Ever roll over and sleep for 20-30 extra minutes and then get up and feel rushed? And afterwards wish you’d just jumped out of bed when you first woke up and started the day?
Is rolling over and getting those few extra minutes of sleep in the morning worth it? Maybe, maybe not.
The Quandary- To Sleep In Or Not?
I’ve been dancing with this for a while because I often wake up at 4:30 in the morning and I’m wide awake. And then sometimes I fall back asleep and later feel like, “oh man, I should have just gotten up then”. Early morning is my most productive time, so I have regrtetted that I didn’t use that time to exercise, read, write, think- to enjoy the golden early morning time.
What is the best practice here? My finding- If you’re wide awake and energized early in the morning it’s actually counterproductive to go back to sleep, especially if it takes you a while. You’re forcing the issue and you’re creating stress in your body.
The Science- You Can’t Fight Biology
We wake up naturally with cortisol. It’s part of our body’s wake protocol that gives us a little bit of cortisol to wake up and be alert and focused. And if you try and go back to sleep and you don’t within the first 5 or 10 minutes naturally, then you’re just creating stress. Your body is increasing cortisol levels. You’re stressing about trying to relax.
What about the mid-afternoon crash?
Fatigue later in the day is not from that extra 30 minutes of light sleep that you didn’t get by going back to sleep. It’s from decision fatigue, circadian rhythm crash, and cumulative stress from the day. (And maybe a heavy lunch).
The 90 Minutes Cycle Strategy
We are wired to sleep in approximately 90 minute cycles from beginning to end. Interrupting one of those 90 minute cycles is much worse physiologically than getting less sleep. It’s what causes the grogginess that makes you “need” that caffeine hit. It’s called sleep inertia.
For example, it’s better to sleep three hours than it is to sleep three and a half hours and wake yourself up in the middle of a cycle. This is why waking up to an alarm makes us feel so groggy. We’ve interrupted a sleep cycle and messed with our circadian rhythm.
I have learned to use the technique of auto-suggestion. Before I go to bed to tell myself when six hours will be. For example, if I turn off the light at 11 p.m., I mentally make a note that six hours will be five a.m. Or if I know I’m only going to have a short sleep then I target four and a half hours.
If you map your sleep in one-and-a-half hour segments stitched together you will feel better than getting a large block of sleep where you wake yourself up in the middle of a 90-minute cycle.
Note- Your body still needs a volume of rest, and that’s different for everyone. Getting more sleep when one cycle is interrupted still counts towards rest for your body, but interrupting sleep mid-cycle will cause sleep inertia and grogginess.
Try mapping your sleep in ~90 minute chunks. See if you feel more rested and alert. Wake up before your alarm. And if you’re wide awake, get up! Take that wide awake energy and do something great!
If you like this article, you might like this one on sleep hygiene.
I made a nervous system regulation guide. Regulating your nervous system throughout the day helps you to fall asleep more easily and to get deeper sleep throughout the night.
There is an interactive web page, as well as a PDF guide. Tools that have helped be be more calm and grounded.
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