Sleeping Better

Sleeping better. Everyone wants it and no one is really taking the time to sleep a lot. Optimizing the sleeping time we have seems like a good idea.

Generally there should be four category of sleep optimization:

Sleep phases (probably the most looked at)
Sleep equipment (mattresses, etc)
Sleep environment (This could get a bit esoteric but still)
Sleep length (which we already ruled out you are likely not willing to optimize)

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Using sleep phases to sleep better

Different people may require different amounts of sleep or are happy with eight, six or even five hours of sleep at night. However no one talks a lot about when they go sleeping and when they wake up.

What matters is how much deep sleep, REM sleep and light sleep you got, and what your nightly heart rate and bedtime schedule is. The best tracking for this we found is the Oura ring.

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Deep sleep is the most essential and per 8 hours of sleep you typically get 1-2 hours of deep sleep. Understanding when this deep sleep typically happens and making sure you don't miss that window is the absolute basic measure you can take to ensure good sleep.

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Sleep equipment to sleep best with

The most expensive piece of equipment for sleeping is probably the mattress. However over time (and industrial design may have helped) - beds have become glorified sleeping centers that have little to do with sleeping.

There are for example many benefits of sleeping on a tatami mat which only cost a few hundred dollars (if at all). Here are some examples of original tatami mats. If only my wife would allow!

Tatami mattress — Sleeping on a tatami mattress can be a great alternative to normal beds.

When looking at rice matresses, I was thinking about sand mattesses as well - and voila, here are some sand mattresses.

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Which sleep environment is most relaxing?

EMF shield bed — Bed with EMF shielded mosquito net

The obvious measures are sound and light, however in large cities a lot of times you sleep in a microwave zone of on average 20 different wireless networks. This is where an EMF shielding mosquito net can help. There are even EMF shielding paints or carpets, however you might still want to have internet service for your phone in your bedroom. Sacrifices will have to be made!

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