How Do You Sleep? Mike’s Blog 034

Yes, here’s: The Sleeping Episode – Sleeping (even with Crying babies) Mike’s Blog 034

Today, let’s talk about sleep! But don’t fall asleep on me right now! Sleep is something that we spend about a third of our life on – but many of us don’t really focus on improving it. As I have crying babies and lots of work to do – I have been working extra hard the past couple years to maximize the sleep quality.

But I am still learning, and it is so hard to really know what is helping and what isn’t.

Today I share the strategies and products I am using. It starts out with keeping statistics. I use a Xiaomi MiBand – my wife gave it to me as a gift about a year and a half ago and at first I was hesitant to always wear some kind of tracking device- but it has been well worth it. It does track the data – but I also want to track it in my own way with a custom Google spreadsheet. I track the amount of deep sleep as a percentage of total sleep, as well as try to take notes on what is working and what isn’t.

I stop drinking tea (or any caffeine) at 2pm. Then I switch to water or soda/sparkling water. This is to make sure I don’t have anything to keep me wired when I go to bed at night – as I have learned from a lot of podcasts that caffeine stays in our body for quite a few hours. So 2pm is a time I picked.

Napping – do you nap? I normally don’t – but in China it is something that is normal at the home and the workplace. I try to at least relax a bit after lunch, take a walk, meditate, or reflect on things. It is also a good time to switch gears from my morning “grind” to the afternoon “management” mode of emails and phone calls.

I take a magnesium pill before going to sleep, again it is something I heard on a podcast (believe it was bulletproof executive). I can’t really see if it is affecting my sleep, but at least it is a good placebo.

Try to not look at screens too much before sleep, and read a fiction book to wind down. Fiction as it keeps your mind of work and stress – and sparks creativity. I have noticed much cooler dreams as well!

And I use a Hibermate, which is my friend’s product – but this is an unbiased review, it helps – in bed, as well as when I’m traveling on planes, trains, and automobiles! (See review below)

So I’d love to hear how you optimize your sleep, or am I crazy? Is 2 hours of deep sleep a night good or bad? Is there any stats anywhere? And I get between 7- 7.5 hours of total sleep, normally. Is that good?

Product Review – Hibermate Sleep Assistant

I’m a happy customer of Hibermate, and I want to make an honest review of the product.

I got to know this product from the founder, Chris Thomas while he was living in Hong Kong. He’s worked on this for a decade and is very passionate about improving people’s sleep.

There is a new version coming out, the product I am currently reviewing is the older one.

So the way it works is pretty straight forward, you adjust the straps to fit comfortably on your head.

It really does block out the sound at night quite a bit. So I have to admit here – I was sold on it as a new daddy. Those of you who have kids know – it gets loud at night sometimes. So I flip these bad boys on and can enjoy my evening of higher quality sleep.

But besides just for my sleeping at night at home – I take it on the road. It helped a ton on the airplane to Europe this past June. Sure there are those that cover your eyes, and you could use earbuds or earphones for your ears – but this is a much darker eye cover and a more dedicated sound protection. Plus people know I am serious about getting my sleep when I put this puppy on!

Also use it for napping – as that is in the bright afternoons which is harder for me to sleep as the sun is up.

The one negative I have to say, which others also mention is that it is a bit hard to sleep on your side with the current ear muffs. They are a bit solid. So what I do to fix that is get a softer pillow so that it moulds into the pillow better.

I know the team at Hibermate is working hard at a new version – which I have pre-ordered – and paid full asking price for.

A few friends have already jumped on board and purchased it – I am happy to recommend this product to those who want to improve the quality of their sleep, its on Amazon – but I still recommend buying direct from their website at www.hibermate.com

Any Products You Can Recommend To Improve Sleep?

I’m getting addicted to improving my sleep. I would say it has gotten much better. But I’m always on the lookout for products to maximize sleep- as I know when I have a good night’s sleep I get so much more work done!