High Performance Sleep?

Did you know that a good amount of high quality sleep is key to your brain and your body performing at their best?

That is because when we sleep, it’s our body's chance to reset and repair. Not to get too into the weeds, but there are different types of sleep cycles that occur when we are in slumberland.

There is light sleep, deep sleep, and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

Deep sleep and REM sleep repair our body and our brain. But the problem is that we don’t get a lot of this type of sleep early in the night. The longer we sleep, the more of this regenerative sleep we get.

When we first go to sleep, we are in our light sleep cycle. This is when our bodies begin to transition to the deeper sleep cycles.

We then transition into deep sleep. This type of sleep is exemplified by a reduction in nervous system activity, quitting the brain and body. It is hugely important for restoration of muscles and your immune health.

We then have our important rapid eye movement (REM) sleep cycle. This sleep cycle is when we are dreaming and are actually pretty close to waking. REM sleep helps us retain memories, as well as repair emotional stress from the day.

As we sleep throughout the night, we get less and less light sleep, and start to get more deep sleep, and finally more REM sleep. We usually have about five to six sleep cycles per night, assuming we get seven to nine hours of sleep.

So how do we go about making sure we get the right amount of sleep?

Don't worry, it's not some crazy life hack or some miracle supplement.

The key is all about setting yourself up for success, just like anything else. It starts with making sure you are in bed with enough time to get seven to nine hours of sleep time. To do that, we want to follow the 3-2-1 sleep rule:

no eating 3 hours before bed, not intense physical activity 2 hours before bed, and avoid screen time one hour before bed. On top of that, we want to limit our caffein intake late in the day.

Below you can find a full worksheet that will help you set up a sleep schedule that will get you on the right track for high performance sleep!

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Create a sleep schedule

Optimal Sleep is obtained by getting at least 7 hours of sleep.

Avoid eating less than 3 hours before bed.

Avoid work and physical activity 2 hours before bed.

Avoid screens at least 1 hour before bed.

Try and get to bed and wake up close to the same time everyday.

What do you need to do before bed, what is your nightly routine?

Write a list of your nightly responsibilities (i.g. put clothes out for the morning, make breakfast/lunch, take out the garbage, shower, out the kids to bed).

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Wake up time:

First dose of caffeine:

Second dose of caffeine:

Last meal of the day:

Nightly routine:

Lights out:

Bed time:

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