Sleep

People tend to believe that everybody needs 8 hours of sleep per night; and they point out that every time they stay up late to study or to work, they feel lousy the next day. However, everyone is unique. There is a window: 95% of people need between 6-9 hours of sleep per night. When these people change their sleep pattern temporarily, they're tired. But, if they would make a permanent change, they would gradually adjust to it and sleep better. When a person doesn't have enough sleep, the brain doesn't have enough time to process and store data. When sleeping, the brain organizes, codes, and stores the information gathered that day.  This happens during the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) part of the sleep cycle. Babies need much more sleep, and older people tend to sleep less. There is an individuality about it.

Learning about sleep research has changed my views about sleep. I used to think that most healthy people need about 8 hours of sleep a night, and more if they are babies. However:

a) According to my studies, a person can greatly reduce the amount of hours of sleep that they need per night, assuming they design a plan to adjust to it and stick to it.

b) Exercise affects the way you sleep since it suppresses appetite, burns calories, makes one tired and then relaxed.

c) In general, if a person has less than six hours of sleep, then they feel the effects of sleep deprivation, and more than nine hours of sleep is also not good. People that sleep too little or too much are less happy and tend to live shorter lives.

d) Adequate nutrition is also very important in the formation of healthy sleeping and waking patterns.

Evidence shows that the long-term use of benzodiazepines actually contributes to the problems of insomnia. Yet they are so commonly prescribed for its treatment.  People get desperate. People drink themselves to sleep with alcoholic beverages and get addicted to them. Benzodiazepines help them relax, and some sleep is better than none, though long term it's not a good solution. Tylenol PM is not a benzodiazepine, its ok.

Some people like to stay up late, some people like to get up early, others like to do both, and still others like to do neither. I will attempt to design a sleep-reduction program that is tailored to my own preferences and lifestyle and that is consistent with the research literature on circadian cycles and sleep deprivation. The program will hopefully produce the greatest benefits for me with the least discomfort.

I would attempt to fall asleep between 11 PM and 12 mid night, and have a solid night of sleep, waking up between 7 and 8 AM. Upon arising, I would brush my teeth, have a drink, pray, do some refreshing yoga or stretch exercises, eat breakfast, take a shower, and then start my work day at about 9 AM. I would work for about 3 hours with a snack in middle, then break half an hour for lunch, work another 4 hours, taking a break to pray and have a snack at about 2:30. Then, at about 4:30, I would relax by reading a light book or listening to classical music until 5:00. I would check if I have any household errands to run, shopping to do, or schoolwork, and do some of that at this point. I would prepare for supper and eat supper at about 6 PM. After supper, I would try to set up times to socialize with family and friends. On school nights, I would prepare for and go to school. On other nights I would alternate between running errands, doing schoolwork, or I would do some more work on the computer for a few hours. At this point I would also check if there are any pressing matters to attend to the next day and put together my schedule for the next day. At about 10 PM, I would do nighttime relaxing yoga exercises, take a bath and shower, listen to some classical music and go to sleep.

I would drink coffee very rarely, thereby reducing my intake of caffeine. I would drink green tea, and have healthy snacks of fruits, vegetables, pretzels, and the occasional junk food. At suppertime, I would avoid acidic foods and noise which would disturb sleep. A fan could be used to drown out background noise. A person needs fiber in order to sleep well, and a lack of fiber could cause cramps, therefore I would attempt to eat high-fiber fruits, vegetables, and grains and have a balanced diet. I would take dietary supplements of vitamins and minerals at the times directed on the boxes.