Sleep a little, but right?

Inspired by this post from user case . The post is not new, and he did not get home.
But I stumbled upon it today and decided to write something about a dream. I am sure that this will be useful to many habravchanam, and casual readers, too.

Foreword

I live in the area, studying in the center of Moscow. I study 5-6 days a week, often classes start at 8-30. One way road takes 2-3 hours (bus + subway or train + subway). I was very bothered by 2 things in such a routine.
1) Most of the life of the day is spent on the road (on average 5 hours a day), in which neither study nor the hobby will be taken care of. Just listen to music. The schedule woke up, left, learned, arrived, lessons, sleep (lessons can be crossed out) did not suit me at all, but there was no time or energy for anything else.
2) It is necessary to get up early and go to bed late - in order to have at least something. Often, by the end of the week, I had coffee and energy. Awful.

Of course there are different solutions to the problem, but they were all rejected. In a hostel terrible conditions, rent an apartment is not cheap, I like the university, but I want to live a full life.
Thus, I came to the conclusion that problem 1) can be solved if I have less sleep (more free time remains), and problem 2) can be solved (hello, captain) , it is better to get enough sleep (from the word sleep, but not pour in) .

Oddly enough, I found out that both problems can be solved simultaneously. I studied a certain amount of literature, and came to the program, which I have been following for more than a year, since then I have been sleeping for 5-6 hours a day (when it is required, and often it takes 3-4 hours). At the same time I feel great, I get up easily in the morning, I have not drunk coffee and energy for a year. Head and muscles are fresh at 10 and 11 o'clock in the evening. I would like to share with you what I am doing.
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For the lazy: the main ideas are highlighted in bold
For the average degree of curious: you can read the whole amount of letters.
For those very interested: I wrote a little and only the main. For more information use Goojje other sources.

UPD: in general, the article was written from memory and “notes”, but here are a few books that definitely influenced me:
40 Sleep Hacks: A Geek's Guide to Optimizing Sleep
Kacper M. Postawski - How To Sleep Less ...

I will try to adhere to a certain structure of the narration in order to make it easy to perceive all the information.
Plan.
1. GENERAL THEORY OF SLEEP (as well as known misconceptions about sleep)
2. MY MODE OF THE DAY (compiled, using all sorts of articles, brochures and even one serious book)
3. FIGHT AGAINST INSUITABLE (a common cause of lack of sleep) + what is impossible and can be done at bedtime.
4. CONCLUSION AND WARNING
I recommend starting with the second part, leaving first the last, if you find the rest interesting.

I. GENERAL THEORY

Have you heard that an adult needs 8 hours to sleep, and a child 10? Forget it. It is not true. If you meet a person who has enough sleep twice less - this is not a zombie and not a superman. He just has the right regimen and routine.
Phases of sleep.
In short, sleep occurs next. phases:
- Light nap, this is when you, for example, stick in front of the monitor or under the voice of a lecturer, and when you came to, it was already 5 minutes.
The second phase - sleep is already full, but not deep. Characterized by rare bursts of brain activity. Doctors say that often in this phase “the brain tries to cut itself down”.
The third phase is deep sleep. The most important part of sleep. In it the brain and the body relaxes, the most intensive restoration of the body's resources occurs. Heartbeat slows down, body temperature drops. Brain activity is practically absent.
The fourth phase - the phase of REM sleep. In English, it is called Rapid Eye Movement, because, experts say, in this phase the pupil of the eye runs like a rabid here and there under the eyelid. It also happens to rest the body, but not as intense as in the phase of deep sleep. In 95% of cases, it is in this phase that you have dreams.
This cycle of four phases occurs several times during sleep, not one, and the farther away, the larger the fourth and first two phases become, and the faster the deep sleep phase passes, although in the very first cycle deep sleep lasts the longest.
Thus, at this stage, the conclusion is simple: the more DEEP SLEEP, and the deeper it is (ie, in fact, the lower the brain activity, the lower the body temperature and the slower all the processes in the body, the better for deep sleep).
Yes, by the way, the cycle begins with a phase of fast sleep ...

This is not all that is required to know in this part. First, I want to focus your attention on the effect of body temperature on your activity and drowsiness. The dependence is simple: the temperature is higher (naturally, within reasonable limits) - your activity is higher. If you think that a person has a temperature of 36.6 during the day - you are mistaken. It jumps quite strongly, sometimes the amplitude is up to two degrees! (say, from 36 to 38). Hence the conclusion. During the day, the temperature should be high so that the body works well, at night - low so that the brain can more enjoy the phase of deep sleep.

And finally, quite an important thing - melatonin. Have you heard about this hormone? It is located in the epiphysis and, to a lesser extent, in the retina. If we briefly describe his influence on our topic: the more it stands out, the more we want to sleep. And it stands out when our eyes are in conditions of lack of light (therefore, it is sometimes called the vampire hormone). And in bright light, it is accordingly destroyed, i.e. what we need.

Ii. MY MODE

So, a set of things that I do.
1) Permanent sleep schedule.
WHAT? Every day I advise you to get up at the same time. If on workdays you need to get up at 6 am, then on weekends you need to do the same. At least approximately. Not at six, so at seven - half past seven for sure.
WHAT FOR? The reason is simple. The body "gets used" to get up at the same time + sleep at the same time. Do not forget what is described in the general theory about the time of awakening.
IMPORTANT! It is necessary to wake up in the phase of fast sleep. How do you find her? Just cross the weekly alarm clock back and forth for 10-20-30 minutes. And you will surely find a time when it is VERY easy for you to get up.

2) Charge in the morning.
WHAT? Serious charging, not slop 10 squats, bending to the floor and the press. Serious exercises that make you sweat (do not forget to take a shower after). Personally, in my program of tightening, push-ups, a large number of press, lifting weights (light but many times), all this in fast mode is not less than 20 minutes.
WHAT FOR? See the first part. Charging seriously increases the temperature of the body, and therefore the health of the body and the brain, if you have it is part of the body.

3) Master, you need more light.
WHAT? Yes, you need a lot of strong, bright light. Desirable real solar, if not possible, bright (naturally, not blinding) light in the workplace.
WHAT FOR? And again, see the first part of my post. Melatonin is destroyed in the light, I want to sleep less. If you do not work in the brightest conditions, go for lunch somewhere on the air (well, not when -20 outside, of course).

4) Requires physical activity during the day.
WHAT? Well, if you have the opportunity to do a jog after work (or during a class at all), go to the gym or pool.
WHAT FOR? All the same. Keep the body temperature high enough to keep the body active and the brain fresh.

5) Drink plenty of water.
WHAT? Come on, don't pretend not to hear. This is a lot of where they say, this is a lot for what is useful. For sleep too.
WHAT FOR? Your body needs a lot of water. I don’t remember the exact numbers, but at least a couple of liters per day is only for normal functioning of the kidneys and liver. When the body lacks everything, during sleep it can relax enough.
PS It's about WATER, not about any liquid.

6) Do not use: alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, energy.
WHAT? The most difficult, probably, yes? Frankly, I never smoked, I broke off easily with caffeine and energy drinks (they never attracted me to taste), I could not refuse alcohol :) But I tried to reduce its consumption to the maximum.
WHAT FOR? The above substances / fluids have a very negative effect on your sleep system. The body can not relax during sleep, and if you strongly sit on the last two, then without them the body will not be able to gather. So simple and not poetic.

7) If at lunchtime pulls into sleep, sleep ... 20 minutes. Maximum 30.
WHAT? Exactly. Referring to part one again. In the afternoon, it is quite possible to take a nap, if it is unbearable. The main thing is to wake up before your body enters the phase of deep sleep. Otherwise, the rest of the day down the drain. I think you are familiar with the situation when you went to bed and slept sleepily during the day, but still walk broken (th).
WHAT FOR? In the phase of REM sleep, which you should focus on in this case, the body also relaxes and relaxes quite well. By the way, it tends to sleep after lunch, at this time most people experience a slight drop in body temperature. Do not ask the reason - I do not remember.
AS? Well, here you may not have the opportunity. I personally do this if I'm on a bus. Easy chair + closed headphones = not so bad conditions to take a nap. Do not forget, the main thing is to set the alarm for about 25-30 minutes. If you have a lockable office at work and an hour for lunch, you can use half of it to sleep. Full

Iii. Insomnia and sleep

I think many of you have encountered the problem that you are tired during the day, and your eyes stick together, but you go to bed and you cannot fall asleep. On this occasion, I also have something to advise, again point by point, so that the lazy can go over only the bold text .

1) Bed for sleeping!
WHAT? That heard, there is nothing to ask again each time. On the bed you just need to sleep, well, engage in sex. No need to read on the bed, make a home office out of bed or something else.
WHAT FOR? The body of the bed should be associated with the place where you,%% username, sleep, but not awake.

2) You do not sleep, because you think, but you think, because you do not sleep.
WHAT FOR? More often than not, it is the fact that we lie in bed and think about something: about problems or victories, about the past and the future. It is natural, a person can not think only when he sleeps. But how can you sleep?
WHAT? Try to unload the brain as much as possible 20 minutes before bedtime. Those. finish all the work, remove the documents, turn off the computer, TV, and remove the chess. Just sit on the couch, without straining your brain with readings or reflections.

3) Do not do anything before bedtime that will increase body temperature.
WHAT? What hear. Contrary to superstition, a hot bath and sport will not give you a good sleep. On the contrary, the body temperature will not be able to properly fall and your sleep will not be so deep. But it is quite possible to do something like this for an hour and a half or two before sleep, because an unscheduled increase in temperature is followed by an unplanned decrease in temperature, and we just need to.

4) Sleep in a cool room.
WHAT? Naturally, the temperature should be comfortable enough not to freeze, but cool
WHAT FOR? Well, how much can you say. Body temperature and sleep depth are directly proportional. Thus, we use external agents to lower body temperature.

5) Sleep in utter darkness.
WHAT? Try not to let any light fall on you. Not from the lantern, not from the early rising sun, or from a light bulb or something.
WHAT FOR? So that you will not be noticed and awakened ahead of time :)

5) And the important thing: you can't sleep - don't sleep.
WHAT? WHAT FOR? AS? That's how. If you are already lying in bed for about 20 minutes and you cannot fall asleep, you may not need it.

Iv. CONCLUSION

For me, this collection of techniques and tricks works great. All program elements are important. Among them there are no mandatory and optional.
It seems that this is a lot of things, in fact, basically these are small things that do not bother you.
IMPORTANT. I am not a doctor and no graduate. I can not answer that you will not have any individual reactions to this program. But it seems to me that this is unlikely.
I remind you that there is a theory that a little sleep shortens life. I do not believe her, but I do not force you not to believe, so see for yourself.

Thank you, good luck. I hope the hellish work of writing (and most importantly, collecting together) of all this will not go unnoticed.