Body Clock

In the hustle and bustle of modern life, the importance of a good night's sleep cannot be overstated. The age-old adage of getting seven to nine hours of sleep might sound cliché, but it holds a key to a productive and efficient day ahead. Yet, despite our best intentions, achieving this ideal sleep duration often proves to be a daunting challenge. The culprit? Ever-growing to-do lists and those seemingly harmless mindless moments that precede bedtime.

A restful slumber involves more than just turning off the lights and closing your eyes. It's about understanding the intricate connection between your conscious and non-conscious domains, and how they interact to prepare your brain and body for the sleep they desperately need.

Enter the concept of the body clock, an internal mechanism responsible for regulating your sleep-wake cycle, or circadian rhythm. Chronobiologists have delved into this fascinating realm and identified two types of body clocks. These clocks guide your biological processes, including when you feel most awake and alert, and when your body naturally longs for sleep.

One of the major hurdles in achieving a consistent sleep routine lies in the misalignment of your personal body clock with the demands of our social lives. The concept of social jet lag, introduced by researchers Keller and Smith, highlights the conflict between your biological clock and external obligations. Often, daily routines and responsibilities push towards staying up late, causing a misalignment with your body's natural sleep needs.

So, how can you bridge this gap and finally achieve the sleep you deserve? The answer lies in self-control, but not just in the abstract sense. True self-control requires practical methods to enforce a set bedtime. Rather than mere intentions, you need tangible actions. One effective strategy involves utilizing the energy reserves you have upon waking up.

Your mornings are a treasure trove of energy, the perfect time to tackle activities that require focus and attention. However, as the day unfolds, your energy stores get depleted. To ensure a smoother transition into bedtime, it's essential to conserve energy. This can be achieved by connecting new processes to existing ones. For instance, making it a habit to plug in your phone and activate 'sleep mode' right after tidying up after dinner links the action of completing your meal to winding down for the night.

By associating tasks that require attention with those that pave the way for sleep, you create a mental bridge between conscious and non-conscious domains. This can significantly ease the transition into bedtime, helping you achieve those coveted seven to nine hours of rejuvenating sleep.

Self-rate on a 1 (not at all) to 10 (completely) your reality, right now.

My personal clock and body clock are synched.

I consistently stop screens a minimum of 30-minutes prior to lights out for sleep.

I have a pre-bedtime ritual(s) to prepare my body for quality sleep.