About two weeks ago, I received yet another email from a group on App's campus inviting me to sign up for something. The email was an invitation to register for different studies the economics department would be conducting throughout the year and the email included that participants would be compensated for at least some of the studies, so of course I registered myself!
The week after, I received another email detailing a sleep and decision making study that the department would be hosting between August 31st and September 7th. I replied with interest and was quick enough to secure myself a spot! For the next week, I would be required to wear an activity tracker and keep a sleep diary. The participants were randomly sorted into either 8-9 hours a night or 5-6 hours a night, and thankfully I ended up with 8-9!
Beginning this, I was really excited to see how this amount of sleep would affect me, and that was about all I had on my mind. I was picturing myself with clear skin, bright and awake eyes, shiny hair, better focus, a desire to make healthier choices - all of the things people say more sleep could bring you!
Normal amount of sleep prior to study: anywhere from 5.5 hours to 7 hours
Normal time going to bed: 12 a.m. or later
Normal time getting up: Between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m.
http://luluandlattes.com/2013/10/17/some-thursday-random-thoughts/
Thursday, 9/1/2016
Time in bed (Wednesday night): 10:40 p.m.
Time out of bed: 6:33 a.m.
Total time asleep: 6:30.00
I woke up throughout the night because it was uncomfortably hot (no A/C in my dorm, woo!) and I woke up before my alarm...so I did not meet the sleep goal, but 6.5 hours of sleep is closer to what my body is used to.
The plan this morning was to make it to the 7:30 a.m. yoga class, but Eric did not wake up feeling as refreshed and rejuvenated as I did. Instead we went to the gym closest to our dorm at about 8 a.m. and still had plenty of time to shower, have breakfast, and be at our first classes.
I never really felt groggy throughout the day, and I maintained a pretty great mood for longer than normal. I am also currently on a health kick (I had a minor scare that I was on the way to my freshman 15 as a junior) so I am drinking over my recommendation for water most days and keeping track of what I am eating (not to deprive myself, but to just see what all I am putting in my body and what is missing from my diet). Also, I hope to work exercise in most days, and I already walk a lot...so I was not sure how these other aspects are affecting my results (mood-wise) but I felt like in the end, I was going to come out of this with pretty great results.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/189151253078006983/
Friday, 9/2/2016
Time in bed: 11:45 p.m.
Time out of bed: 7:57 a.m.
Total Time asleep: 7:52.00
Total Time asleep: 7:52.00
I woke up before my alarm again this morning, but I slept a lot better (it was not as hot) and I got closer to the sleep goal (I wonder if these people are taking into consideration what our bodies were used to before we began this study).
My grandparents are visiting Boone this weekend to spend time with us, so I was really hoping I would still be able to maintain my 8-9 hours around our activities for the next few days. Having people to visit me kept me more stressed than usual, trying to be an activities director for all of the people involved. I knew for a fact that this would affect my ability to relax and sleep.
http://www.heysaturday.co/book-a-shoot/
Saturday, 9/3/2016
Time in bed: 11:15 p.m.
Time out of bed: 7:30 a.m.
Total Time asleep: 7:45.00
Towards the end of the day I was pretty tired, just because we walked around basically all day - a morning spent at the farmer's market plus an afternoon of visiting all of the Mast General Store's, spending time at Tweetsie Railroad, and an evening at Mystery Hill. I also stayed up late playing cards and talk with my grandparents, so going to bed on time was a challenge.
Total Time asleep: 7:45.00
Getting at least 8 hours in bed was difficult today, and staying asleep as long as I did was a challenge because my body is really not used to staying asleep so long. I did have plans to get breakfast with my boyfriend at 8:30 a.m. followed by a day of family activities, so I really needed to get on up and get ready for everything.
Towards the end of the day I was pretty tired, just because we walked around basically all day - a morning spent at the farmer's market plus an afternoon of visiting all of the Mast General Store's, spending time at Tweetsie Railroad, and an evening at Mystery Hill. I also stayed up late playing cards and talk with my grandparents, so going to bed on time was a challenge.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/300967187569063043/
Sunday, 9/4/2016
Time in bed: 11:55 p.m.
Time out of bed: 8:05 a.m.
Total Time asleep: 7:45.00
One of our friends from Campbell visited Eric, my sister, and me for the evening, plus Eric and I spent the later part of the night watching a movie in my sisters room before walking back to our dorm. I was pretty tired when I finally made it back to go to bed, mainly because it was already pretty late.
Total Time asleep: 7:45.00
I really noticed when I woke up that I wasn't groggy at all, but it was best if I went ahead and got up and started moving around as soon as I was awake because the longer I laid there, the quicker my refreshed feeling started to disappear.
My body also seemed to reject having 8 hours of sleep - it was really impossible sleep that long. I also had church this morning, plus Eric and I were trying to get ready earlier so we could grab breakfast before we had to pick up my grandparents at their hotel, so my sleeping time was very constricted.
One of our friends from Campbell visited Eric, my sister, and me for the evening, plus Eric and I spent the later part of the night watching a movie in my sisters room before walking back to our dorm. I was pretty tired when I finally made it back to go to bed, mainly because it was already pretty late.
http://charlesgaterealty.com/2014/02/03/monday-new-friday/
Monday, 9/5/2016
Time in bed: 12:00 a.m.
Time out of bed: 8:27 a.m.
Total Time asleep: 8:22.00
Later that evening, Eric and a friend of ours from home decided to go to the gym and spent some time on our arm muscles, which completely wore me out (arms day is my least fav day)! Even though I did very little today, I was still pretty exhausted at bedtime.
Total Time asleep: 8:22.00
Happy Labor day!
Since we had no school today, I didn't really have a need to be up too early, but my body called it quits before I even hit 8.5 hours in bed. So I spent the early morning tidying in my room, waiting on Eric to wake up.
We basically had to create things to do for the day because neither of us had anything going on, so we ordered a pizza (shout out to Papa John's!) and had a super cute picnic lunch on Sanford Mall. Afterwards, we pretended to read for our Comm class while we laid in our ENOs...but who can really concentrate in an ENO? (I may have dozed off a little, but shh! we weren't allowed to nap!)
Later that evening, Eric and a friend of ours from home decided to go to the gym and spent some time on our arm muscles, which completely wore me out (arms day is my least fav day)! Even though I did very little today, I was still pretty exhausted at bedtime.
http://giphy.com/search/tuesday
Tuesday, 9/6/2016
Time in bed: 12:19 a.m.
Time out of bed: 8:40 a.m.
Total Time asleep: 8:06.00
Tuesdays in general are pretty easy days for me, I always have one class from 11-12:15 p.m. then nothing else until my second (and last) class from 6:30-7:45 p.m. This afternoon, we spent an hour or so in the gym working out our leg muscles (leg day is my fav day) and Eric and I walked around campus a bit to hit our step goals for the day. I was definitely ready for bed, plus...IT WAS THE LAST NIGHT!
Total Time asleep: 8:06.00
Back to classes after a long weekend! Sometimes getting in bed early enough to allow myself 8 hours of sleep was challenging. I had to manipulate my morning schedule a few days to make sure I could honestly say I allowed myself a little over 8 hours to be in bed at least. In a few instances, this meant I laid as still as possible as I caught up on the day's social media happenings before falling asleep or after waking up, so it would hopefully look like I was still asleep.
Tuesdays in general are pretty easy days for me, I always have one class from 11-12:15 p.m. then nothing else until my second (and last) class from 6:30-7:45 p.m. This afternoon, we spent an hour or so in the gym working out our leg muscles (leg day is my fav day) and Eric and I walked around campus a bit to hit our step goals for the day. I was definitely ready for bed, plus...IT WAS THE LAST NIGHT!
http://www.quotesmeme.com/quotes/hump-day-quotes/
Wednesday, 9/7/2016
Time in bed: 12:20 a.m.
Time out of bed: 8:45 a.m.
Total Time asleep: 8:15.00
The final part of this study was not really what I had expected it to be, which made me uncomfortable at first, but once I better understood what was being asked, I relaxed and finished the tasks as best I could (this is all I will say, I am not sure if this is secret or anything).
Have you tried sleeping a lot or a little for a certain period of time? Tell me about it in the comments section!
Total Time asleep: 8:15.00
Woo! It's Hump Day! No more wearing two watches (one on each arm, like the loser that I am because I couldn't go a week without seeing my daily steps)! As I finished each class and each task of my morning and early afternoon, I was one step closer to being finished and I was beyond excited.
The final part of this study was not really what I had expected it to be, which made me uncomfortable at first, but once I better understood what was being asked, I relaxed and finished the tasks as best I could (this is all I will say, I am not sure if this is secret or anything).
https://thenounproject.com/term/nap/486916/
Final thoughts?
A week after this study finished, I am noticing myself naturally allowing more time to sleep and trying to get as close to 8 hours as possible. As for any other changes, I am still staying active to meet my prior health goals and I know that having ample sleep has helped my energy in the gym. I have started paying attention to the times I am eating or drinking things (especially coffee or soda) later in the evening and trying to cut back on that. I also still have not had a real nap since beginning the study...but I may need to change that soon as my class workload picks up ;)
To say that I recommend everyone sleep 8-hours every night would be a lie - I recommend that everyone sleep the amount that their body needs each night. For me, I would say this looks like something in the 7:45.00 to 8:15.00 window. Once you find out what leaves you feeling the most refreshed, stick to that! And when your body really wakes up, even if it is before your alarm, go ahead and get up and start moving! If you try to go back to sleep or just keep laying there, odds are you'll be pretty groggy when you finally wake up.
Have you tried sleeping a lot or a little for a certain period of time? Tell me about it in the comments section!
