When it comes to getting a “good” night of deep sleep, it almost sounds too good to be true. If we are honest, we might even say the thought of going to sleep is dreadful. That’s because there are so many reasons we can not fall asleep or even stay asleep long enough for it to count.
How many hours of that was disrupted by crying children or a snoring spouse? How long does it take for you to actually fall asleep? Do you wake up in the middle of the night worried about your current situation or things in the past that don’t even matter now?
After all of these scenario’s, we might only get 4-5 hours of sleep. That’s why we still hit the snooze button 5 times before we roll out of bed and make a b-line to the coffee maker. We finally wake up and get to work but we feel sluggish again around 3pm. Then when 10pm comes around, we do it all over again.
When we sleep, how do we know how well we are actually sleeping? If we fall asleep at 10pm and we wake up at 7am, we could look at that as a solid 9 hours of sleep. Then why are we still feeling tired in the morning?
Only 21% of us get the full 7-8 hours of recommended sleep a night
60% of American adults experience sleep problems
Is this you?
Maybe you get great sleep and you are reading this article to help a loved one…
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First we need to understand sleep
What is REM sleep?
REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement. This is the section of your sleep when your eyes move rapidly in different directions and it only happens at certain times while you are asleep. Dreams typically happen during REM sleep.
There are 5 stages of sleep.
- Your eyes are closed but you are easily woken. You’re usually in this phase around 10 minutes.
- Light sleep. This is when your heart rate slows down and your body temperature drops. Your body is preparing for deep sleep. If you were taking a power nap, you would want to wake up now.
- You are now in deep sleep. If you were to wake up in this stage, you would feel disoriented. Your body is less aware of outside activities.
- Our body uses this time to repair and regrow tissue, builds bone and muscle, and strengthens the immune system. This is also when your body builds up energy for the next day.
- REM is here! This normally takes about 90 minutes to get to. Each REM cycle is about 1 hour long and you could have up to 6 in one night. This is when dreaming occurs. Your eyes jerk around and your heart rate and body temperature increases. This is an important stage for us because this is also when the brain processes information for your day and stores It as a long term memory.
If we are able to obtain this perfect sleep process, we will find ourselves waking up in the morning feeling refreshed and ready for whatever comes our way. We will notice the sound of the birds chirping outside of our window and hop out of our bed as we dance around our room and head downstairs where we will cook an amazing well balanced breakfast.
I think we all know that’s not reality for some of us…or at least not yet! There is hope my friends.
This is why sleep tracking has become so popular over the past 10 years. We are finding how important sleep is to our overall health. That’s why I wanted to write this article and educate people on how to optimize their sleep so they can optimize their life.
Tracking your sleep
There are a few things that are in our control in preparing for sleep and could have a negative effect on how we sleep.
I recently wrote an article about the Best Supplement And Simple Tricks To Get You Sleeping Better.
I would recommend you read this article when you’re done. It will give you a few ways to prepare for bedtime and how to maximize your sleep.
Why track your sleep?
People tend to become more conscious of improving things that we track. That’s why we track what we eat so we can see how many calories and fats we consume. We track our task with a to-do list, our time by clocking in and out of work, and so on.
Sleep is also an important thing to optimize. Tracking your sleep will help you identify whether or not you are getting the quality of sleep you need.
The quality of sleep you get can affect your body either positively or negatively on every aspect of your life depending on how much sleep you’re actually getting.
- Mood
- Weight
- Exercise performance
- Energy
- Immunity
- Brain health
Being able to track your sleep gives you the information you need to identify and improve on potential issues and risks related to sleep deficiency.
Ways to track your sleep
When it comes to tracking your sleep, there are many devices on the market. From apps to wearables, there are so many options.
I have found 3 different sleep trackers that will help you track your quality of sleep.
You will also find Amazon links for each one so you can see the reviews and purchase it if you are ready. I like Amazon because you always get the best price and they offer fast and free shipping so it’s the best way to shop in my opinion.
Non-Wearables
Beatyrest Sleeptracker Monitor
Beautyrest is a great tracker if you don’t want to wear a device. You simply put one pad under each side of your bed and it will track you and your spouses sleep pattern at the same time. This is the only non-wearable that works under any bed regardless of mattress size.
Your sleep is tracked by sensors and recorded onto an app straight to your phone so you get immediate data on your sleep cycles followed by personalized coaching and advice.
The coolest thing about this is it’s the only sleep monitoring device that is Alexa enabled to integrate into your smart home. If you don’t have a smart home, you can still use it without utilizing that feature. Here is the amazon link so you can get more info
VIEW BEAUTREST SLEEP TRACKER HERE
Wearables:
Motive Ring Activity and Fitness Tracker
Motiv is a super cool device. It does way more than track your sleep. You can wear it 24/7 to track your steps, distance, heart rate, calories burned, as well as monitors your sleep.
It’s lightweight, waterproof and not bulky and actually looks just like a wedding band. It has a 3-day battery life and charges in only 90 minutes.
If you are wanting an all-in-one device that tracks your day to day routine, this is a great option for you. Here is the link so you can see more for yourself. It’s a great sleep tracker with the added bonuses of monitoring your daily activities.
Fitbit Alta
Fitbit has been the number one wearable since 2010. It’s a simple wrist wear device that monitors and tracks your sleep and daily activity. It comes with cool features and will sync with any smart phone or computer.
They also come in a variety of colors and accessories!
Since this article is about sleep, lets focus on that. Fitbit is designed to be comfortable enough to wear to bed and is pretty accurate when it comes to monitoring your sleep pattern.
Both of the wearables are the same in that they are great to wear all day and night. The preference is if you want a ring or bracelet.
To wear or not to wear…that is the question because there is no doubt that we all should monitor our sleep. Even if you think you sleep enough, I think you will be surprised to see your results.
Knowing how much a good nights sleep affects your health and lifestyle, we should at least see where we stand.
Between a sleep tracker and my tips and tricks on getting a better night of rest, we should all be sleeping like babies in no time.
Now it’s your turn
I hope you enjoyed this post intended for optimal health.
Now, I would love to hear from you:
Which supplement from this post are you excited to try?
Let me know by leaving a quick comment below.
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