Sleep Profiler Result

Got this off a site that a friend of mine had forwarded online. Pretty interesting, I think. If you "eat finish rice and don't know what to do", you can try:D

Your profile summary

Your sleep is very well optimised, scoring 77 %.

You said you sometimes have a problem with sleep, though you are not at all sleepy during the day, which indicates your body is getting the sleep it needs. Quality of sleep is more important than quantity. You may find your personalised advice below useful for the odd bad night.

Environment

Your bedroom should be mainly for sleep

• Sleep experts recommend that bedrooms should be for rest, relaxation and a good night's sleep.
• If getting to sleep is a problem, remove distractions from your bedroom if you can. If you use your mobile telephone as an alarm clock, try to turn off the mobile to avoid getting any late night calls or text messages. The alarm clock function still works when the mobile is off.You said light is a problem...

Your body is designed to wake-up in response to light.

• To reduce your light problem, you could hang thicker curtains, a blackout blind, or wooden shutters.
• Night lights in bedrooms can be enough to confuse your internal body clock (which takes its cues from light).

Making your bedroom more comfortable

• As you've noticed, temperature has a big influence on how well you sleep. The body needs to cool by about 0.5°C at the start of sleep.
• If the weather's too hot, it will be difficult to cool, even by this small amount. Keep the window open and buy a fan.
• If it's too cold, your body will be working extra hard to produce heat, keeping your core temperature up.
• Think about what you wear in bed. Breathable natural materials such as cotton are best for comfort.

Lifestyle

A regular bedtime will help you

• You sometimes like a lie-in, but creating a habit of waking up at the same time each day (even weekends) will help your body know when to sleep - improving the quality of your sleep.

You know what works.

• Well done - the things you do to help you sleep should be working - did you know there are real scientific reasons?
• A warm bath offers a chance to relax (vital for a good night’s sleep) and in a more practical way, it makes the blood vessels in your extremities dilate and help cool the body.
• There's new evidence that hormones released during sexual activity can promote sleep.

There are things you can do to improve your sleep

• Health has a direct impact on sleep.
• Exercise is a good way of improving your the start to the day. But if you exercise too close to bed time, it will make it difficult for you to sleep. After a heavy workout, your muscles may be tired, but muscles only need to rest, not sleep. Your brain will be too stimulated to calm down quickly.
• Smoking and alcohol also affect your sleep - causing you to wake more easily out of light sleep (a stage of sleep that occurs for about half a normal night's sleep)

Have you considered caffeine as a way to increase your alertness?

• Sleep experts say caffeine is a safe, natural chemical that acts as a stimulant so is good way to alleviate tiredness.
• However, the effect only kicks in after about 20 minutes - so beware if driving - it won't make you any safer until it is in your system. (The psychological effect of drinking caffeine is probably instantaneous, but only makes you feel more alert).
• Either as an alternative, or in combination, to alleviate tiredness, you could try napping for 15 minutes - test show a 30% improvement in concentration when you have a coffee and a nap.