How modern technology helps to improve sleep

On the importance of sleep and the dangers of "social jet lag" today, everyone is worried. Specially for Forbes Life Ilya Mutovin, having tried 30 sleep-related gadgets, understands how useful in this regard trackers, blankets, mastrasy and masks.

Write today about the importance of sleep - as if repeating the obvious truth. Virtually anyone who is even slightly concerned about their health, knows that smoking is harmful sugar, and sleep can not be sacrificed. It was at this time in the body's vital processes occur: while we sleep, the brain regulates neuronal connections, deal with waste accumulated over time awake (both chemical and mental) and preparing for the next day. Despite this, a lot of working people sacrifice it night's sleep. Remember how often you're being overwhelmed by any task, made the decision to work longer? And how do you assess this decision some time later?

It is important to remember that the greatest contribution to the quality of sleep does not bring technology and proper training and psycho-emotional adjustment, promotes good sleep. Below are a few clear and obvious things, to recall which, however, is not harmful:

Sleep will seriously affect your stress level. Qualitatively measure it or to reduce - a separate and a very large task of mankind. Chronic stress, no technology and cushions will not be able to change the situation.

Equally important is the mode. Holidays, weekends, weekdays - it is important to train yourself to fall asleep and the other in one and the same time. You can not sacrifice sleep and some sleep on the weekends. "Dosypanie" over the weekend - the scourge of the Western world, which has a special name: the "social jet lag". Studies confirm that the back sleep debt can not be: each "bad" night leaves an imprint in your brain. The more nights than worse. Here we note that the man - the only living being who voluntarily deprive themselves of sleep, so evolution is not a good answer, what if sleeping normally does not work. Sleep independence. If you have the chance to sleep separately, it is the best solution. If not, make sure that the bed was big enough, and you have - your own blanket and pillow. The less you will feel the movements and sounds of a man who sleeps around, the better.

The lack of screens for 1-2 hours before bedtime. Separately, I note that the inclusion of night mode on the phone does not make it less harmful. Paper book or walking improves sleep quality. Especially if you do it instead of watching the show.

Any stimulants - coffee, nicotine, alcohol, and so in the afternoon reduced sleep quality. They are doing so that you understand your condition worse and do not notice what the body wants to sleep. Always go to sleep at two in the morning, because you think you "owl"? Perhaps it is not so. Try not to drink stimulants in the afternoon and, quite possibly, you will feel the desire to sleep much earlier.

The first step towards improving the quality of sleep - to assess for itself the priority. There are obvious solutions that help improve quality sleep: go early, do not drink or smoke before going to bed, ventilate the bedroom, select a dream a few extra hours. But there are a number of technologies that will help it pump.

Sleep Tracker

Start with the easiest Oura Ring. On the market you can find trekking and other technologies - like SleepAce RestOn hours and the Garmin, but the ring, as a whole, provides the user with all the necessary data, so you can stay on it. Oura is sharpened under the sleep analysis. Said ring resting heart rate - one of the most important indicators for assessing the quality of sleep, sleep time and lifting, waking periods during the night, sleep stage. The latter, oddly enough, the least important, because neither I nor many of my friends, this statistic was not confirmed at reconciliation with the data on the stages of sleep obtained in the laboratory on a bulky, but much more accurate equipment. According to the head of the Sleep Medicine Center of Moscow State University Hospital Lomonosov Kalinkin Alexander Leonidovich, only one finger is in principle impossible to remove a sufficient amount of data that would establish the phase of sleep.

So looked my dream in Oura application, when I started them to do (summer 2017): late going to bed, 9:00 in the bed and a little more than 7 hours of sleep - a lot of awakenings (this morning I remembered only 1-2). Overall condition is not exactly in line with the amount of sleep: wake up was hard, and without soul of tea I could not start the day properly.

The normalization of sleep - it is a cyclical process, I have now are waking or drowsiness in the morning. It only happens rarely and in a much smaller scale. The first good results after the start of monitoring and fixes I noticed in 2-3 months. The greatest impetus to what to do to sleep and other important aspects of health began to lecture Serge Fage, who first introduced me to biohakingom and how cool is possible to pump health. Also, what works and what I described above, I have tried a lot of different things that do not always know, even friends. For example, I do something like a canopy over the bed, which was fed clean cool air, and inside hung various sensors. So we lived with my wife a couple of months until he found out that the canopy and really improve quality of sleep parameters, but it looked all so not aesthetically pleasing, that had yet to turn. Now I think about how to make the capsule sleep much more pleasant to look at. It seems that this will be a very long-term project - about him probably can not write a single article. In short, I want to make a place where it will be cool, dark, quiet, where there will be a cooling mattress, the right light, where there is no electromagnetic waves. And of course, where there will be enough sensors to regularly measure and improve sleep automatically. Such is a very smart bed.

That's a dream now looks - the right timing, the rapid falling asleep, little awakenings during sleep, great feeling in the morning. Indirect evidence of the fact that you sleep well, is a high estimation of your status immediately after waking. If after 3-5 minutes after you wake up, you want to run, to create, to solve the most complex problems - so you sleep well. If you need a coffee and a time to build-up, with a high probability your sleep is so-so quality.

air quality sensors

I use a sensor Xiaomi Mijia Air Quality Tester, which measures temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide and other air parameters.

gadget itself quite moody: from time to time, he begins to work more slowly, but in general, adequately reflects the quality of the air in the bedroom and tells you the correct way of change. Tracker quality of sleep plus the air quality sensor - this is a lot, and with this data makes sense to start experimenting to see which parameters can most strongly affect the quality of sleep. In some cases, for example, it may be the temperature and CO2 concentration. In order to control the humidity, it will be useful to have a big wash and moisturizer. It is particularly important to take care about the quality of air in winter - to maintain at 50% moisture content requires higher performance system. If you are more comfortable to sleep in cool temperatures, may be useful in warm blankets. In addition, the sleep becomes better under a heavy blanket. I refer to my experience: I tried Gravity and domestic counterparts. Weight weighted my blankets ranging from 7 to 12 kg. It is believed that 10% of body weight - the most correct weight for blankets: a very heavy blanket breathing can become uncomfortable after a couple of hours. As well as blankets, pillows makes sense to try different: small and large, orthopedic, soft and hard. Large pillows are uncomfortable to sleep on his stomach - and it may develop the habit of working on your back or on your side. A sleep on the abdomen may be a significant factor in a large number of awakenings and poor quality sleep. This fact is confirmed by a sleep.

Light and Sound

The bedroom should be dark: home help impervious curtains and blinds. But in the journey for this useful mask. To find the ideal, it is worth to try a couple of dozen different - in my experience works fine silk Jersey Slumber 100% Silk Sleep Mask. But the lamp for the morning awakening is needed only in winter, when you have to get up before dawn. If this happens, the body "can wake up" slowly: it will take longer time to understand that the morning has arrived and it's time to produce cortisol and other hormones that suppress melatonin. To help him, may well come Circadian Optics Lumine Light Therapy Lamp - lamp, which shines a very bright light, simulating sunlight. In summer it is not necessary: ​​you can simply push the curtains and look out into the street, until the eyes become accustomed to the light, and you will feel refreshed and ready for a new day. Many believe that other sounds do not interfere with their sleep, but this is not the case: the brain registers the dream sounds (even if not awakened consciousness), because exclude the extra sounds will be still better. As with masks, ear plugs should try different, to find the ones that fit perfectly. A good option - Flents Quiet Please Ear Plugs.

The things that have almost no influence on sleep

Mattress. Forgive me, manufacturers of mattresses, but no significant difference could not be established on the bed. If the mattress with no obvious problems, that is not out of it sticking out the spring, the quality of sleep and it will be normal. From air quality or pads depends much more. I guess there is only one exception - a mattress with cooling, but mine will arrive soon because I can not tell you how much it improves sleep quality.

Manufacturers of different noise. There are special devices that produce some noise, which as it responds to the brain and you, as a result, better sleep. I tried a different device, download the program to your phone - no difference in the quality of sleep of the tracker on the radar sight.

Aroma. If the air is filled with the fragrance of lavender or peppermint, for example, that theoretically should help sleep. In fact - if flavor is very strong, it may affect the number of awakenings. Barely perceptible odor will be a nice addition, but sleep did not improve metrics.

If you properly get ready for bed and settle sleeper in accordance with all modern technologies, the quality of sleep, most likely, you should raise. If this does not happen, it is necessary to apply to the sleep laboratory and undergo polysomnography - you may have personal problems with breathing, the passage of certain phases of sleep, restless leg syndrome and other problems that should detect and remove. Almost all of the above can be corrected, if the time to pay attention to it and take action.