1. Sleep Cycles
or How to get the most our of ¼ of your day.

3. Overview
• Average Sleep Needs
• Sleep Cycle Overview
• REM vs Non-REM
• REM Duration and Windows
• Example of Cycles at Night
• When did You Fall Asleep?
• Sleep Trackers and Apps
• Maximize your Sleep Benefits
• Sleep Myths
• Naps
• Polyphasic Sleeping

4. Average Sleep Needs
6 hours of sleep is NOT ENOUGH for 97% of us.

5. Sleep Cycle Overview
We sleep in 90 Minute cycles.
Source: Wikipedia

6. REM vs Non-REM
• Non-REM
Your Body Rests and Repairs
– Stage 1
• Light Sleep
• Falling Sensation – Body Jerks
– Stage 2
• Deeper Sleep
– Stage 3 / (4)
• Deepest Sleep
• REM
Your Mind Rests and Collates Data and …
– Lightest Sleep
– Most Likely to Awaken

7. REM Duration and “Windows”
Let’s look at that graph again:
Stage Lengths Change with Subsequent Cycles

8. Example of Cycles at Night
10:45pm – In Bed
11:00pm – Beginning of 1st Cycle
• Stage 1 – 10 minutes
• Stage 2 – 10 minutes
• Stage – 3 / 4 40 minutes
• Stage 2 – 10 minutes
• Stage 1 – 5 minutes
• REM – 20 minutes (12:15am – 12:35am)
12:35am – Beginning of 2nd Cycle

9. How Long Does it Take You to Fall Asleep?
• Can you remember your dream vividly?
(or did you wake up during it?)
• The Key Trick
• Calculate backwards in 90 minute increments.

10. Sleep Trackers and Apps
• Sleep Tracker Zeo Wakemate
• Android
– Sleep as Android
– Sleepbot Tracker
– Stopwatch & Timer +

11. Maximize Sleep Benefits
Unbroken sleep yield the best results!
• Minimize Disturbances
• Eliminate Before Bed
• No Intake Within 30 Minutes of Bed
• Ear Plugs and/or White Noise
• Keep Pets Out
• Keep the Room Dark

12. Sleep Tips
If you have a hard time sleeping, try these tips:
• Create a consistent routine for yourself
• Meditate – sitting or lying down
• Check the temperature
• Phones and TVs
• Make your bed for sleeping and sex only
• Sleep with intention

13. Sleep Myths
• Sleep Debt and Weekend Sleep-Ins
• 6 Hours is Plenty
• Getting Lots of Sleep = Getting Good Sleep
• Alcohol helps you sleep better
• Caffeine wakes you up
• A mid-afternoon nap is ALWAYS a good idea
• You’ll feel great if you sleep as long as possible

14. Phased Sleeping
• Monophasic
– Single Large Chunk of Sleep
– Example: 10pm – 5:30am
• Biphasic
– Two Large Chunks of Sleep
– Example: 6pm to 9pm / 2am to 5am
• Polyphasic
– Multiple Small Chunks of Sleep
– Example: 30 minute naps at 10pm, 4am, 10am, and 4pm

15. Naps
• Not always as beneficial
• Could make up for 1 missed REM cycle
• Can make up for sleep debt
• Can help you feel refreshed in middle of day
• Monophasic sleepers should avoid naps within 6
hours of ideal sleep time
• Biphasic sleepers should consider a nap to
supplement sleep cycles
• Polyphasic sleepers need to be consistent –
spontaneous naps could be detrimental

16. Create a Sleep Plan
• How many cycles do you want?
• Can you schedule a nap?
• How long does it take you to fall asleep?
• What time do you need to be up by?
Example:
I want 5 cycles and can’t schedule a nap, so I need to sleep 7.5 hours at
night. I take 15-20 minutes to fall asleep and need to be up by 6am.
6am - 7.5 hours = 10:30pm - 20 minutes = 10:10pm
OR
10:00pm + 20 minutes + 7.5 hours = 5:50am
Don’t take the extra 10 minutes of sleep!

17. Reading Suggestions
• Wikipedia (Google: Wiki Sleep Cycles)
• LifeHacker (Google: How I Achieved Better Sleep)
• WebMD (Google: Stages of Sleep WebMD)
• Steve Pavlina (Google: Polyphasic Sleep One Year)
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