The Importance of Sleep Cycles on Productivity (+ Tips to Improve Yours)

Sleep is the best cure for most problems we encounter and affects our ability to face challenges head on and be more productive every day.We know surprisingly little about our own sleep cycles, the benefits of getting a good night’s sleep, or how we can hack and influence our sleep patterns to become more creative and productive.In this article I’ll go deep on how sleep cycles work, how our sleep affects our productivity and provide 19 sleep hacks to help you increase your performance and productivity.

What are sleep cycles?

When it comes to our sleep, we pass through five different stages:These are Stages 1, 2, 3 and 4 and REM (rapid eye movement). Many people think that a typical sleep cycle consists of only one cycle through the stages.However, the stages of sleep that we enjoy actually cycle throughout the night depending on our duration of sleep.Each stage is associated with different brain waves. When we successfully manage to pass through all the stages, we achieve a sleep cycle which happens typically within 90 minutes.I want to touch on each stage of the sleep cycle briefly below. I also wanted to answer the question I get quite often, “How long should it take to fall asleep?”The answer varies from person to person and situation to situation but it should take between 10 to 20 minutes ideally to fall asleep.

Stage One

This is your light sleep phase when you often drift in and out of sleep easily. As you have probably experienced, you can be awoken easily during this phase.We go through alpha and beta brainwaves and have almost dreamlike periods before we begin to fall asleep.

Stage Two

This stage often lasts for about 20 minutes as our brain produces short periods of rapid, rhythmic brain waves. Our body temperature drops and our heart rate begins to slow down.

Stage Three

This is the transitional phase between slight and very deep sleep. Deep, slow brain waves known as Delta Waves emerge during this third stage.After three full sleep cycles the body will cut out this stage.

Stage Four

Stage Four is your deep sleep period that lasts for about 30 minutes. Your body will typically go into Stage Four two times during a full 8 hours sleep cycle.It is essential not to wake up during the deep sleep stage as this leads to disorientation, foggy mind and will ensure you have a very unproductive day.

REM Sleep

This is the stage where most dreams happen. You will experience rapid eye movement and increased brain activity. Beta waves are generated. These waves are produced when we are focused in a mental activity.It is important to note here that our sleep does not progress through all of the stages in sequence.Our sleep starts with Stage One and then moves into stages two, three and four. After Stage Four’s deep sleep, Stages Three and then Two are repeated before going into REM Sleep.Once REM is complete, we usually return to Stage Two sleep.For context, 4-5 sleep cycles are optimal to get a good night’s sleep as each cycle takes around 90-120 minutes to complete.As I discussed previously in my article about the benefits of getting a good night’s sleep, the optimal amount of sleep we should be getting is 8 hours a night.But if you can’t get that 8 hours in, the least optimal period of sleep to wake up during is Stage Four.Have you ever had your alarm go off or been woken up and you get up with a headache and a feeling of grogginess? If you have, you would have been woken up from Stage Four of your sleep cycle.

How understanding sleep cycles affect your productivity

When we sleep, our brain goes through the different stages I’ve laid out above, with each full cycle (all four stages and REM) lasting 90 minutes.It makes sense then, that we will feel more refreshed and set ourselves up for a productive day, when we wake at the end of a full 90-minute sleep cycle.The next step is to decide when you want to wake up. If you want to wake at 6am then you will want to get five 90-minute sleep cycles in, or seven and a half hours, which means you should go to sleep at 10.30pm.To monitor your own sleep cycle, there are a number of apps on the market that can help you analyse the quality of your sleep.The Sleep Cycle app monitors the movement of your body whilst you sleep and can estimate the different sleep stages you’re in. This helps you ensure you activate your alarm at the right time to complete a full sleep cycle.Other products on the market are Pillow, Sleep Better, Twilight plus many more. Try a sleep tracker for a week to understand exactly how much sleep you’re getting and how much time you’re spending in each of the different stages.Once we fully understand how our sleep cycle works and how we actually sleep each night, there are many things we can do to ensure we get the best night’s sleep possible to increase our creativity and productivity.

How to hack your sleep cycles and get well rested

Below are 18 sleep hacks you can start using right now:

1. Remove the technology

Many of us keep our phone on a bedside table or at least in the bedroom. We check for notifications or respond to emails rather than just unplugging and winding down before sleep.If it’s not smart phones, many of us have a television in our room and we are catching up on the latest Netflix series before we switch off the light and go to sleep.Wakefulness is often triggered by blue light that emanates from a computer or smartphone screen which can affect the rhythm of your sleep.Avoid laptops, phones or tablets an hour before sleep. Or at least put your phone on airplane mode.Try this:Leave your smart phone or tablet in another room when you go to sleep. Decide on a time to stop emailing and being on social media before you go to sleep.

2. Use the 90-minute sleep cycle rule

If you know you are going to sleep later than normal or waking up earlier, then use your knowledge of your 90 minute cycles to optimise your sleep.You will more refreshed and closest to your waking state at the end of a cycle. This knowledge will help you create more productive days.If you need to get up at 4am, work back in 90-minute increments to figure out when you should go to sleep.

3. Use an app to keep monitoring your sleep

As I mentioned previously, it’s important to understand how you are sleeping by using an app. By tracking your sleep patterns, for at least a week, you have more of a sense of your sleep quality. And how it can be hacked to improve it.You want to wake at the top of a new sleep cycle to feel refreshed and ready for a productive day. Many of the apps can act as an alarm clock and wake you at the top of a sleep cycle rather than waking up in the middle of deep sleep.

3. Don’t exercise two hours before sleep

Unless you’re doing yoga or something similar, you shouldn’t exercise for at least two hours before going to sleep.Exercise build up energy, raises our cortisol levels and makes it a much longer process to fall asleep.

4. Take a hot bath

This may seem counterintuitive but bear with me. A relaxing bath raises our body temperature slightly but when we get out, towel ourselves dry we cool down quickly and are in a much more relaxed state, ready for sleep.As we are relaxed, we often fall asleep quicker.

5. Go to sleep before 11pm

Sleep is an essential way of resting, recharging and nourishing our body and mind.Although it differs from person to person and during different seasons, we tend to naturally get tired between 10.45pm and 11pm as our biological clock is based around the circadian cycle.To avoid getting a second wind, we should fall asleep before 11pm, otherwise many people get an additional surge in energy that can keep them awake into the early hours.If you can stick close to the circadian cycle you will wake up feeling rested and productive.

6. Create your optimal sleep environment

Make going to sleep an experience that you really look forward to, rather than something you have to do.Investing in a new mattress will help you sleep better than a 10-year old mattress but there are some other simple, practical steps you can take.Have crisp, clean sheets on the bed. Burn some candles and dim the lights before going to sleep as you wind down.Many of us have a playlist for working out or running. Create a sleep playlist of relaxing, soothing music that will help calm the mind before sleep.Think of a time or place when you were most relaxed and think about how you can create that environment in your bedroom. Create that sleep experience.

7. Keep your room at the right temperature

Adjust the temperature in your room or have lighter/heavier duvets so you’re not waking up in the night being too hot or cold. There's a close relationship between body temperature and sleep.Most people sleep best in a slightly cooler room around 65 degrees Fahrenheit or 18 degrees Celsius. Waking up from a deep sleep because you’re too hot or cold is going to make you very irritable.

8. Use guided meditation

Guided meditation can help you sleep quicker and with a calmer mind, helping you enjoy a deeper, more restorative sleep.When you meditate, your muscles relax, your breathing becomes slower and deeper and your daily thoughts can turn into rich, dreamlike imagery.Try this guide:Supercharge Your Sleep by Meditating Before Bed

9. Sleep in total darkness (Or as near as possible)

Daylight is known to inhibit the release of melatonin in your brain. Melatonin is a natural hormone released in our blood during darkness and helps our bodies feel more relaxed and less alert.If possible, use blackout curtains, eye masks and other tools to create more darkness in your room to avoid disrupted sleep.

10. Avoid caffeine after 1pm

The World Sleep Society suggests avoiding caffeine six hours or more before you go to sleep. Personally, I don’t drink or eat anything with caffeine in after 1pm.Caffeine consumed 6 hours before bed can affect the amount of sleep you get by over an hour.So, enjoy your coffee but be clear when you should have your last cup of the day.

11. Prioritize your sleep

It’s really important to be intentional about having a good night’s sleep and prioritise it.There are so many other things that compete for your time: Your work, your family, your friends, staying connected, staying fit, entertainment.Sleep can often drop further and further down your list of priorities.But if you can personally commit to getting 8 hours of sleep a night and making sleep as important as your other priorities, you will notice a dramatic shift in your clarity, energy, focus and creativity.Starting from today, commit to getting 8 hours sleep for the next 7 days and see the difference it makes.Chances are you will want to continue to make sleep a priority.

12. Create a sleep routine

One of the simplest ways to ensure you get your 8 hours of sleep every night is to create a sleep routine.Ideally this would be having a specific time to go to sleep but that’s not always possible as we may have nights out planned, or specific work commitments.Instead, commit to a time when you are going to rise in the morning and work back to get your 8 hours or 7 hours on occasion.If you follow a morning routine that has you rising at 5am, you know the ideal would be going to sleep at 9 or 10.Be consistent with having a specific wake up time for 14 days and see the impact it creates in your life.You may have the bonus of being able to sleep later at the week-end but that shouldn’t affect you getting your ideal sleep during the week.Take a look at this guide on how to create a sleep routine that fits you:20 Tips to Get Your Bedtime Routine Started for a Better Tomorrow

13. Conduct a sleep audit

Start analyzing your ‘sleep performance’ to explore different hacks to ensure you wake up refreshed and productive.You can use a sleep journal or just enter the information into a spreadsheet, whatever works best.You want to track:

• When you went to sleep
• What you did before you went to sleep
• When you woke up
• How you felt when you woke up
• How many times you woke up during the night
• What you ate before you slept
• How comfortable you felt during the night
• Any naps or other shut eye during the day

Try tracking for 7 or 14 days. You will begin to notice patterns emerge that can help you cut things out or add things in to improve your sleep.

14. Try Polyphasic sleep

You’ve probably heard of Polyphasic sleep and how many people are using this technique to hack their sleep so they only need 2 to 4 hours of sleep a night,Essentially, you are breaking your sleep into two blocks of time rather than the traditional monophasic sleep, in which we sleep only once per day.You are sleeping for shorter periods but more often.Many of us take naps during the day, which could be anything from a 15 minute ‘power nap’ to a longer 90-minute nap and still have 5-8 hours of sleep a night.Polyphasic sleep is different. It’s about sleeping a lot less and is often structured in one of two ways:

• Nap for 20 minutes every four hours, for a total of two hours of sleep a day
• Have a ‘normal sleep’ at night with three 20 minute naps during the day

The aim is to get more time in your day and less sleep at night but this method is not recommended for the long-term.

15. Try pillow sprays or aromatherapy

There has been a rise of the number of pillow spray products on the market promising to help you fall asleep faster and wake up feeling more refreshed and energized.They aim to help reduce sleep anxiety and improve sleep quality by calming and soothing the mind and body.You can also use aromatherapy oils such as lavender to help you fall asleep quicker. These oils calm the nervous system by lowering blood pressure, heart rate and skin temperature.

16. Wind down your day slowly

When you have lots of things on your mind or your energy levels are high after being out or watching a film, or coming back from a meeting it can be difficult to naturally ‘come down’ before sleep.If your mind is racing, it takes much longer to fall asleep, impacting on your sleep routine.Take 45 minutes or 30 minutes at a stretch to just calm the mind and body before getting into bed.To help you decompress, try drinking hot tea with honey, journaling or meditating. Slow everything down to give yourself the best chance of a great night’s sleep.If that doesn’t work, pick up a book and read for 15 minutes before sleep.

17. Declutter your mind

To create the perfect harmony of mind and body before you go to sleep, try taking everything that’s running around your mind and get it down on paper.Journaling before sleep is a great tool to clear your mind and get your thoughts and ideas down on paper.Try sitting for 15 minutes and just write. Write down your worries, goals and thoughts. Clear your internal inbox so to speak. Quiet down that internal chatter so you are in the right frame of mind to experience a deep sleep.For beginners, check out this guide on journaling:Writing Journal for a Better and More Productive Self (The How-To Guide)

18. Express gratitude before you turn off the light

Give yourself 5 minutes before you go to sleep to give thanks for the day. This relaxes the mind and body and leaves you feeling positive.Whatever has happened or you’ve achieved during the day, step back, reflect on it and be grateful.Giving thanks will help ensure that you don’t fall asleep worrying. You will be positive, thankful and tranquil rather than have a negative, worried mind.Try this: Choose a minimum of 3 things to be grateful for every night and spend a calm 5 minutes reflecting on why you’re grateful for them.To take this one step further, focus you mind on one thing you want to achieve and let your subconscious work on it whilst you sleep.

Sleep well and maximize your energy

Making time for a full night of sleep and setting the stage for quality sleep is the secret to accomplishing more and being super productive during the day.The human body needs its rest; it needs to replenish.However, we’re all different and have our own responsibilities to fulfil during our busy lives. Some of these techniques will work better for you than others.But if your aim is to wake up more energized and be more productive throughout the day, then give the techniques that feel right a go.With a few lifestyle and environmental adjustments, hacks and more knowledge about how you sleep, you can vastly improve the quality of your sleep to ensure you get a great night’s sleep every night and maximize your performance every day.