How I Slept

A self-inflicted short night with some interesting observations. On going to bed late there is a rise in sleep efficiency but I don't naturally awake that much later than normal.

This typifies where I'm at right now. Given a "wind-down" and an 8-hour sleep opportunity, I will notch up 6 hours of actual sleep. This then is the minimum requirement for wellbeing. This particular sleep was particularly well-balanced, with both deep and REM sleep notching up over an hour. It is unusual for me to have a prolonged deep sleep in the second half of the night, but evidently I did.

I have frankly given up on discipline (study, meditation, exercise) while I am recovering from having my lung lining stripped away by a virus, but this doesn't seem to affect sleep, where all the recovery takes place. This unusually dreamy sleep (I remember one of them) was good quality (by my standards) and threatened to reach the target 7 hours. The Fitbit was confused by my hour in bed before lights out at 22:05 but this is "forgivable".

The limitations of the Fitbit are revealed in this sleep at both ends. I didn't actually turn lights out until 22:05 - I was in bed watching the footie and "winding down" from 21:15. At the other end, though I did wake at 04:59 I slept fitfully until 07:15, including dreams. The Fitbit did not pick this up! The good news however is that I was therefore comfortably rather than just about over the critical minimum, enabling the ongoing repair of my virus-ravaged lung-lining.

This was not only the best sleep since I've started recording, it was also one of the most interesting with everything but the kitchen sink. It splits nicely into three phases: The first phase I have very little memory of, sleeping well and deeply. Then between three and five I was highly restless - too awake to nod back off and too sleepy to get up. Finally I went into dreamy phase 3, though I don't remember the dreams.  This kind of sleep is probably the most natural and best for me, but I need an unrealistic 10 hours in bed to achieve it!

With my slow recovery getting me down a bit, I was in "not give a shit" and "me time" mode, I went to bed at a record late time. Fortunately, I could afford to - Missus is suffering the same slow recovery, and the resulting libido crash means she doesn't require me in the morning, meaning I could just wake up naturally when I wanted. Nevertheless I still fell a little short of the critical minimum 6 hours. Interestingly, the restless second half, which normally kicks in around 03:00 was correspondingly delayed to around 05:00 as a result of my late bedtime.

This week covers the transition of my chest infection into the uncomfortable post-viral symptoms stage. There's nothing particularly noticeable about it to single it out from a "healthy" week. I did manage to get brain-rest over the critical minimum most nights, which is essential to the recovery process.

TOTAL SESSION TIME:  14:23 - 16:29 TOTAL SESSION LENGTH: 2hr 6 mins TIME IN TRANCE/SLEEP: 1hr 44 mins EFFICIENCY: 83% TOTAL BRAIN-REST FOR TODAY: An interesting one in which I emerged halfway through and thought that I was done but then drifted back under and went the distance, pushing today's brain-rest quota comfortably over the target.

I must confess to a whiff of disappointment about this one - it felt like I slept really well, going to bed when seriously sleepy and waking up naturally to bright sunshine with no alarm - but the reality is I actually slept just under the critical minimum, because of course the clocks went forward an hour, and I went to bed late. I did sleep deeper than usual though. I do dispute the REM spike at the end - I contend that I was actually in light sleep, as I have no recollection of any dreams.  As usual I had the "restlessness at 03:00", but I don't remember much about it, though I think I did notice the time. The post-0300 period, often restless, was a solid block of slepp this time.

An interesting one that could have gone either way. At 03:00 I was woken by a loud coughing fit coming from Missus, while she went for a pee I liberally applied peppermint and eucalyptus oils to her pillow. That did the trick, but then she started snoring like a roaring hippo. I spent at least an hour contemplating going downstairs but never did - I eventually nodded off again and slept through to 07:30, pushing me over the critical minimum. In all this my consciousness was never in control - all the decisions were made instinctively.

Though the sleep length is accurate, I'm disputing the tracker's ability to track REM sleep - I had a particularly vivid dream before waking that has not been recorded, making me believe that several of the "awake" spikes were actually REM sleep. Missus coughing fits probably prompted the early waking - we are both some weeks away from a complete recovery.

TOTAL SESSION TIME:  14:20 - 16:00 TOTAL SESSION LENGTH: 1hr 40 mins TIME IN TRANCE/SLEEP: 1hr 33 mins EFFICIENCY: 93% TOTAL BRAIN-REST FOR TODAY:   With a good dose of peppermint & eucalyptus oils loaded into the new aromatherapy vaporiser, I had the first quality meditation for two weeks, lapsing into some vivid dreams. This is a good sign of recovery, and whilst not back to full power, I am ready to return to the Weekend Job and to generally start being productive again from tomorrow.

It looked like it was going to be a disturbed night with Missus beginning it with an extensive coughing fit. Around 23:00 I liberally applied peppermint and eucalyptus oils to her pillow and that did the trick - she quickly settled, as did I and went right through until being woken by morning light. The sleep was uncharacteristically flat - almost no deep sleep, but I have awoken feeling relaxed.

Good "sleep hygiene" and anti-cough aromatherapy paid dividends for another night with another "as good as it gets" sleep.  I've noticed Fitbit can't tell the difference between lying down relaxed, the trance-state induced by meditation or sleep. Since it only has pulse to go on, it can be forgiven this. Lights went out at 22:00 so sleep efficiency was actually higher

This sleep came after the first day since becoming ill that I was able to get moving and do stuff. Exercise was certainly a factor in this "good-as-it-gets-by-my-standards" sleep, as was sleep debt from the night before, good "sleep hygiene" (maximising sleep opportunity) and I have not yet resumed meditation sessions in the afternoon. A final point of note was that the wakefulness distribution was a little unusual, largely absent from the final third. This was helpful in preventing any small-hours insomnia that I am often prone to.

A self-inflicted short sleep as I was enjoying some me time. This is in one way a good thing because it shows I'm now in recovery phase - the infection is over and my body is slowly clearing up the mess. I continue to be fascinated that short sleep or long, the phase pattern (a restless second half) and sleep efficiency is remarkably consistent. I certainly can't put my life on hold any longer waiting for my lungs to fully heal - that takes around six weeks on average. I need to return to routine and discipline today.

This would have been an interesting insight into the impact of illness, specifically a lung infection on sleep if the Fitbit had got it right - but it didn't! On two occasions it recorded me as sleeping when I wasn't. I was simply sat relaxed. It seems that if I'm TOO relaxed, the Fitbit thinks I'm asleep. From my actual sleeping, I probably got less than the critical minimum of 6 hours, but did eventually discover that a drink with honey, analgesics and aromatherapy at bedtime seemed to counteract the symptoms keeping me awake, although I'll need a few more successful nights to be sure. 

After a very uncomfortable day that consisted almost entirely of sitting watching sport and coughing, I threw everything chemically available at the problem at bedtime. Honey and Lemon, paracetamol, ibuprofen and a pillow with significant dollops of peppermint and eucalyptus oils dropped on it. All this, coupled with an accumulation of sleep debt, did the trick! I will therefore make this a nightly routine until I am fully recovered. A chest infection in my experience inflicts a "double whammy" - it disrupts your sleep which in doing so slows down your body's ability to fight it. I am therefore inclined to believe that it's best to cough up the phlegm during the day and suppress the cough at night.

Though all three of us in the house are all afflicted by the same infection, I appear to be the one hit hardest psychologically, which is making me also physically worse than the other two. I am the only one losing significant sleep, I have the lowest morale, I am doing the least and only I have lost my voice. Since I am the therapist, guilt and shame are added to the mix! However as the therapist I am also the one most able to self-analyze. As the infection got worse I took the decision to take time out and rest up. Whilst this seemed to me the best way of recovering faster, in reality the opposite has happened.  Though seeming counter-intuitive, I am beginning to wonder if the quickest recovery path is actually to "just get on with it" as the other two are. I may be intermittently be coughing my guts up and be unable to speak, but I can still MOVE and move stuff. Today I will stay in but I will start moving stuff around and see what effect this has on morale, recovery...

After yesterday's over-generous Fitbit readings, this is an accurate reflection of a virus-ridden restless night.

As impressive as this looks, it is unfortunately just PLAIN WRONG - I did NOT go to sleep from 17:56 - 05:13. My illness has clearly "confused" the Fitbit. For much of this time I was simply sat quietly being ill. I actually went to bed around 21:00 and my recollection is of being restless with an "epic" dream I would keep returning to between wakefulness.  In terms of sleep research, this week is therefore going to be something of a write-off with no meaningful results. It is however worthy of note that I have been in the fortunate position of being able to simply rest on Wednesday, the illness peaking in intensity on Tuesday night. If you can, resting up is the best way to fight an infection.

Well that's one way to get seven hours - get yourself infected! Last night I crawled into bed at 21:00 wanting to die and feeling awful. Apart from four trips to the toilet, I stayed there until 06:30 when I became fully conscious with a need for bowel movement and having one serious THUMPER of a headache - which I have right now btw! I'm assuming this is caused by dehydration, so I'm waiting to see if the combination of tea and ibuprofen eventually lifts it.

TOTAL SESSION TIME:  14:22 - 15:40 TOTAL SESSION LENGTH: 1hr 18 mins TIME IN TRANCE/SLEEP: 1hr 11 mins EFFICIENCY: 91% TOTAL BRAIN-REST FOR TODAY: Since it gives me a respite from coughing my lungs up, I repeated the aromatherapy meditation of Monday with similar results. Most importantly, it pushed me over the critical minimum of 6 hours brain-rest.

The chest infection affecting us all has worsened to the "not give a shit" point and drove me out of bed in the small hours, returning for a a couple more hours later. Whatever. I am however still "walking wounded" and the shopping has to be done!

TOTAL SESSION TIME:  13:00 - 14:35 TOTAL SESSION LENGTH:  1hr 28 mins TIME IN TRANCE/SLEEP:  1hr 22 mins EFFICIENCY: 93% TOTAL BRAIN-REST FOR TODAY: In order not to be disturbed by rampant coughing, today's meditation was accompanied by a stiff dose of peppermint and eucalyptus oil aromatherapy. This proved very effective. I went very deep although I awoke having used only 75% of the available window. I then went downstairs - and coughed my lungs up. No hurrying recovery! With all three of us infected, the house is rattling to a cacophony of coughing.  

This sleep was short by conscious choice -  I was desperate for some "me time", not that Missus was any more loopy than usual, but because I got less Sunday "me time" during the day than usual. With all three of us infected with the Common Cold, we were all cooped up together all day. Interestingly my viral cough settles down at night, but I paid for it when I got up, hunched over the sink coughing my lungs up. There is nothing unusual in this - it's my normal behaviour when I get a cold. I aim from this point to be very disciplined in sleep and meditation this week as it's at these times that the virus-battered lung-lining regenerates itself. The sooner it does, the sooner the coughing will stop.

The week was let down by one particularly restless night and the loss of one meditation, but if failing to achieve the target 7 hours most days, all bar one were above the critical minimum 6 hours. It was good to see the Fitbit behaving itself well enough to record a whole week's sleep accurately, despite not going a single day without at least one brief dropout. Since I'm doing nothing different, I'm assuming firmware updates have improved performance.

TOTAL SESSION TIME:  15:05 - 17:05 TOTAL SESSION LENGTH: 2hr 00 mins TIME IN TRANCE/SLEEP: 1hr 28 mins EFFICIENCY: 73% TOTAL BRAIN-REST FOR TODAY: Infected as I am with the common cold, today's meditation was heavily chemically assisted with paracetamol, ibuprofen, honey, lemon, peppermint and eucalyptus. It seemed to do the trick! I did not cough throughout the meditation and have awoken somewhat relaxed and floaty. Most importantly I got the 7+ hours brain-rest. 

The chest cold now infecting all three of us in the house seems to be having little impact on this very average (for me) sleep pattern, though it may be inadvertently helping me to stay in bed in the restless second half. I generally start the day satisfied if: 1. the Fitbit has performed properly and 2. I slept for 6+ hours. Sunday therefore has begun okay!

I was interested to see how a mild illness (chest cold) would affect my sleep. As it turned out, it was a typical pattern, although deep sleep was longer and more spread out. This pattern represents "as good as it currently gets" until I can find any other method apart from afternoon meditations to lengthen it.

I've observed that after a period of deprivation, the next decent sleep is neither longer nor more efficient. Instead there is more deep and dream sleep and the troublesome second half is less troublesome.  I have read that those who have any form of sleeping issue should not nap in the afternoon, but I have rejected this advice - I consider daily prolonged meditation critical to my personal mental health. As it is I already have two days per week where I cannot and this week a third.

Due to some holiday planning and waiting for a carpet salesman, there was no opportunity for meditation! It will be interesting to see the effect on tonight's sleep

Staying asleep in the second half of the night is always a struggle for me, and this night was scuppered completely by an overwhelming urge for EVERYTHING. By the time I had satisfied all these urges ranging from tea to a sizeable dump, I was out of time to go back to bed. I really honestly couldn't help it! My body made all the decisions while consciousness just observed it all helplessly. There are just some occasions where you have to say that there was nothing you can do about it!

TOTAL SESSION TIME:  14:15 - 15:45 TOTAL SESSION LENGTH: 1hr 30 mins TIME IN TRANCE/SLEEP: 1hr 13 mins EFFICIENCY: 81% TOTAL BRAIN-REST FOR TODAY:  7hr 53 mins This meditation felt shallower than normal, and the lower than usual efficiency suggests that it was - my new aromatherapy vaporiser is much stronger than my previous one and I set it too high, making the aromatherapy counterproductive. Nevertheless the session was still satisfactory and brought my brain-rest up to quota.

This night was both restless AND successful. Though it was punctuated by frequent waking, I stayed in bed and just kept cycling between sleep and consciousness. I didn't have a bedtime drink and was both unstressed and accepting. No cardio exercise on Tuesday probably contributed to the restlessness, but with sleep exceeding 6 hours, this is a satisfactory sleep. Again, the Fitbit did not pick up on all the REM sleep, but I accept that it cannot pick up very short dreams, of which I had several, certainly more than the two recorded.

TOTAL SESSION TIME:  13:45 - 16:10 TOTAL SESSION LENGTH: 2hr 25 mins TIME IN TRANCE/SLEEP: 2hr 1 mins EFFICIENCY: 90% TOTAL BRAIN-REST FOR TODAY: This was as interesting one! I set the wrong soundtrack that lasted an hour, but starting up another I soon went back under for another hour and ten! Fitbit didn't pick up the 10 minute "interval" but I'll "forgive" it that. Most importantly I made up for the restless previous night. I can report that the right tone and binaural beat are important. Continually descending tones and beats, or low tones and 2-4Hz beats seem to be best. Tones greater than 200Hz (unless descending) and beats lower than 2Hz seem to be counter-productive. 

This readout isn't completely accurate, but I'll "forgive" my tracker on this occasion because it was set a difficult challenge when it barely copes with a normal night. I was actually in bed for 21:00 and lights went out at 22:00 but despite feeling sleepy, by 23:00 I was still awake and re-set the alarm from 06:00 to 07:00 to compensate.  I fear the attempted traditional nighttime cup of Horlicks backfired on me and actually kept me awake - I won't try that again! A different "traditional remedy" did seem to work as I dropped off afterwards, but I was restless again from 04:00, and the "traditional remedy" was less successful this time, though there were fitful bursts of sleep after. I had a weird and vivid dream just before 07:00 that the Fitbit didn't pick up, but it may only have been a quickie so I'll let that go.

TOTAL SESSION TIME:  14:00 - 15:20 TOTAL SESSION LENGTH: 1hr 20 mins TIME IN TRANCE/SLEEP: 1hr 18 mins EFFICIENCY: 97% TOTAL BRAIN-REST FOR TODAY: Only a short one by my standards but refreshing nonetheless, and enough to give me the critical 6 hours plus brain rest

Sunday night is currently always the shortest sleep opportunity, but also after the most relaxed day, so less maintenance is probably required. I consider 6+ hours sleep opportunity as acceptable. I'd be fascinated to know what kind of switch takes place in my brain that consistently divides my sleep into two neat halves - a stable sleep until around 3am abruptly ended by raging urine boners and a broken pattern thereafter with frequent waking. To a major extent this is just my natural pattern. A positive was that I stayed in bed with just the one toilet call.

Overall it's an average week for me and 6/7 for the Fitbit, which for an unknown reason docked me two hours of sleep on Monday AND Monday's meditation that I DEFINITELY HAD. This means it was an overall good week with a real average of over 7 hours, with just one bad night. I'd like to see the Fitbit GO A WHOLE WEEK without misrecording! Who knows, it could be next week!

TOTAL SESSION TIME:  14:24 - 16:17 TOTAL SESSION LENGTH: 1hr 53 mins TIME IN TRANCE/SLEEP: 1hr 34 mins EFFICIENCY: 83% TOTAL BRAIN-REST FOR TODAY: A long sleep did not prevent a long meditation, just seven minutes short of the maximum window. It was possibly aided by new aromatherapy vaporiser - a more powerful model than previous, the Consulting Room was filled with the pleasant aroma of lemongrass. Feeling very relaxed and at peace, it's a good end to the week.

After a dismal Friday night, Saturday night was the complete reverse! I even got an extremely rare 7 hours sleep. It may possibly because at the Weekend Job I was unusually busy throughout, and actually became TIRED. Possibly then I may just need to be moving more during the day.

After the spectacular success of Thursday night, unfortunately Friday night was the opposite! I am in reality not in conscious control of this! I can create the sleep opportunity, but what happens in that window of opportunity isn't something I can do much about! Even the Fitbit has a "mind of its own" deciding when and when not to work, though it's threatening a week of reliable sleep measurement. There are however two consistencies - sleep efficiency is remarkably consistent at 80-85%, and I sleep well in the first half of every night once I drop off after 30 minutes or so. I have not yet found a method of getting a consistently good sleep in the second half. I have to adopt the attitude of acceptance - if I'm doing everything I can with what I know, the rest just simply is. Research continues!

At last! A night where Fitbit, body and brain all behaved themselves! I cannot fully explain why. I fully charged the Fitbit before bed, and I got some exercise in, and was fully relieved in the marital department - these factors may have all assisted. Most amazing of all there were NO toilet calls or tea cravings. I did wake as I often do around 04:30 thirsty/horny/needing a wee, but for once sleepiness was stronger and I never got out of bed or did anything else - I simply went back to sleep having NOT GOT UP AT ALL the whole night.  The only mild downers was that deep sleep was rather short and late and sleep efficiency remains stubbornly stuck in the 80's, but by my standards this is nevertheless a great morale-boosting success to begin the weekend with. I wish I could say I'd stumbled across the "winning formula" but I can't - I've exercised and charged Fitbit before on cold nights and had bad results, so why this one went well can't be explained ...

TOTAL SESSION TIME:  14:02 - 15:25 TOTAL SESSION LENGTH: 1hr 23 mins TIME IN TRANCE/SLEEP: 1hr 19 mins EFFICIENCY: 95% TOTAL BRAIN-REST FOR TODAY: A day of total Fitbit accuracy - at least sleepwise! Meditation was short of the 2hour opportunity but I appeared not to need it. I feel relaxed and refreshed on the 7 hours or so I've accrued.