1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,720 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,039 --> 00:00:14,800 Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:19,560 Speaker 1: Today's tip is to track when you wake up in 4 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:23,360 Speaker 1: the middle of the night. By understanding what causes the 5 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:26,680 Speaker 1: wake ups, you might be able to minimize them and 6 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:30,640 Speaker 1: enjoy those visions of sugar plums dancing in your head. 7 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:36,120 Speaker 1: I have five children, so I have experienced a lot 8 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 1: of interrupted sleep over the last thirteen years. But even 9 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:43,960 Speaker 1: without little kids, sleeping eight hours straight is hard for 10 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:48,839 Speaker 1: many adults to manage. And that's okay. There's some evidence 11 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:52,680 Speaker 1: that humans historically would have slept in multiple shifts, going 12 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:55,160 Speaker 1: to bed with the sun, waking up in the middle 13 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:57,600 Speaker 1: of the night for a while, and then experiencing a 14 00:00:57,640 --> 00:01:01,959 Speaker 1: wave of sleepiness in the hours before on. Waking up 15 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:06,800 Speaker 1: once is not a problem. It's waking up multiple times 16 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:09,880 Speaker 1: and then being unable to quickly fall back asleep that 17 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:14,120 Speaker 1: can lead to fatigue. As with all things time related, 18 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:17,120 Speaker 1: the best way to spend your time better is to 19 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:20,680 Speaker 1: figure out where the time is going now, and that 20 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:25,880 Speaker 1: includes overnight time. Even if you don't have any interest 21 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:28,840 Speaker 1: in tracking your work time, or your leisure time or 22 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:32,120 Speaker 1: your family time, if you'd like to sleep better, it 23 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:34,600 Speaker 1: might be worth tracking your time with an eye toward 24 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 1: focusing on sleep. Track a full week all on sixty 25 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:43,720 Speaker 1: eight hours, because you want to see things like daytime sleep, 26 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:48,680 Speaker 1: snooze sleep, crashing on the sofa at night's sleep, and yes, 27 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:53,040 Speaker 1: middle of the night wake ups. This last one requires 28 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:55,520 Speaker 1: a bit of logistical planning to track, as you can 29 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:58,560 Speaker 1: imagine most of us aren't in a mental state to 30 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:02,760 Speaker 1: track overnight active as all that. Well, you can definitely 31 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:04,960 Speaker 1: use sleep apps, and for many people that is a 32 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:08,760 Speaker 1: great solution. I have my phone in airplane mode in 33 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:10,960 Speaker 1: my room, and if I wake up in the night 34 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:12,840 Speaker 1: to deal with the baby, I take a quick glance 35 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:15,520 Speaker 1: at my phone to see the time. Because it's an 36 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:18,680 Speaker 1: airplane mode, I won't get sucked in by a notification 37 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:21,959 Speaker 1: or text. If you'd prefer not to use that solution 38 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 1: or a sleep app, you can put a small clock 39 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,000 Speaker 1: by your bed. I have one across the room, but 40 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:29,600 Speaker 1: I can't see that without my contacts end, so that 41 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:33,000 Speaker 1: doesn't work for me. I have trained myself to remember 42 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 1: the time, but if you don't think you will remember, 43 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,400 Speaker 1: you could just write it down, keep a notepad and 44 00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:41,520 Speaker 1: a pen by your bed. Then in the morning you 45 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:44,520 Speaker 1: can transfer the time from your notes to your log 46 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:47,960 Speaker 1: as for the duration of the wake ups. This is 47 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:50,480 Speaker 1: tricky too, at least if you're choosing not to use 48 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:53,640 Speaker 1: an app. You clearly aren't looking at the time at 49 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:57,639 Speaker 1: the exact moment that you fall asleep, but you can approximate. 50 00:02:58,639 --> 00:03:01,720 Speaker 1: After I'm done feeding or settling the baby, I checked 51 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:04,760 Speaker 1: the time again, and I generally round to the next 52 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:08,919 Speaker 1: fifteen minute mark to count when my sleep begins. If 53 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:11,040 Speaker 1: I find myself lying awake for a while, I will 54 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:14,440 Speaker 1: estimate or look at the clock again if sleep is 55 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:19,160 Speaker 1: particularly elusive. In any case, you only need to do 56 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:22,000 Speaker 1: this for a week or so. The point is to 57 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:24,880 Speaker 1: see which nights are better than others, or if there 58 00:03:24,919 --> 00:03:28,359 Speaker 1: are any patterns. If you always wake up at, say 59 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:34,000 Speaker 1: for am, it's highly likely that something external and routine 60 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:38,120 Speaker 1: is triggering it, like a noisy machine that goes off then, 61 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 1: or an early rising neighbor whose dog sends him off 62 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:45,920 Speaker 1: to work. You might also note if something internal is 63 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 1: triggering the wake ups, like you need to go to 64 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:51,119 Speaker 1: the bathroom, or you're hot or cold. Many of these 65 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 1: issues can be alleviated with experimentation, like not drinking much 66 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:58,880 Speaker 1: liquid right before bed or turning the thermostat down a 67 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:03,680 Speaker 1: degree or two. The culprit might also be someone or something, 68 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:08,680 Speaker 1: your own pets, or a partner. That last one does 69 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:12,400 Speaker 1: not need to be a huge deal. You can love 70 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:16,560 Speaker 1: someone intensely and still decide that sleeping together isn't the 71 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:21,279 Speaker 1: best approach. Really, separate beds are not a signal of 72 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:25,480 Speaker 1: a problem. Just spend plenty of time snuggling together before 73 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:28,520 Speaker 1: going off to sleep separately, or build in some morning 74 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:32,320 Speaker 1: cuddle time. You might also note if it's easier to 75 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:36,159 Speaker 1: fall back asleep at certain times than others. Many people 76 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:38,760 Speaker 1: have a hard time falling asleep if it's light out. 77 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:42,800 Speaker 1: Blackoutchades can help, But maybe the problem is that when 78 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:45,920 Speaker 1: you see light of any sort, it triggers a waking impulse, 79 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:48,480 Speaker 1: so you might need to make sure that you don't 80 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:51,000 Speaker 1: turn on the light in the bathroom if that's the case. 81 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:54,480 Speaker 1: I have definitely learned not to try to read on 82 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:56,960 Speaker 1: my phone when I'm feeding the baby in the middle 83 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:00,320 Speaker 1: of the night. Inevitably, it will take me a lot 84 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:03,200 Speaker 1: longer to fall back asleep if I do, even if 85 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:06,360 Speaker 1: it makes staying awake easier and more pleasant in the moment. 86 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:11,839 Speaker 1: Many of us learn to function on compromised sleep, but 87 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:16,720 Speaker 1: seldom at peak productivity. Figuring out ways to sleep better 88 00:05:16,760 --> 00:05:20,240 Speaker 1: can be a real gift to yourself. So if you 89 00:05:20,279 --> 00:05:23,359 Speaker 1: are not sleeping your best, track your time for a 90 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:26,919 Speaker 1: week or two to see what you can learn. Try 91 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:31,599 Speaker 1: some experimentation and troubleshooting. You just might wind up waking 92 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:35,119 Speaker 1: up more rested and ready to take on the world. 93 00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:41,480 Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and 94 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:50,839 Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, 95 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:53,159 Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me 96 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:56,839 Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with 97 00:05:56,880 --> 00:06:00,960 Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at b for Breakfast 98 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:05,760 Speaker 1: pod that's b E the number four, then Breakfast p 99 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,720 Speaker 1: o D. You can also shoot me an email at 100 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:12,520 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com that 101 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:15,839 Speaker 1: before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks 102 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:23,800 Speaker 1: so much, I look forward to staying in touch. Before 103 00:06:23,839 --> 00:06:26,880 Speaker 1: Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. 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