Sleep Better

When thinking about getting the sleep you need, it’s normal to focus on how many hours of sleep you get. While sleep duration is undoubtedly important, it’s not the only part of the equation.

It’s also critical to think about sleep quality and whether the time spent sleeping is actually restorative. Progressing smoothly multiple times through the sleep cycle, composed of four separate sleep stages, is a vital part of getting truly high-quality rest.

Stage 1 is essentially the “dozing off” stage, and it normally lasts just one to five minutes.

During N1 sleep, the body hasn’t fully relaxed, though the body and brain activities start to slow with periods of brief movements (twitches). There are light changes in brain activity associated with falling asleep in this stage.

It’s easy to wake someone up during this sleep stage, but if a person isn’t disturbed, they can move quickly into stage 2. 

During the day:

• Expose yourself to bright sunlight in the morning. 
• Spend more time outside during daylight. 
• Let as much natural light into your home or workspace as possible.

At night:

• Avoid bright screens within 1-2 hours of your bedtime.
• Say no to late-night television.
• Don’t read with backlit devices. 
• When it’s time to sleep, make sure the room is dark.
• Keep the lights down if you get up during the night.