weight would help me relax, let go, and snooze.

The first night, I couldn鈥檛 fall asleep. The combination of the eye mask and weighted blanket made me feel claustrophobic. Even after I got rid of both, I still woke up several times during the night. But by the third night, I started to settle into a routine. The mocktail was a nice replacement for an evening drink. I also noticed that my legs felt more relaxed instead of restless. 鈥淭he antioxidants in tart cherry juice can help with sore muscles and electrolytes help with a little extra hydration,鈥� Sulaver says.

The eye mask, however, was revelatory, once I got used to it. I fell asleep faster and didn鈥檛 wake up as often in the middle of the night. When I did, I fell back asleep easier because I wasn鈥檛 awakened by the light or tempted to check my phone.

When I woke up, I鈥檇 check my sleep stats in Apple Health and write down my sleep routine from the previous night and how I felt when I woke up. That鈥檚 when it got interesting.

In an effort to optimize my sleep, sleep became a problem I needed to fix. On mornings I woke up groggy, I began to overthink what I did 鈥渃orrectly鈥� and what I did 鈥渨rong.鈥� When I stayed up later than normal whether because I was catching up with a friend on the West Coast, had a glass of wine at dinner, or worked in the evening because of an impending deadline, I blamed myself for not following my sleep rules perfectly. When I realized that I 鈥渂roke the rules,鈥� I often said screw it and told myself that tonight didn鈥檛 count. I figured that I wasn鈥檛 going to sleep well anyways so why bother with the rest of my routine?

There鈥檚 a term for this obsession with perfect sleep: . In pursuit of perfection, people are over-relying on sleep wearables and data tracking, which in turn can cause more anxiety around sleep. A recent found that stressing about sleep before bedtime influenced total sleep time and insomnia symptoms.

But sleep isn鈥檛 a problem to be fixed or controlled. 鈥淪leeping is the ultimate in giving up control. It can鈥檛 be gamed,鈥� Pelayo says. Sleep isn鈥檛 always going to be perfect either. As humans, we have some flexibility in terms of our sleep needs. Sleep habits can also evolve as needed. Halfway through the month, some of the practices that worked well, like the eye mask, started to bother me.听 At first, I was nervous that sleeping without it would mean the return of multiple wakeups per night, but it didn鈥檛.

At the end of the month, my average nightly sleep increased about half an hour, but sleepmaxxing didn鈥檛 revolutionize my sleep. I still woke up many mornings not feeling 100 percent rested.

The experiment did make me think about sleep more purposefully. I don鈥檛 approach it haphazardly anymore, as something that just happens to me at the end of the day. Instead, intentionally preparing for sleep has created a buffer zone at the end of my day. I鈥檓 no longer rushing from work to dinner to helping my kids鈥� with homework straight to bed. It gives my body and mind time to unwind, and I鈥檝e noticed that I鈥檓 more relaxed and settled before bed.

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The 2022 Tour de France Femmes was decided in the Vosges mountains, during a brutal seventh stage with three category-one climbs. Dutch rider Annemiek van Vleuten attacked on the second climb, then opened up a four-minute gap on the final push of the day, a grueling 3,163-foot ascent of the Grand Ballon. It was the hardest day of the Tour, and with another mountain stage coming the next day, recovery was crucial. But with their legs fried, their cortisol levels soaring, and their nervous systems cranked in fight-or-flight mode, would the riders actually be able to sleep properly?

Surprisingly, the answer was yes鈥攐r at least, mostly. Nine of the Women鈥檚 Tour riders were wearing Whoop bands on their wrists; their data, which was published earlier this year in Sports Medicine鈥擮pen, showed that the riders got an average of 7.6 hours of sleep that night, compared with an overall average of 7.7 hours both before and after the Tour. They did, however, spend a little more time than usual in light sleep and less in restorative REM sleep. Whether that matters in any practical sense is the fundamental question confronting athletes, coaches, and sports scientists as they enter a new era of sleep tracking. The technology is better than ever; we just have to figure out what to do with it.

Tracking Sleep Stages Is Still a Challenge

Sleep is hardly a new biohack, but it has been a hot topic in performance circles ever since neuroscientist Matthew Walker鈥檚 2017 book Why We Sleep. The problem with first-generation sleep trackers, though, was that they relied on accelerometers and basically assumed that if you weren鈥檛 moving, you were asleep. The latest generation of devices is more sophisticated, adding heart-rate measurements and other physiological cues like breathing rate and skin temperature to refine their algorithms, and able to tell the differences between distinct sleep stages. As a result, says Charli Sargent, a sleep scientist at Central Queensland University in Australia and lead author of the Tour de France study, 鈥淭he whole world is becoming a sleep laboratory.鈥�

Companies like Apple, Garmin, Oura, Polar, and Whoop have gotten very good at detecting sleep. Compared with sleep-lab studies, where subjects are wired up to record brain and muscle activity, the latest consumer wearables were typically 86 to 89 percent accurate at determining whether a wearer was asleep or awake, Sargent and her colleagues found. Detecting individual sleep stages, on the other hand, is still a work in progress: the wearables only got it right 50 to 61 percent of the time.

The picture for athletes is more complex. Many of the new sleep-stage algorithms rely on heart-rate variability, or HRV, the subtle fluctuations in timing from one beat to the next. HRV changes with sleep stage, but it鈥檚 also influenced by vigorous exercise. Indeed, Sargent found that HRV was systematically lower after mountain stages in male Tour de France riders. Another new study, led by Marc Poulin of the University of Calgary, had a group of healthy volunteers do a hard interval workout in the early evening, then tracked their sleep with an HRV-based Polar watch as well as collecting gold-standard sleep-lab data. The good news: the accuracy of the sleep tracker was undiminished by the workout.

What Can Athletes Do with the Data?

Overall, then, wearable sleep trackers are already pretty good, and they will likely continue to improve. The next question鈥攖he really hard one鈥攊s what we should do with the data. If cyclists are getting less REM sleep after mountain stages, what should they do differently? 鈥淩ide easier鈥� isn鈥檛 useful advice; and it hardly seems like we need a fancy algorithm to give us the usual sleep-hygiene advice about bedtimes, alcohol, and electronics before bed.

For some people, simply having objective data about when to hit the hay and when to wake up might function as a useful reminder to cover these bases, in the same way a step tracker spurs you to get your 10,000 steps. Athletes might also be interested in seeing how their sleep changes at altitude, as an indicator of whether they鈥檝e acclimatized and are ready for hard workouts. And there may eventually be subtler insights: for example, preliminary data from Poulin鈥檚 lab in older adults suggests that those who don鈥檛 get enough deep sleep are more likely to develop cognitive problems years later. For now, the best approach is to establish a baseline and then look for changes, Sargent says. If you usually get 15 to 20 percent deep sleep and that changes to 10 to 15 percent, you should probably figure out why.

Against these putative benefits, you have to weigh the risks. Poor sleep is not always a problem that can be solved by trying harder and worrying more about it鈥攐r by collecting sleep-tracking data. 鈥淎nxiety related to sleep can be both a symptom and a cause of some types of sleep problems,鈥� Sargent acknowledges. The study that sticks in my mind, from Oxford University in 2018, involved giving subjects bogus feedback about whether they鈥檇 slept well or poorly. Those who were told that they鈥檇 slept poorly the night before reported feeling scattered, fatigued, and cranky. A little bit of data can be a dangerous thing, especially if its accuracy is questionable.

As for the mystery behind the surprising finding that Tour cyclists sleep just fine, thank you very much, even after the physiological disruption of brutal mountain stages, Sargent and her colleagues propose a disarmingly simple explanation. The cyclists prioritized sleep: they went to bed early and consistently, and gave themselves plenty of time there; ergo, they slept well. Earlier studies found that super-intense endurance exercise, especially when repeated day after day, led to diminished sleep鈥攂ut the new generation of athletes are on top of it. There will be plenty to learn in years to come from the new sleep-measurement techniques, combined with robust analytical approaches like machine learning and AI. 鈥淚 consider sleep to be the next frontier in physiology,鈥� Poulin says. But none of it matters if you鈥檙e not putting in your time in the sack.

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