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Are you familiar with the term "sleep rhythm," a crucial factor for quality sleep? It is said that by regulating your sleep rhythm, you can fall asleep more easily and wake up feeling refreshed. This article will explain methods for regulating your sleep rhythm, which can also help improve your daytime performance.
What is Sleep Rhythm?
There are two types of sleep: "non-REM sleep" (when both the brain and body are in deep sleep) and "REM sleep" (when the body is at rest but the brain is active). Incidentally, dreaming (and remembering dreams) is said to occur during "REM sleep," when the brain is half-awake.
While there are individual differences, generally, immediately after falling asleep, one enters a state of deep non-REM sleep, which transitions to REM sleep approximately 90 minutes later. Thereafter, non-REM and REM sleep repeat in cycles of approximately 90 minutes. These approximately 90-minute cycles repeat 4-5 times throughout the night, with more deep non-REM sleep in the first three hours of sleep, and more shallow REM sleep as morning approaches.
At Brain Sleep, we refer to the first 90 minutes of non-REM sleep immediately after falling asleep as the "Golden 90 Minutes." By deepening this "Golden 90 Minutes," you can improve the quality of your sleep. Conversely, if the duration of deep sleep is short, the brain cannot adequately rest, which can lead to increased awakenings due to light or noise, feelings of fatigue and sluggishness upon waking, and strong daytime sleepiness.
Reasons Why Sleep Rhythm Gets Disrupted
It's unclear if sleep rhythm is synonymous with circadian rhythm (biological clock), but these two are deeply intertwined, and both are believed to be significantly affected by light.
The human body has an internal clock that switches it to an active state during the day and a resting state at night. However, while the Earth's cycle is 24 hours, the human body's internal clock cycle is said to be approximately 24.2 hours, resulting in a discrepancy of about 12 minutes. If this discrepancy is not corrected, disruptions in sleep and wakefulness rhythms can occur.
The internal clock is reset by exposure to bright light in the morning, and approximately 14-16 hours later, melatonin, the sleep hormone that governs sleep, is secreted. This naturally makes one feel sleepy at night, allowing for the establishment of a regular sleep rhythm.
Conversely, people who sleep in late in the morning and delay their exposure to sunlight, keep blackout curtains closed during the day, or live a lifestyle where day and night are reversed with bright environments even at night, may have disrupted circadian rhythms.
When Your Sleep Rhythm is Disrupted...
Sleep disorders that occur due to a disruption of the internal clock regulating sleep and wakefulness rhythms are called "circadian rhythm sleep disorders."
Circadian rhythm sleep disorders are also discussed in the article below.
【Latest 2020】Revealing How to Cure Rhythm Disorders!
Basically, people have an activity pattern of sleeping at night and waking in the morning, so they are not sleepy during the day and can move actively. However, due to night shifts, irregular sleep, jet lag, etc., the body clock can become disrupted, leading to a mismatch between one's desired activity time and one's sleep-wake rhythm.
Such sleep rhythm disorders can cause not only daytime sleepiness but also symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, and loss of appetite. Here are five typical causes of disrupted sleep rhythm.
1: Delayed Sleep Phase and Advanced Sleep Phase
The period from falling asleep to waking up is called the "sleep phase," and there are "delayed sleep phase type" and "advanced sleep phase type."
"Delayed Sleep Phase Type"
Characteristics of "Delayed Sleep Phase Type" include "difficulty getting sleepy at night," "difficulty waking up in the morning," and "if left undisturbed, sleeping until midday or later."
This is common in adolescence and is one of the causes of morning oversleeping, tardiness, and school absenteeism among junior and senior high school students. Some individuals may even experience a reversal of their day and night cycle. Recently, with the increase in free time due to remote work, there are also cases where individuals become engrossed in smartphones, hobbies, or online games late into the night, causing their internal clocks to shift later and making it difficult to wake up.
"Advanced Sleep Phase Type"
"Advanced Sleep Phase Type" has characteristics opposite to "Delayed Sleep Phase Type," such as "getting sleepy early at night" and "waking up in the early morning."
This is common in older adults, who may feel sleepy early in the evening or wake up at 3 or 4 AM while it is still dark.
2: Effects of Time Differences
Jet lag occurs when traveling by plane across several time zones in a short period. The body's rhythm cannot adapt to the local time, resulting in temporary insomnia and daytime sleepiness.
3: Night Shifts and Shift Work
When working in shifts that mix night and day shifts, a consistent sleep rhythm cannot be maintained, which can lead to temporary insomnia and daytime sleepiness, similar to jet lag symptoms.
4: Sleep times vary daily
When living a life without clear distinctions, the human body's internal rhythm is longer than 24 hours, so the sleep phase gradually recedes.
If the sleep phase continues to recede, symptoms such as a reversal of day and night may appear. This can make it difficult to wake up at a set time in the morning, or cause drowsiness and lethargy during the day, interfering with social life.
5: Irregular Rhythms
Elderly individuals with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease may have a dysfunctional internal clock, leading to inconsistent sleep and wake times.
Is it possible to regulate sleep rhythm?
Sleep rhythm, which is deeply involved in the quality of sleep, can be regulated. Let's immediately introduce three ways to regulate it.
1: First, visualize your sleep situation.
To understand your sleep rhythm, it's recommended to first visualize your own sleep situation.
Using the "Brain Sleep Coin" app and device, a unique sleep stage determination algorithm and sensor classify sleep into four depth stages: [Awake], [REM sleep], [Light sleep], and [Deep sleep], and visualize their duration.
By understanding when you are awake and how much deep sleep you are getting, it helps support the creation of your optimal sleep rhythm.
The "Brain Sleep Coin (app)" incorporates a proprietary algorithm developed based on data accumulated from sleep research, allowing for the analysis of your sleep quality across various parameters. Based on the analysis results, you can improve your sleep quality.
The "Brain Sleep Coin (device)" is worn around the waist during sleep and connects with the app. In addition to the metrics measured by the app alone, it allows for the analysis of crucial factors related to sleep quality that were previously unavailable with other sleep tracking devices, such as individual sleep stages (sleep depth), sleeping posture, number of tosses and turns, bed temperature (temperature inside the futon), and snoring.
It also records what sleeping posture you were in (on your back, side, stomach, etc.) at different times. By overlaying this with your sleep stages, you can see your sleeping posture when in deep sleep or when awake, providing clues for achieving better sleep.
Furthermore, it also records the number of tosses and turns, allowing you to ascertain if your mattress and pillow are a good fit for you. *While the app can be used for free on its own, linking it with the Sleep Coin (device) increases the range and accuracy of measurements, enabling more precise sleep tracking.
2: Consideration of lighting environment
As mentioned earlier, the lighting environment is a very important factor for quality sleep.
The internal clock is reset by exposure to bright light in the morning, and approximately 14-16 hours later, melatonin, the sleep hormone that governs sleep, is secreted. This naturally makes one feel sleepy at night, allowing for the establishment of a regular sleep rhythm. Therefore, regulating the lighting environment can help improve sleep rhythm disorders and reversed day-night cycles.
It is recommended to open the curtains first thing upon waking and expose yourself to sunlight for about 15 seconds. Sunlight has very high illuminance, so it is effective even on cloudy or rainy days. Also, high-intensity artificial light can also reset the body's internal clock rhythm instead of sunlight.
3: Deep Sleep for a Refreshing Wake-up
To fully recover from fatigue during sleep and enhance daytime performance, it's crucial to relax into sleep and wake up feeling refreshed.
To achieve comfortable sleep and a refreshing wake-up, let's utilize "light, scent, and sound." Simply by changing to light, scent, and sound that replicate the comfort of nature, you can establish a sleep and wakefulness rhythm and achieve quality sleep.
Designing Your Sleep Rhythm
The "Brain Sleep Clock," jointly developed by "Brain Sleep, a science of brain and sleep" and "cado, a designer of air," allows you to freely design your sleep rhythm.
The "Brain Sleep Clock" is not just a clock for telling time, but an innovative clock born from the perspective of brain and sleep science, controlling the three crucial elements for quality sleep: "light, aroma, and sound." Let's introduce its features.
1: Optimal light control
When falling asleep, it creates a flickering flame effect like a candle, which is said to have a calming effect.
The flickering of a candle flame is said to exhibit "1/f fluctuation," which is present in things humans find comforting, such as heartbeats, the murmur of a stream, and dappled sunlight through trees, creating a pleasant sleep environment.
Such a wavering warm light envelops your mind. You can set the brightness and the time until the light fades out to your liking, and as the light gently fades, you can end your day comfortably.
When waking up, the light developed with sunlight in mind gradually brightens over 30 minutes, supporting a natural awakening as if waking up with the sunrise.
Generally, the color temperature of sunrise and sunset is around 2000K (Kelvin), but the wake-up light changes between 1500 and 2800K, emitting a maximum brightness of 300lx (lux) at 45cm away.
You can adjust the brightness and the time to start your wake-up routine according to your preference. It fades in with natural light, like a sunrise, to prepare you for waking up.
2: Two types of scents for falling asleep and waking up
Equipped with two functional aromas to support sleep and wakefulness, it provides optimal scents for falling asleep and waking up.
The magnetic attachment system allows for easy replacement and maintenance of the aroma bottles.
When falling asleep, the SLEEP aroma is richly blended with essential oils ideal for bedtime. Experience the scents of sweet orange, Roman chamomile, true lavender, black spruce, and more, and breathe deeply to relax.
Upon waking, the AWAKE aroma, primarily blended with fresh, refreshing essential oils, provides a positive mood for mind and body with scents like lemon, rosemary 1.8 cineole, petitgrain, and laurel.
Both have a capacity of 30mL. The estimated replacement period is approximately 3 months at maximum diffusion and about 1 year at minimum diffusion.
3: Optimal Healing Sounds
Created by avex (Avex Creator Agency Inc.), these soothing sounds support your sleep. You can choose your preferred sounds for falling asleep and waking up, and more content will be added in future software updates.
When falling asleep, healing sounds themed around nature, such as rain, bonfire, and ocean waves, guide you to a peaceful sleep. You can choose from dozens of tracks. When waking up, fresh sounds themed around nature, such as birds chirping, lead to a refreshing awakening. You can choose from dozens of tracks.
Easy setup and control with the app
With a simple and intuitive interface, you can easily customize sleep and wake times, modes, and more.
The intensity of "light, scent, and sound" can be set in detail according to your preferences and room size. The main unit has a transparent, gentle texture that harmonizes with its surroundings without being overly assertive. With a simple design featuring only one button on the top, it can be started and stopped with a single touch of a finger.
If you're concerned about irregular sleep rhythms, why not try visualizing your own sleep rhythm and using natural light, pleasant scents, and your favorite sounds to aim for comfortable sleep and waking?
