Have you ever wondered why we sleep? Do we need it for physical or mental rest? I think you can stay awake to physically recover. The important thing is to give your body a rest. If you lie on your back, put your arms at your sides in the “corpse pose,” and breathe deeply and slowly, this will be even better rest than sleeping on your side, curled up in a ball, with one arm under the pillow and the other behind your back :). And we do sleep like this sometimes (I've been guilty of this type of position, for example ;)). Of course, nothing prevents you from sleeping in a restful position, and that's what you should strive for. I always try to find the most comfortable position possible, making sure that not a single muscle is tense. Imagine yourself completely relaxed, in a state of complete euphoria. What position do you picture yourself in? This is the best position to sleep in.
I've also noticed that airing out the bedroom before bed is beneficial. Fresh air has a positive effect on sleep quality. If it's warm outside, sleeping with the window open can be beneficial. Last summer, I tried sleeping with the window open—it was quite refreshing. Waking up is a joy! However, if the windows face a noisy street, the benefit is debatable. The absence of external stimuli is also an important criterion for effective sleep. Noise and light prevent the body from fully relaxing—the ears and eyes will involuntarily perceive signals, forcing the brain to process this useless information. When my wife and I rented an apartment, we had a perfect view and “eavesdropping” on the trolleybus depot from our window, and the building was located at an intersection. I remember looking out from the kitchen and counting 11 trolleybuses. So, at night, we had a choice: either fresh air and noise, or silence and… well, stale air. Later, they found a solution: open the window at night not in the bedroom, but in the kitchen – it’s more or less fresh and, most importantly, quiet.
Does the human brain need rest? It probably depends on the amount of new information acquired during the day. An interesting fact: on average, manual workers get 6-7 hours of sleep, while intellectual workers need 8-9 hours. Of course, the amount of sleep needed is highly individual. A year ago, I tracked my bedtime and wake-up times for a little less than a month – it turned out that, on average, I spent 7.5 hours sleeping. I remember being somewhat surprised by the results – I thought I was sleeping more. It turned out that on some days it was 9 hours, and on other days only 5. Do you know how much time you spend in “sleep mode” on average? By the way, normal people live, live, feel great, and get enough sleep in 5, 3, and even 2 hours.
Getting up every morning at 5 a.m. can help develop a healthy habit. My wife and daughter usually wake up at 9 a.m. From 5 a.m. to 9 a.m., the apartment is quiet—and I can spend all that time on interesting projects that require significant time and concentration. You can also use the morning time for exercise. My brain activity is very low after waking up, and exercise is great for getting me going faster.
I believe you can reduce your sleep time by organizing it more effectively. Try using the “corpse pose,” airing out the room, and silence, one after another. I'm trying to develop the habit of waking up at 5 a.m. every day, including weekends, holidays, and vacations. I'm doing this for a month—from February 18th to March 17th. After a month, I'll decide whether to keep it or relax the rules if I find myself constantly experiencing sleep deprivation. The thing is, I've been trying to normalize my waking time for a while now, and so far, with limited success. I've certainly achieved some results—I've stopped ruthlessly oversleeping at work (I'd sometimes arrive two or even three hours late because I'd overslept). However, waking up in the morning isn't as smooth as I'd like. It's often a test for my wife's and my own nervous system—in my half-sleep, I manage to come up with a hundred excuses not to get up at my scheduled time the night before :). The morning of February 18th was no exception—the first day of my transformation from a night owl to an early bird. Even though I still got up at 5:31 (I was supposed to go to bed at 5:00), it was very difficult. Well, tomorrow I'll try to get up after the first alarm and not go to bed after that.
For the next month, I'll get up every day at 5 a.m. and write down my experiences. Perhaps I'll develop some useful approaches. If you'd like to develop this habit for yourself, join me—it'll be easier together! Perhaps you've already developed this habit and have had some positive experiences—please share! Well, it's 12:34 a.m. now—time to wrap up this paragraph and go to bed :).