WEBVTT - Respect your sleep set point

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to respect your sleep set point. You

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<v Speaker 1>can't really change how much sleep you need, so you're

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<v Speaker 1>better off making your peace with whatever that number happens

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<v Speaker 1>to be. As long time listeners know, I have tracked

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<v Speaker 1>my time continuously since April. Those years have featured a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of changes in my life, but one thing has

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<v Speaker 1>been constant. I average about seven point four hours of

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<v Speaker 1>sleep per day, one way or another, over any period

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<v Speaker 1>of eight weeks or so. That's what my body will average. Now.

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<v Speaker 1>I certainly don't get seven point four hours on every

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<v Speaker 1>single day. There are tough days, babies or early flights.

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<v Speaker 1>There are also days I get more sleep for various reasons.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe I sleep in or nap or crash early. But

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<v Speaker 1>the average is seven point four hours. When I tracked

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<v Speaker 1>my time for a year, I found that number interesting.

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<v Speaker 1>Then I tracked for a second year and was intrigued

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<v Speaker 1>to see the average come out to the exact same number.

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<v Speaker 1>Year three the same. Clearly I was dealing with a

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<v Speaker 1>very strong orientation towards that amount. I could wish that

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<v Speaker 1>number were different. Maybe if my set point was seven

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<v Speaker 1>hours per day, I could make great use of the

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<v Speaker 1>additional twenty four waking minutes that would open up. Maybe

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<v Speaker 1>if my set point was six hours, I'd have enough

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<v Speaker 1>time to write more books, or host another podcast, or

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<v Speaker 1>be able to train for marathons. Who knows. But when

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<v Speaker 1>I try to skimp on sleep, my body makes me

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<v Speaker 1>make it up. I have to get back to seven

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<v Speaker 1>point four hours. Better to accept that and try to

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<v Speaker 1>get that amount most nights, and better to accept that

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<v Speaker 1>I just need to make the most of the sixteen

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<v Speaker 1>point six waking hours I have per day. From studying

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<v Speaker 1>thousands of people's time logs, I've seen that many people

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<v Speaker 1>have a similarly strong set point. Self aware people know

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<v Speaker 1>this number. If you don't pay attention, you might not,

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<v Speaker 1>but it's worth figuring out. Try tracking your time for

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<v Speaker 1>a few weeks. How much sleep do you average per

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<v Speaker 1>day over those few weeks? What days do you feel tired?

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<v Speaker 1>Those may be the days when you are massively undershooting.

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<v Speaker 1>If you don't know, you might try aiming for seven

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<v Speaker 1>point five hours and seeing how that works in your life.

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<v Speaker 1>If you still feel groggy waking up, you might need more.

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<v Speaker 1>If you wake up before your alarm, you might need less. Anyway,

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<v Speaker 1>when you figure out your set point, you should respect

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<v Speaker 1>this numb her aim to get as close to this

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<v Speaker 1>number as possible every single night. That allows you to

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<v Speaker 1>take each day as it comes without building up a

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<v Speaker 1>sleep debt. When you get that amount every day, you

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<v Speaker 1>can also make more mindful choices about how you spend

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<v Speaker 1>your waking time. Some people do get frustrated when they

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<v Speaker 1>realize that they do truly need eight hours of sleep

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<v Speaker 1>at night, or possibly even more. It is very normal

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<v Speaker 1>to need eight and a half if that's you. Instead

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<v Speaker 1>of fretting about what you can't do, realize that most

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<v Speaker 1>of the people who need less do not use their

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<v Speaker 1>waking hours well. They scroll around online or watch shows

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<v Speaker 1>that they didn't really mean to watch. Perhaps you need

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<v Speaker 1>to be more careful, but so what be more careful?

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<v Speaker 1>You can't actually train yourself to get by unless sleep.

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<v Speaker 1>You will crash at some point. By respecting your sleep

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<v Speaker 1>set point, you can feel better and learn to make

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<v Speaker 1>more mindful choices with whatever weaking hours you do have

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<v Speaker 1>in the meantime. This is Laura, Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody.

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod

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<v Speaker 1>that's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled

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<v Speaker 1>out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look

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<v Speaker 1>forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production

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<v Speaker 1>of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

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<v Speaker 1>you listen to your favorite ships. Yeah