Improving my sleep Ben Finn
The problem Too long to get to sleep Waking during night Getting up late Tired during day
The plan Find factors that can improve sleep – Medical web sites – Google Scholar Experiment to find which ones work for me
Factors I didn’t measure Good mattress & pillow No TV/hi-fi/computer/phone in bedroom Notepad by bed Wind down before bedtime Sleep on back, or right side
What I measured 21 factors 6 sleep quality outcomes Daily for 113 days Using: – Sleep Cycle app – Paper & pen (by bed) – Excel
Food & drink in evening Dinner time – before 9pm / 9–10pm / after 10pm Alcohol Caffeine Banana Hot milk 5-HTP
Light Bright blue light – Philips goLITE – in daytime/early evening Orange light – glasses / f.lux
Distractions Dawn light Noise – with/without earplugs Hot Away from home Stressed Ill
Exercise & relaxation Gym – in morning/early evening Meditation Relaxation exercises in bed
Sleep quality Bed time Time taken to get to sleep No. times & total time awake in night Time I woke up & got up in morning Sleep Cycle’s sleep quality % Combined into: Sleep quality (0–10 scale)
Results
What I learnt My sleep was harmed by: – Noise, stress, illness, going away, late nights Nothing helped my sleep much
But…!
Sleepio.com Online sleep improvement course Found the specific solution for me
Suggestions Wikihow.com Sleepio.com OR Full statistical exercise – Gut feel unreliable – Lots of data, with & without each factor – Statistical significance