Is your sleep schedule all over the place? Nowadays it’s so easy to end up with a screwed-up sleep schedule.

Electricity, work ethics, and the billion-dollar entertainment industry all claim their stake.

Today we are going to have a look at how we can reverse engineer the process back to a fixed sleep schedule and to good old energizing sleep.

The timing

Right timing is the first thing most of us think of when we are working on our sleep schedule.

We all have pre-dispositions here. What time of the day should we get up? What times are reserved for sleep?

But we also have obligations coming from our workplace.

So, for good timing – we want to get up two hours before we need to leave the house. If you are working from home simply go with the time that you start to work and subtract the two hours from that.

That is the exact time you want to set your alarm.

In our example let’s say we need to work at 8 am…so the alarm gets set to 6 am.

Done!

Now let’s move back to your bedtime. If you know how much sleep you need to feel refreshed (should be somewhere between 7-9 hours) – go with that number.

If you don’t have a clue…go with 5 sleep cycles (90 minutes each).

That will give you 7.5 hours of sleep and then add an additional 30 minutes as a buffer to fall asleep and get out of bed.

This also leaves us with the often recommended 8 hours of sleep (now you did the reasoning math behind it…)

Ok, now we are at 10 pm for our bedtime.

The rules

Instead of simply going to bed and getting up at the times you set (you probably tried that before), we are going to apply some simple rules.

To do so please reserve 1 hour before you go to bed and the first hour in the morning for improved activities.

This is where the magic happens (so don’t skip this part).

bedtime

Before bedtime, you want to get into a dimmed (blue light trap) environment. Avoid all electrical devices and turn off your tv (entertainment trap). Keep your bedroom cooler than the other rooms in your house (temperature trap).

Instead of typical evenings that are often entertainment-driven, do something that is truly relaxing for you. Listening to music, reading a book or having a chat are good options.

Also, take care that you go to bed on time.

morning

Wake up using a light-based or sleep-stage-related (fitness tracker) alarm. That ensures that you won’t be ripped out of deep sleep.

Once the alarm goes off AVOID using the snooze button.

If you are still tired in the morning, rather add additional sleep to your sleep schedule. Then get up and plan your day briefly. You can do so as part of your morning meditation…but don’t skip this part!

A good night of sleep is the result of a well-spent day.

Thinking about what you expect from the day is THE way to ensure that your day will serve you.

The regularity

Once you have your personal times set and you are following the rules – stick with them!

I know that some of you might be thinking of treating the weekends differently.

I suggest that you stick to your new sleep schedule all 7 days of the week.

We are all creatures of rhythm and sticking to a sleep schedule 7 days a week helps our bodies to recognize and adjust to the new rhythm you created.

Deviating all over the place (starting with weekdays/weekends) will make it hard or even impossible to create a rhythm.

Now make your decision!

Commit or – even better – promise to yourself that you will follow your new sleep schedule and the rules.

Do this for at least 7 days and I’m sure you will feel the difference.

Simple and powerful as that!

Also, share your experience with me and the community to inspire others to fix their sleep schedule.

Best do so on our Facebook and Instagram pages.

Have a fab day
— Michael

P.S.: Are you an ambitious business professional? Looking to 3x your Performance whilst sleeping great and without tapping into the “work harder” trap in 90 days or less? At present I’m handing over 2 week’s FULL COACHING ACCESS (training, tools & even personal coaching)…apply for your SPOT here…!