Of course, my natural youthful inclination was to completely avoid sleep with the consistent mantra:

“I’ll sleep when I’m dead!”

“Powering Through” with little or no sleep is the tendency of one who wants to live life at its fullest which translates into little sleep.

My Inspiration for Better Sleep

Funnily enough, my appreciation for sleep comes from my own appreciation and avid study of the history of World War II. Now, I say ‘avid’, but my friends would say ‘junkie’ or ‘fanatic’. Quite true, I suppose, as I’ve read over a thousand books on the subject.

In one scenario, a division of soldiers (between 6,000 and 20,000 soldiers) were going into the line to fight in northern France. With this information, the veterans went to sleep. The FNG’s (Friggin’ New Guys or a more profane version of your choosing) stayed up, nervous, freaking out and worrying. The veterans had learned that, despite the oncoming battle with all the uncertainty, chaos and downright unpredictability about death and destruction, that their best odds for survival were with a rested mind and body.

With this information, I thought: “Hmmm. Well, maybe these guys, going into possibly their last day on earth, in life, are onto a strategy to increase their odds in an actual battle.” Granted, the absolute tragic nature of war involves massive unpredictability. I mean, during peacetime, soldiers die in traffic accidents, handling heavy equipment like tanks, artillery, humvees, etc., Much less war.

My focus is on improving my wake performance. So if the guys going into a real battle got extra smart sleep, then imagine its strategy for me.

Focus on sleep…When I’m Sleeping?

We talked about sleep in an earlier article. In order to work on anything in our lives, we focus on that task, project, skill, technique, strategy, etc., This mental focus relates to the brain’s ability to focus on a specific criteria.

When you want to buy a blue Ford Escape, you will suddenly start seeing them on the street everywhere. You want to take up tennis and realize that there’s a court down the street, a tennis store nearby and friends who play at a club and more.

Same with focusing a bit on sleep. Focus now to develop a good solid habit and then you’ll be on autopilot to a significant degree.

But how do I focus on sleep…when I’m asleep?

Yes, you have the preparation for sleep that all of us can perform such as avoiding screens, exercise too late, consistent sleep hours like clockwork (pun intended) and more. A routine to glide into a restful period of time to renew yourself.

But during sleep, you can set up a sleep app on your phone. I used one called “Snorelab” whereby I discovered through its use that I have had, since childhood, a nasal passage only receiving about 30% of my breathing intake. This physical malady changed my life amongst my athletic inclined youthful peers because I found refuge in books for action, adventure and faraway imaginings to a great degree. I had an operation which helped a great degree.

This Snorelab app allows me to set conditions e.g. workout, tired, late dinner and the remedies e.g. bath, melatonin, stretching, chamomille tea, etc., to see what combo really helps me.

Focus.

When you start monitoring your sleep, you will develop better habits about sleep - and find yourself far more healthy, responsive, focused, balanced and happy.

The Sleep Foundation did a round up of apps, including Calm, Headspace, Sleep Reset and more.

Sleep Trackers also help you monitor your sleep better though I have not tried one. NOT A VIDEO LINK

go here: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/

When I get more sleep, I get fewer work hours - but with greater qualitative efficiency. For a higher sleep value. From an analytical point of view, the higher quality value of productivity is a better value.  This strategy means not just good sleep - but efficient action on your part working toward your dreams.  

Humans Live in Cycles

We are creature who live in cycles from the earliest times - sunrise and sunset. Winter, summer, fall, spring. Awake and sleep. A great deal of our “time” as a human construct is spent in these cycles. Sleep is one of them.

Many times, I also give myself a question - just one - during the day and then at night. “How can I…?” Most times, I awake with an answer during the night or in the morning.

My friend, Jean, sent me this video about sleep as a Superpower. Good video. Good night!