MONKMODEINC

Ultimate guide to sleep optimization

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 01 INTRODUCTION

Chapter 02 SLEEP SCHEDULE

Chapter 03 HOW MUCH SLEEP?

Chapter 04 NEW SCHEDULE

Chapter 05 FALLING ASLEEP

Chapter 06 WAKING UP

Chapter 07 MISSED SCHEDULE?

Chapter 08 GENERAL TIPS

Chapter 1: Introduction

The quality of your sleep is one of the most

important things in your life. Energy levels, mood,
productivity, and many other factors are directly
affected by it. I believe it should be the first step in
any self-improvement journey.

I'm going to throw a lot of information at you that I

learned over the years about having a higher sleep
quality, which in turn made me more productive
and gave me a lot more energy than I ever thought
possible, this is why this ebook is so short, it has no
fluff, just useful information you can implement
right away to make your sleep the best it can be.

While I did have nights out and binged a couple of

nights in a row, ruining my sleep schedule in the
process, it never took me longer than a week to
start waking up early in the morning again, and I
did think of myself to be a night owl, I realized
there's no such thing. Anyone can become either a
night owl or a morning bird.

Without further adieu, Lets jump right in.

Chapter 2: Sleep Schedules

Take this part as a "best case" scenario, since most

people will not be able to follow a schedule
perfectly.

Fixing a sleep schedule alone can work wonders.

The only thing you have to do is wake up and go to
bed at the same time every day.

As a result, your body can adjust its natural

rhythm. After getting used to a regular sleep
schedule, I noticed that not only did I fall asleep
more quickly and get up on time, but I also
dreamed more than before.

It is important for you to keep a schedule.

When it's time to sleep, don't watch YouTube
videos, scroll Instagram, or do anything else.
Your energy levels will be lower the next day and
you'll be more tired. There is a continuous cycle of
staying on your phone, getting less sleep, having
less energy and more stress the next day, and
staying on your phone again to build off the stress.
Getting rid of the habit of using your phone in bed
will make you feel much better.
.
Sometimes social activities like parties can
interfere with your schedule, but try to keep them
to a minimum. Later in this book, we'll discuss how
to fix your schedule after a night out.
Chapter 3: How much sleep you need?

We as humans, sleep in 90 minute cycles, which

are part of the Circadian rhythm, which is your
body's 24 hour internal clock. So as you may have
been told, the notion "you need 8 hours of sleep"
is actually false, you should aim for a minimum of
7.5 hours to 9 hours a night a.k.a 5 to 6 cycles a
night. While you may get on just fine on 4 cycles,
a.k.a 6 hours of sleep, I wouldn't recommend it for
a longer period of time.

As a starting point, I recommend 8am.

After that, you can experiment with changing it in
30 minute increments and see whether 7:30 is
enough or whether you need 9 hours.
A person's genetics and amount of activity during
the day affect the amount of sleep he or she needs.
People who are younger may need 8-9 hours, while
those who are older may need 7-8 hours. It is
important to remember that sleep is measured by
the amount of time spent asleep, not the amount of
time spent lying in bed.

So remember that while counting your sleep

cycles, to add 15 minutes in bed to fall asleep.

Great website to see when you should fall asleep

and wake up at is:

sleepyti.me
Chapter 4: New Schedule

Decide what time you want to start at and stick to

it. Write the exact time in which you'd like to go to
sleep at and wake up at. For both weekdays and
weekends, this time should remain the same. It is
detrimental to your natural rhythm to sleep in on
weekends, and you wont't need it if you sleep
enough during the week. Use a single alarm to
wake up. It is a bad habit to use multiple alarms
because it encourages you to oversleep.
In other words, you'll associate the sound of the
alarm with "I can sleep a bit more until the next
one" rather than "I have to get up now". The
anxiety of oversleeping will usually wake you up
right away if you use a single alarm for the first
time. You should fast for 16 hours. Start counting
16 hours back from the time you want to wake up.
It would be 1:30 pm the previous day if you wanted
to wake up at 5:30 am.

Start fasting at that time and eat nothing until you

wake up on the first day of adjusting to a new
schedule. If you prepare your breakfast in
advance, you can eat it as soon as you wake up.
Try something like a protein shake or fruit if you
have trouble eating in the morning. For your new
schedule to take effect, you only need to do this
once. Since you are programmed to eat when you
are awake, fasting resets your biological clock,
allowing your body to adjust to the times you eat.
fasting for a period and then eating resets this
mechanism.
Chapter 5: Falling Asleep

Many people have trouble falling asleep quickly. A

set schedule helps a lot, but there's still more you
can do: Have a screen-free hour before bed

After a stressful day, you fall asleep by relaxing

your body and mind. Depending on your
preference, this process can start an hour before
you go to bed or after you put your phone away
one hour into lying in bed. The strain on your eyes
caused by looking at screens like your laptop or
smartphone prevents your body from producing
Melatonin, which regulates your sleep-cycles. Use
that hour to relax instead of browsing the Internet.
you can use that hour for soothing activities
activities. If you need to calm down, you can read
in dim lighting, draw, meditate, write, or do
something else that helps you relax.

Make sure you allow your body time to wind down

before going to sleep. Keep your breath under
control. Breathing techniques can be used to slow
down your breathing. You will fall asleep faster if
you do this. It helps tremendously with calming
down.
Use the 4-7-8 method:
exhale completely through your mouth, making a
whoosh sound. Count to four in your head as you
inhale quietly through your nose. Count seven
while holding your breath. Make a whoosh sound
to a count of eight while exhaling completely
through your mouth. This is a single breath.
Inhale again, then repeat the process four times for
a total of four breaths.
Try 4-4-4 seconds first if you are not getting
enough air.
Backward counting from 200 is a simple but
effective technique. Close your eyes and mentally
count backward from 200.
If you want to bore yourself to sleep, count sheep
is a great alternative.

By focusing on something calming, you can

prevent yourself from getting excited about doing
things. The mere thought of playing tennis raises
your blood pressure, according to research.
To calm down, think of mundane and calming
scenarios that do not require you to move.

This technique was developed by the US military

to enable jet pilots to fall asleep quickly between
missions.

This technique involves relaxing all of your facial

muscles, including your tongue, jaw, and eyes.
Drop your shoulders as far down as they will go,
followed by your upper and lower arms, one side at
a time. Breathe out, relaxing your chest then your
legs, starting from your thighs and moving
downward.

Take a few moments to clear your mind before

thinking about any of the following three images:
You’re lying in a canoe on a calm lake with nothing
but a clear blue sky above you

You’re lying in a black velvet hammock in a pitch-

black room

You keep repeating ‘don’t think, don’t think, don’t

think’ for about 10 seconds.

The trick will start working if you use it every time

you fall asleep for several weeks.

I usually start off by using the 4-7-8 technique, I

calm my breath down for 5 breaths before starting
this 2-minute practice.

In case that isn't enough, I'll either start counting

from 200 backwards or get up and try again in 15-
20 minutes.

Exercise

You will be able to fall asleep much more quickly if

you exercise during the day. The more energy you
use, the more you sleep, and the more energy you
have the next day. That's why regular exercise
increases your energy reserves instead of
depleting them. It's still a good idea to take a walk
or engage in some lighter exercise even if you're
not into sports. You should watch your nutrition
and caffeine intake.
Caffeine affects your body for 4-12 hours after
ingesting it. Because of this, drinking coffee at
lunch can affect your sleep, despite the fact that
they are quite a distance apart. Your sleep can also
be affected by what you eat.

In the last two hours before going to bed, try not

to eat anything. If you need to drink water, do so.
Nutrients can have a big impact on the quality of
your life, so making sure you're getting the right
ones is always important.

Create a better sleeping environment

Is the temperature in your room too high? How
much light does your room get at night? Do you
hear a lot of noise coming from outside? Is your
mattress and pillow comfortable? The quality of
your sleep is affected by all these factors, so you
should take them into consideration. Your sleep
takes up roughly one-third of your day and will do
so for the rest of your life, so it's worth optimizing.
The ideal sleep environment is: cool, dark, quiet,
comfortable, stress-free, only used for sleeping or
intimacy.

You should also consider other factors such as

stress, kids, drugs/alcohol, sleep apnea, insomnia,
and other problems. These things affect your
energy, mood, happiness, and productivity.
You should seek help if you are experiencing these
types of problems. Some things cannot be fixed by
home remedies and techniques, and some things
require professional attention.
Chapter 6: Waking Up

It can be challenging to wake up in the morning,

especially if you didn't get enough sleep the night
before.

If you want to get out of bed, here are some things

you can do:

Set only one alarm. Multiple alarms increase your

likelihood of oversleeping and ignoring them.

Follow the 5-second rule. Whenever you hear the

alarm, you go 5-4-3-2-1 (out loud or in your head)
and get out of bed.

Make sure you don't let your mind convince you to

stay. Getting out of bed is the first step. Once you
get out of bed, staying awake is much easier
because you're no longer in bed.

Start your day with a routine. As soon as I wake up,

I take a cold shower followed by a glass of water.
The emotional part of your brain can be overridden
by a set routine.

Activate the light. It helps ease sleepiness by

telling your body it's daytime. Smart alarm clocks
are useful. Many clock models require more than
just a press of a button to turn off.
No matter what you need to do, either solving a
puzzle or taking a picture, they'll typically wake
you up as soon as possible.
Alarmy is a free app I use to do this.

Ensure that staying in bed is uncomfortable.

To achieve this, you can open the window blinds
each morning or turn on the heat automatically.

Eventually, you should be able to wake up without

a clock most of the time after adjusting to your
new schedule. You might need to add half an hour
to your sleep time if you oversleep a lot.
Chapter 7: Missed Schedule?

Sleep is sometimes disrupted by life.

When you're running late on your schedule, there

are two ways to catch up:

Go to bed and make the most of it.

For the next couple of days, add half an hour to
your sleep to work on your accumulated sleep
debt.

You should try to stay awake for the whole night if

you missed more than half your sleep.

You should then adjust your sleep time as if you

were adjusting to a new schedule.

You should fast for 16 hours before your next

wake-up time or skip dinner at the very least.

Stay awake during the day by drinking coffee in

the morning. For the following week, I recommend
adding at least 30 minutes to your sleep.
Chapter 8: General Tips

Take a 15-minute break and do something else if

you are unable to fall asleep after 20-30 minutes.

Mornings are better for some people; evenings are

better for others. Adapt your schedule accordingly.

A polyphasic sleep schedule may be worth

considering if you work from home or do not have
many social distractions. The primary purpose of
polyphasic sleep is to reduce the amount of time
spent sleeping while maintaining energy levels by
sleeping multiple times a day. It is most commonly
done by taking naps.

Flat on your back or on your side is the best

position for sleeping. Others might work well as
well, depending on the circumstances. The worst
position to sleep in is on your stomach, since it
puts most of the strain on your back and puts the
most pressure on your body.

White noise or calming sounds can help you fall

asleep. Forest sounds, rain sounds, or static noise
can be played on many websites or apps.

The world's population contains about 3% of

people who can function well with only six hours
of sleep. The research on whether this is healthy
isn't complete yet.
A great app that I use is "Sleep Cycles".
It measures your sleep quality, how long you sleep
and goes as far as to calculate your sleep cycles to
wake you up right after one ends as opposed to in
the middle of one when you wake up groggy.

For the past while I have also been taping my

mouth while going to sleep in order to breathe
only through my nose. I have noticed a lot more
energy, my nose got unblocked and on top of all
that, my sleep quality went from around 60% to
80% which is a massive improvement.

Occasionally I supplement my sleep with Glycine.

Around 30 minutes before I actually go to sleep, I
make some tea and instead of sugar, add around
5g of Glycine. I find myself to be dozing off in no
time.

This wraps up my ultimate sleep guide, I hope you

learned a lot and your sleep will improve
drastically once you implement the things I
mentioned here.

Thanks for reading.

- MonkModeinc