Showing posts with label Sleep. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sleep. Show all posts

Sleep Tracking - Conclusion

The sleep tracking challenge has come to an end and i wanted to share some takeaways.  Over the 21 days:

  • i averaged just under 9 hours and 15 minutes of sleep each night
  • most nights i woke up at least once
  • i drank caffeine throughout the 21 days, most were consumed at least 5 hours prior to sleep
  • although i planned to take ZMA, i only used it once because my stomach was rarely empty before bed
I'm pretty surprised as just how much i slept.  It was 193.2 hours total.  I'm curious as to how certain aspects of my life, namely diet, are affecting my sleep.  I hypothesize that if i eat cleaner my body will need less recovery time.  Although i don't plan to keep tracking my sleep, i will be more aware of the quality and quantity of my sleep.

Sleep Tracking - Days 14 thru 21

Here is the completed spreadsheet from my sleep tracking challenge.  (Again, the times are represented as decimals for mathematics sake and the asterisks mean that i used an alarm to wake up.) 

Night ofBedtimeWakeSleep TimeNaps?TotalWake During Night?Caffeine?ZMA?What did i do before bed?
10/1/20141.510.258.75No8.75Many times2p and 5pNoBeer, book, tv
10/2/20142.25118.75No8.75Many times2p and 5pNoBeer and tv
10/3/201401010No10Few12, 430 and 10pNotv
10/4/201411.57.58No83 times?Nomovie
10/5/2014111011No11Once830a and 4pNobeer and ps4
10/6/2014210.58.5No8.5OnceNoNobeer and ps4
10/7/201426.75*4.753 hours7.75No12p and 10pYesread
10/8/20142119No9Once with cramps5Noread, beer, food
10/9/2014211.59.5No9.5Twice2p and 10pNobeer, read
10/10/20141983 hours11No430p and 10pNoTV, food, beer
10/11/20142.5118.5No8.5OnceYesNoTV
10/12/20143.251.25*10No10OnceYesNobeer and PS4
10/13/20142.75129.25No9.25OnceYesNoLiquor and tv
10/14/2014211.759.75No9.75TwiceYesNoWine and book
10/15/2014211.259.25No9.25Many timesYesNoWine and tv
10/16/2014310.757.75No7.75OnceYesNoFood and ps4
10/17/2014210.758.758.75
10/18/2014212.25*10.2510.25
10/19/2014111.2510.25No10.25TwiceYesNoTv
10/20/20141.2510*8.75No8.75TwiceYesNoBook, food and wine
10/21/20141.256.75*5.53 hours8.5NoYesNobook and wine

Sleep Tracking - Days 6 thru 13

Here are my sleeping stats for the past week.  The asterisk (*) represents that i used an alarm to wake up.

Night ofBedtimeWakeSleep TimeNaps?Wake During Night?Caffeine?ZMA?What did i do before bed?Wellbeing (1 - 5)
10/1/20141.510.258.75NoMany times2p and 5pNoBeer, book, tv3
10/2/20142.25118.75NoMany times2p and 5pNoBeer and tv2
10/3/201401010NoFew12, 430 and 10pNotv3
10/4/201411.57.58No3 times?Nomovie3
10/5/2014111011NoOnce830a and 4pNobeer and ps43
10/6/2014210.58.5NoOnceNoNobeer and ps42
10/7/201426.75*4.753 hoursNo12p and 10pYesread3
10/8/20142119NoOnce with cramps5Noread, beer, food2
10/9/2014211.59.5NoTwice2p and 10pNobeer, read3
10/10/20141983 hoursNo430p and 10pNoTV, food, beer3
10/11/20142.5118.5NoOnceYesNoTV3
10/12/20143.251.25*10NoOnceYesNobeer and PS43
10/13/20142.75129.25NoOnceYesNoLiquor and tv3

The bed and wake times are represented in decimals.  For example, 2.25 is 2:15 and 6.75 is 6:45.  Over the first two weeks, i'm averaging 9 hours and fifteen minutes per sleep each night.  

Sleep Tracking - Days 1 thru 5

Here's the data from the first 5 nights of sleep tracking.  Hopefully  by the end of this challenge i'll have a better understanding of my sleeping habits and patterns.

Night ofBedtimeWakeSleep TimeNaps?Wake During Night?Caffeine?ZMA?What did i do before bed?Wellbeing (1 - 5)
10/1/20141.510.258.75NoMany times2p and 5pNoBeer, book, tv3
10/2/20142.25118.75NoMany times2p and 5pNoBeer and tv2
10/3/201401010NoFew12, 430 and 10pNotv3
10/4/201411.57.58No3 times?Nomovie3
10/5/2014111011NoOnce830a and 4pNobeer and ps43

Further info:
  • In the bed and wake sections, 1.5 means 1:30, etc.  I work afternoon turns during the week so I typically stay up until at least 1 in the morning.  It's great not having to wake up to an alarm.
  • ZMA is a supplement that is said to help achieve deeper levels of REM sleep.  I have a couple of bottles but I haven't been using them for the challenge yet.
  • Wellbeing is on a scale of 1 - 5 where 1 is feeling terrible and 5 is feeling fantastic.  3 is normal.

Sleep Tracking - Introduction

For the next 21 days i will be tracking the amount of sleep i get each night.  Assuming that we sleep 8 hours a night, we'll spend 1/3 of our lives asleep!  That stat alone is reason enough to examine my sleeping habits.

After checking out this handy pdf from the National Institutes of Health, i put together a simple spreadsheet in Google Docs.  I will be tracking the approximate time of falling asleep and waking up, whether or not i woke during the night,  how many caffeine drinks i had during the day, and whether or not i supplemented with ZMA.  I'll also take a note of how i felt during the day.

I'll post at least twice per week with updates.