Subscribe:
Hi, I'm 
Sleep Pattern Basics – To Create Your Own Sleeping Plan
photo courtesy of yogi
A Good Laugh And A Long Sleep Are The Best Cures In The Doctor’s Book. – Irish Proverb
Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning and focused effort – Paul J Meyer. Top 8 Productivity Hacks will help you become productive (as is obvious). It consists of some tips, tricks and ideas to make you more efficient.
Productivity Hack #1 : Plan Your Sleeping Pattern
A lot has been said about becoming an early riser. While I do agree that waking up early has it’s own benefits, it is not mandatory to do so. As long as we sleep for required amount of hours, our body and mind will function well.
-
How Many Hours Of Sleep Do You Need:
An adult normally needs 7-8 hours of sleep everyday. I used to believe that I needed 5. For a long period of time I functioned sleeping only for 5 hours. The rest, somehow got managed by over sleeping on weekends once in a while.
If you fall under same category as me, you might be truly sleep deprived. In order to find out how much sleep you need, try sleeping and waking everyday without an alarm. You will be surprised to find that you sleep for 10+ hours everyday if you aren’t using the alarm. This will continue till all your sleep debt gets over. And then, you will notice that your sleeping hours will automatically be 7-8 hours. You don’t need an alarm to wake up.
With all the commitments we have, waking up without alarm is difficult. Hence, for those of you who have morning commitments, the only way to test this is by sleeping early everyday and setting alarm as a last minute resort.
The easiest way to find out whether you are sleeping for adequate hours is to observe how do you feel after sleep. If you are feeling tired and sleepy, then you still need to sleep.
-
My Experiments With Sleeping Patterns:
Out of curiosity, I tested out varied sleeping patterns this year. I tried becoming an early riser, late sleeper, all nighter etc. I found that getting into a sleep pattern is difficult. However, once the sleep pattern is formed, it absolutely made no difference when I slept and when I woke up as long as I completed my 8 hours of sleep (an hour here and there because we don’t need exact 8 hours sleep everyday).
I haven’t tried either sleeping pattern for years to know if there are any advantages/disadvantages in the long term. But I do know that in short term, it really doesn’t matter what your sleep pattern is as long as it is fixed.
What matters is that you have a constant sleep pattern. This is so that your body can set its internal clock accordingly. Sleeping at the same time everyday will help your body to adjust and function well.
-
What Is The Ideal Sleep Pattern:
As I experimented with varied sleep patterns, I noticed that in some cases my productivity peaked and in others, it went down. Basically, whenever I woke up very early or stayed awake late, my productivity was higher. This is because I like to work in large chunks of time together. I find myself more productive when I can sit at a task and work on it for hours. The more interruptions I have, the less productive I get. And hence, early morning period or the late night period suits me.
Whenever I woke up sometime after 9, my day simply went away in household chores. Even if I did get some time in between for other work, I didn’t want to work on it since I knew I will have to get up again by the time I get in flow.
One more point to consider is whether you can use all your waking hours productively. For a long time, I stopped working after sunset to spend time with self, family and friends. This works well when I go to sleep within a few hours. However, if I am following a late rising pattern then this would leave very few working hours.
-
How To Form A Sleep Pattern:
I have written at length on ‘How To Become An Early Sleeper‘. The concepts mentioned there, will work for any kind of sleep pattern that you want to form.
Apart from that technique, what one can also do is start moving one hour closer towards the ideal waking/sleeping time. Once you get comfortable waking/sleeping one hour early/late, repeat – till you reach the desired time. This way you can form your desired sleeping pattern comfortably.
I am pursuing this method right now to start getting up early. One huge advantage with this method is that your body doesn’t fight much – since there are no drastic changes in sleep timings. This method however, takes a lot of time since we have to go step by step.
-
When You Can’t Help Sleeping Irregularly:
In spite of everything you know about benefits of having good and constant sleep time, there will times when you simply can’t help having irregular sleep patterns. Your job is such, you have a kid at home, you have to travel too much etc. In these times, two things can help -
- Take Power Naps
- Meditate
What is your experience of forming a sleep pattern? Are there any tips you can share? Share in comments.
Like the article? Subscribe for Free Get new articles directly in your Inbox / RSS Reader.
Hi Avani – I totally agree. When I don’t get enough (or too much) sleep, I am useless the following day. I need between seven and eight. With that, I’m good for the day, my thinking is clear and no naps are needed.
Barbara Swafford´s last blog post..NBOTW – The Happy Thinker
I like what you say about early risers – it is not mandatory for a productive day. I am one who has the most productive time at night as long as I am able to sleep in long enought to get my 8 hours of sleep.
Having said this there are occasions where I need to get up early. I make sure I get to bed early the night before and find that I am as productive in the morning.
With a baby arriving soon in our family it will be interesting to see how our sleep habits develop then.
Click A Life Coach´s last blog post..5 Points to Personal Success
I used to keep to a regular sleep pattern but have found it increasingly hard to stick to one. I have a lot of things on my plate; half of them revolve around my kids. I now try to take power naps, in between activities, during the day. If I don’t take them, I’d be unable to function.
Evelyn Lim´s last blog post..My Out-of-Body Experiences
Sleep – that one thing I struggle to get enough of! Although, like you’ve stated – a regular pattern can help tremendously – and that I do follow. I am curious what would happen if I didn’t set an alarm – how much sleep I would get? I may have to give this a try…
Great information on how this has worked for you Avani, and goes to show the importance of sleep in our lives…
Hi Avani – These are great tips. It’s definitely a good idea to go without the alarm to see when you wake up. If I’ve had a normal night’s sleep, I need 8 hours. But if my sleep is interrupted I need 10. It’s hard to get into the early to bed, early to rise pattern but it’s well worth it.
I think I may actually be sleep-deprived after all. I regularly get about 5 hours of sleep, but I’ve noticed that I am crashing hard the past couple weekends. I think I will going to sleep early for the next couple weeks to work off any sleep deficit and then get on a normal schedule. This was a timely post for me. Thanks!
Ian´s last blog post..Get Indexed
What a timely post — I mentioned my sleep habit here:
http://ourbestversion.com/2008/11/fear-of-success-why-and-how-to-beat-it/
Now, I’d say my sleep requirement is around 7-8 hours myself. I can function perfectly on 7, though if I was using no alarm, I may sleep a bit more than that.
These days I’m getting somewhere between 5-6 on average. I take power naps during my bus commute, so I’m getting by OK, though I’m terribly sleepy during weekends.
ari
Ari Koinuma´s last blog post..Fear of Success: Why, and How to Beat It
Avani, I’ve been working at changing my sleeping pattern – going to bed earlier and rising earlier. It’s a challenge. I’m naturally a late nighter, but can get used to the change and do well. Changing it a little at the time is the way to go.
If I sleep without an alarm I will sleep for at least 9 hours usually – if not more. But, I typically get around 7 hours and do pretty well, except I’m sleepy in the morning. I think I do worse with 8 hours than 7. I’m even more tired for some reason.
Our sleep is very important for us to function at our best!
Jennifer´s last blog post..Have You Told Yourself this Lie?
Avani – You’ve spent a lot of time analyzing your habits and what works best for you in terms of productivity.
I’ve found the same thing – I’m productive late at night and early in the morning as long as I’ve had enough rest. I also prefer to work in big blocks of time.
I try to get enough rest but often stay up too late working or enjoying some free time. Last night I stayed up much too late watching the US election results and speeches and today I can barely think.
I’ve also read that if you don’t get enough rest that it’s harder to lost weight. I can remember why that is though.
Kim Woodbridge´s last blog post..(Anti) Social-Lists 11/2/08
Hi Avani: I couldn’t agree with you more on the importance of getting enough sleep. Sleep deprivation puts us on edge, it affects our memory, it affects our coordination, and it even makes us age faster. I need to get a sleeping mask and a sound machine because I’m constantly been woken up during the night by the light of passing cars and by outside noises.
Avani,
I’m impressed you have chosen sleep as your first productivity “hack” (don’t like that word though…). A good’s night sleep really sets the foundation for a productive day, and I don’t think enough people place enough importance on it. Nice article.
Peter
Hi Avani. I think as much as we are creatures of habit, we also have different bodily rhythms. I’ve found that it doesn’t necessarily make a difference how many hours I sleep, but more often WHEN those hours take place. A lot has to do with the adrenal hormones and at what level they are at when you wake up. I can go to bed at 11 and get up at 4 (this wasn’t planned, it just happened) and be just fine with this 5 hours. But, if I go to bed at say, 1 and get up at 6 I’m like a zombie all day.
When I used to have to go out to work every day I didn’t have to set the alarm. I always woke up naturally when I needed to. Now I let myself sleep a bit longer and I stay up later at night. I haven’t tuned into my rhythm too much lately because admittedly, I’ve been putting work first; shame!
Davina´s last blog post..Akemi Gaines On Intuition, Dreams And Spiritual Guidance–Interview Part 1
@Barbara: I can manage with more/less sleep. But the feeling of a fully rested body after a good sleep is amazing.
@Click A Life Coach: Congratulations for the baby. He/She will change everything in your life
@Evelyn: Can any mom ever function without a power nap? Every mom I know – my own, aunts, grannies etc have to take a nap – because they do work for more than one person.
@Lance & @Cath: Do let me know how it turns out. One time, I slept straight 14 hours!
@Ian: Way to go. And you are welcome.
@Ari: You remind me of my days in Mumbai – used to sleep in buses, while standing in trains etc.
@Jennifer: I am just guessing here – the reason that you feel tired with 8 hours of sleep could be because you are in deep sleep or rather, in middle of your sleep. One sleep is of 90-110 minutes.
@Kim: You are right – you actually put on weight if you don’t sleep enough. Why, even I don’t know
Had read the reasons but forgot them.
@Marelisa: How could I forget to add memory to the list! Having disturbances while sleeping must be tough. I am glad I can sleep in light (not sound)
@Peter: What can I say, hack is the new tip/tweak/advice … , hack is in
. Sleep indeed is the foundation of productivity – no matter, how many habits and routines we make, everything goes out of track without sleep.
@Davina: What you said about body rhythm sounds very interesting. I will try to observe my sleep timings from now on. And it’s ok to go off track – we all do. No shame in that. We just need to pick up and get everything back in rhythm whenever we realize.