[dailydriver]

The formula is pretty simple:

1. Eat well.
2. Work hard.
3. Sleep tight.

Have never been devoid of sleep. Although I do sometimes feel that I need(ed) a bit more rest, the MiFit app shows that I have had more than adequate sleep - quality wise.

[StarrySky]

If GTO had started this thread a couple of months back, I would've been one of the worst "specimens" on this thread. I used to sleep late, usually well past midnight and wake up at 6:30am every working day. That gave me 6 hours or less sleep every night. Bedtime for kids is between 8-8:30pm, so dinner is usually done by 7:30 or 8pm. Staying up past midnight after having dinner at 7:30 or so made me feel hungry (or so I thought), and I used to have some snacks just before going to bed.

I had signed up for a half marathon many months back and was doing zero training. Around mid-Jan, I thought it was time to start training if I wanted to get to the finish line still running (or walking). So I joined a local gym. The routine now is:

05:00 - Wake up
05:30 - Get to the gym
07:15 - Back home after gym and a shower
07:50 - Leave for office

There is no fixed time when I get back home, it usually depends on the kids' hobby classes.

07:30-08:00 - Dinner
10:00 or latest by 10:30 - Hit the bed

I don't usually check my phone once I reach the bedroom to sleep. I don't have a TV in the bedroom. I fall asleep very fast and usually have uninterrupted sleep till the alarm goes off at 05:00. There are a couple of days a week when I don't train. I try not to stay awake too late the previous night and go to sleep by 11:00 or so. When I don't train, I get up around 06:30 on weekdays. On Sundays, I allow myself to sleep as long as I want.

[V.Narayan]

Our sleep deficit never goes away. Several studies have been conducted on submariners by several leading navies of the world. Submariners travel underwater for the most part when on a sailing mission and even if the vessel is cruising on the surface the main hull has no contact with the surface sunlight. Submariners follow a simulated 24-hour cycle depending on the watch assigned to them and the only time they enjoy darkness is within the confines of their own bunk. As a consequence of all the pressures of working in the confines of a submarine, living in artificial illumination with no natural reference point, sleep deficit builds up. You cannot wish it away even though by definition these are very physically fit people. The sleep deficit does not go away - it builds up to the detriment of your functioning efficiency. Once a week every crewman gets an opportunity to grab extra sleep hours to close the deficit.

[Doge]

I feel it helps to keep sleep cycles in mind as it is quite difficult and unpleasant to wake up in the middle of a REM.

[roby_dk]

I have a flexible routine no fix time but I never skip night sleep. I don't like to waste time sleeping all the day. I need 6-7 hours sleep and I rarely sleep in day time. My sleep patterns depend on football matches thanks to flexi timings in my office. I can sleep at any time after 11 and wake up accordingly next day morning. Before closing my eyes I have a habit to check alarm in phone and tune it accordingly everyday.

[Rajeevraj]

The key learning for me over the last year or so is the importance of getting a good mattress. The mattress thread taught me that. There has been a significant difference in the quality of sleep after I got a mattress that suited my need.

Try to maintain a standard routine with 6-7 hours of sleep. Another thing i do is turn off WiFi and data in the phone before going to bed. I sleep pretty light and get easily interrupted if the phone chimes messages through out the night.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

Any sleep experts here? Is this a bad strategy?

As long as you feel fit & fresh, it should be okay.

Originally Posted by condor

Early dinner - 8.30 max if possible.

2. Not too much water before sleeping.

Good points, both . Will add another one = Do NOT overeat. Not only does it mess with your sleep, but it can cause a lot of other health problems.

Originally Posted by ajmat

I held a global role having to deal with time zones upto the. Pacific Time Zones (I think only the Cook Islands were exempt!). Dealing with 200+ customers, running 110+ locations with a very lean team (read single digits). This meant

545: Wake Up
615 Get up
700 Get out
730 Get to work
With the exception of coffee breaks and a very quick lunch, continue till 3.30 then a stressful commute home and reach around 445.

My only respite was a quick tea break then 6-730 gym then back to work from 830-1030.

I'm telling you, have seen 100 examples of what I said in my first post. During the first 10 years of my career (entrepreneurship vs my corporate friends), I used to work L-O-N-G hours and even weekends. Now in my 40s, my work hours are perfect (get done @ 6 PM, no weekend work), while my corporate friends come home at 930 PM and work Saturdays.

Originally Posted by Guna

One thing I know is, it is not just the number of hours of sleep but the quality of the sleep.

Well said. That's probably why one feels fresh after 6 hours of sleep on some days, and not after 8 hours on some others.

Originally Posted by sharktale

I think I've been blessed with the "keeps head on pillow, falls asleep" syndrome and kindof sleep through "gentle/moderate" storms.

We're two of a kind! I'm out within 5 minutes of switching the lights off.

Getting a mattress and pillow combination of your choice and comfort.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

The key learning for me over the last year or so is the importance of getting a good mattress.

So true. After reading recommendations on our mattress thread, I bought a latex mattress from Sunday Mattress & 2 amazing pillows. It truly feels like a 5-star hotel bed now.

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

Late Night : Tea at 10:30 pm (I reach home at around 1:20 pm) plus some light breakfast but it can include Maggi too. BTW, I love tea.

This is probably why it takes you long to sleep. Caffeine at night isn't cool. Try chamomile tea instead.

Originally Posted by noopster

Am told I snore quite a bit myself and everybody in my family does as well.

Haha! Me too. Though it's drastically reduced since I quit smoking (at least I'm told so).

I set one alarm and wake up immediately. No snooze/ multiple alarms business for me. If I am too sleepy, will just switch off the alarm and wake up naturally.

Somehow, I've started waking up without the alarm now. Anytime between 6 - 630 am. Samurai told me it's because "you are growing old"!!

Originally Posted by StarrySky

I try not to stay awake too late the previous night and go to sleep by 11:00 or so.

This is really key. Based on what I've read, it's best to sleep between 2200 - 2300 hours (something to do with the brain's melatonin production at that time). Unless I'm out for a dinner or party, I start yawning at 10ish non-stop.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

Any sleep experts here? Is this a bad strategy?

As long as you're young, no issues. But as you get old, the actions of young becomes karma of the old.

40 is a magical number & I didn't believe into this unless I experience. But again, 40 could be 42 or 44 or even 50 for some. Like I said, what one do in their young becomes their karma when they get old.

Anyway nothing right & wrong. All living being's source of energy is from Sun & we follow the Sun to keep ourselves energized, so try to stick with Sun as much as possible & that's how most our ancestors lived up to 100 + we're lucky to be in this country with abundance of Sunlight. Just give a try with this model.

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by GTO

What are your sleeping hours & best practices?

Thanks for sharing GTO, interesting thread to know what works for someone may not work for the other person. Sleep is something very essential and getting it right is the key. Some of my practices:

• Get up usually by 5:30 am, 4:30 am on the weekends and on cycle ride / long drive days.

• Goto sleep when only tired. I used to goto bed usually by 10.30pm most days, but then just lie awake waiting for sleep. These days I sit up / read a book / chat with family till I'm almost asleep. This ensures that the sleep I get is quality.

• Since my 10th std (about 9 years now), I have been following a 6-7 hr sleep pattern. Out of these, the deep sleep is 2+ hrs on most days (tracked randomly using a fitness tracker).

• No phones in bed. Keep them far away in mute / offline mode.

• It's very refreshing to cycle / run in the morning. I aim to go workout atleast 3-4 times a week without fail.

• Bed - Now this is very personal and will vary from person to person, but I prefer a medium to hard bed. I can never get a good sleep in the soft 5-star hotel beds where you sink in. At times I will prefer to sleep on the floor when staying in such hotels.

Originally Posted by Guna

One thing I know is, it is not just the number of hours of sleep but the quality of the sleep.

+1. I have been getting by less amount of total sleep for this reason only. The quality of my sleep is much higher than average.

Contrast this with my uncle. He's a family physician. Currently in his late 60s, his clinic hours are from 10 am to 3/4pm and again in the from evening 7/8pm to at times till 2 am. He comes to have lunch at 4pm on most days! While it looks impossible schedule, he is now used to this. He also has a nap in the afternoon post lunch. We are trying very hard to get him to cut-down on work, but somehow its not working. We joke when he comes at 10 pm that he's taken a half day! He catches up on sleep on the weekends. Like us too, he loves driving and does long distance trips frequently. Somehow he gets by with the meagre sleep he manages on most weekdays.

[aniyo]

May sound philosophical but that's what my mother told me.
1. Limit your wants: The more we want the more we struggle the more we think.
2. Time order: I get up at 5:30 and hit bed at 10 at night irrespective of the work pending.
3. I listen to classical or semi-classical music with lights off for about 30 odd mins before sleep. This really helps calm the mind.
4. Gap between food to sleep minimum 2 hours. I prefer my dinner by 7:30 latest. If I am home early I eat my dinner at 6:30
5. Morning cup of tea is the only added sugar for me through the day.

Works fine for me til now. For reference my current age is 33

[Asish_VK]

Arrival of my baby messed my sleep big time . She's now 1.5years old and sleeps at 11.30-12.00pm only, we tried many things to make her sleep early by giving her food at 7.30-8.00 pm, taking a walk with her on the walkway near home, singing to her, telling stories, no TV after 8.30 etc but nothing works
Problem is that, she sleeps late and wakes up late and will have a small nap at mid of the day. She's very active on the daytime too.

Once her sleep timing is settled at 8.30 to 9.00, our timings can be fixed up (10.00 pm to 6.00 am).

Any one with similar experience can suggest some tips ?

[boniver]

Sleep is honestly a luxury for students. On most days, I can barely squeeze out 4 hours of sleep, max. This includes weekends too. My schedule is as follows:

4:30am- Wake up, leave home for college
6am to 10am- College
11am to 9:30pm- CA classes (allowed to take short breaks in between when we feel like)
10:30pm- Reach home and study for a while before dinner
12am- Dinner
12:30am- Sleep.

Only on Sundays, I don't have college so I can wake up at around 8am.

Ideally, I'd love to get 8 hours of sleep but that seems like a bleak possibility at the present. Hopefully, things will improve with time.

However, to make sure that I sleep for 100% of the 4 hours that I'm in bed, I follow these practices:

1. Keep phone away from bed. Have to follow this rule anyway because I have to put my phone on charge to make sure it has enough juice to last the other 20 hours of the day.
2. Keep all doors and windows closed to prevent any light from coming in.

I'm not a light sleeper by any means. On many occasions my dog has barked at night but I've never woken up, although I think it has more to do with the fact that I'm thoroughly exhausted by the time I'm in bed.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by boniver

4:30am- Wake up, leave home for college
6am to 10am- College
11am to 9:30pm- CA classes (allowed to take short breaks in between when we feel like)
10:30pm- Reach home and study for a while before dinner
12am- Dinner
12:30am- Sleep.

What kind of a life is this? Has the bean counter course become that much more intriguing and interesting since two decades back?

Do you have any time for your hobbies (please dont say reading teambhp), travel, reading, or general introspection... Or plain being lazy?

I am nobody to pass judgment, if it makes you happy by all means continue doing so.

[boniver]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

What kind of a life is this? Has the bean counter course become that much more intriguing and interesting since two decades back?

Whether the course is interesting or not, that's debatable. But my teacher tries his best to make learning fun for us, and succeeds at it. We have discussions on various topics, and crack a lot of jokes throughout the day. I don't think I'd be able to stay put in one place for 10+ hours per day otherwise.

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Do you have any time for your hobbies (please dont say reading teambhp), travel, reading, or general introspection... Or plain being lazy?

I listen to music, read books, or introspect during my commute to and from class (1-1.5hrs one way using train and metro). Sometimes I go out for a nice short drive at 11pm when the roads are a bit empty. On the rare occasion that my school friends are in town (all of them attend college in other states/countries), I bunk class and hang out with them (couple of times a year max).

Originally Posted by Red Liner

I am nobody to pass judgment, if it makes you happy by all means continue doing so.

It doesn't make me happy, but over the past couple of years I've been made to believe that I need to work really hard to achieve my academic goals, so I'm willing to give it my best shot and see how it works out!

[damanbir]

I had always preferred the night during my school and college days, as studying then meant fewer distractions and no parents standing on the head

2014 My first job,an OEM had me coming in shifts to support production. The shifts would change every week,add to this travel distance of 60Kms each side(Inspite of staying at the city's perihpery) by the company bus, it would usually take roughly 2.5-4 hours of total commute time varying due to traffic. This routine was so taxing, the body never had a clock it could follow. The routine below continued for 4 years.

The First Shift :
Wake up: 4:30am
Leave home: 05:25am
Leave work : 4:00pm
Reach home : 5:30-6PM
Sleep by: 11:30pm

Second Shift:
Wake up : 9am
Leave home : 12:30pm
Leave work: 12 midnight
Reach home: 1-130am
Sleep : 2am

This meant in the first shift I would wake up and leave for work empty stomach, and have very oily breakfast at the factory. Second shift meant I wake up and have brunch at 12 noon and then leave for work. The routine of sleeping and eating alternating every week has messed up my whole digestive system, slowing down my metabolism drastically and I started gaining weight very quickly.


Moving to 2018, where I got an opportunity to work at a technology center,
the timings being 9:00am-6:30pm with the option of flexi timing. This has helped to a great extent. Now I try and sleep 7-8 Hours each day, and as per the tracking band I have a decent sleep cycle with only a low score in deep sleep continuity.

But it has been complicated, I feel lethargic inspite of 7-8 hours of good sleep and falling asleep still remains a task in itself. My metabolism is still very slow, and weight gain and digestive problems are still an issue all at the age of 26.

Coming from an army background, this is extremely frustrating, as fitness and health were the prime most important factors during childhood and majority of the time was spent playing sports and games.