Welcome to The Wod - By SkyFit - Vol. 1

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Let’s Talk Shut-Eye

As hustle culture takes off in the US, there is a plethora of evidence that supports those late nights, all-nighters, and unrested early mornings are quite detrimental to your quest to conquer the workweek or your weekend.¹

State of the Union

Currently, one in three Americans are not getting the correct amount (7-9 hours) of sleep on a regular basis.

Despite the spotlight on famous people like Dwayne Johnson and Kim K who only sleep 5 hours per night, lack of proper sleep can have dangerous short and long-term effects.

Okay, like what?

Less-than-optimal sleep can cause fatigue, and:

• Impaired short term memory & concentration

• Weakened immune system

• Increased anxiety / depression²

  _{(see full list at the bottom)}

But it’s not all bad! A study from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine found that extending your sleep by just 30 minutes can greatly impact your day-to-day function⁵ .  Let’s see how your wearable can help.

What your wearable can do to help.

Your sleep cycle is broken down into 3 main categories and is visible on your dashboard. It’s recommended you strive to get the following duration each night:

1. Core / Light - 4-6 hours per night _{(tissue repair, memory consolidation, and hormone regulation)}

2. REM - 1.5 hours per night. _{(mood, learning speed, and memory)}

3. Deep sleep - <1.5-2 hours / night _{(your brains nightly oil-change. helps with growth, cell regeneration, and recovery. Arguably the most important factor of sleep especially to prevent Alzheimer’s disease⁴)}

Some Tips / Call to Action to improve sleep quality and duration

Tip #1 - use your “bedtime” functionality on your iPhone. _{(See here for a how-to from apple).} Using this can help you get that extra 30 minutes!

Tip #2 - Avoid eating any heavy foods 2-4 hours before going to bed. This will likely improve your sleep quality, even if you do not increase the total amount of sleep!⁵

Tip #3 - Exercise during the day, preferably before dinner time - like the Rock, getting a good sweat in will improve your sleep quality at night!

Thanks for reading! We’d love to hear your feedback. Next week’s topic will be announced on Saturday, July 29th. See you then, data nerds!

- Phil & JT

Want to learn more? Something we missed or misspoke? Want to hear on a specific topic? Reply to us here and we’re happy to chat and help you learn more about your sleep data.

References and Links

1 - Short and long-term health consequences of sleep disruption, NCBI

2 - Columbia psychologist explains why poor sleep makes it more difficult to cope with stress and regulate emotions

3 - RAND article “Why sleep matters”

4 - Deep sleep may mitigate Alzheimer’s memory loss, Berkeley research shows

5 - Is eating before bed bad for you?

Full list of sleep-related comorbidities