Tip The Best Damn Sleep Tip Ever Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness EatingSupplements Tip The Best Damn Sleep Tip Ever It' s the single most effective thing you can do to sleep better feel better and kick life in the pants by Chris Shugart July 30, 2017December 3, 2021 Tags Calm Down & Sleep, Nutrition & Supplements, Sleep, Tips Your Alarm Clock is Hitler There's a lot going on while you sleep. The average person goes through four to five sleep cycles every night. Each of those cycles has several stages: four different stages of NREM sleep and one stage of REM sleep. You go from light sleep to deep sleep and back again, over and over. When your mind and body are fully rested and recharged, the cycles naturally conclude and you wake up. It's elegant and delicate and miraculous... unless you use an alarm clock, which throws a big clanging monkey wrench into the machinery of good sleep. The Worst Way to Start Your Day When the alarm goes off, you're forced to wake up in the wrong cycle or stage of sleep. You're disoriented at first, you feel like crap, your natural hormone fluctuations are off kilter, and usually you keep feeling like a used tampon for a good part of the morning. But people who have trained themselves to sleep and wake naturally without an alarm... Are healthier overall Have less stress Experience fewer junk food cravings Have more energy Generally stay leaner It Can Be Done My wife and I ditched the alarm clock years ago. And no, we're never late for anything. In fact, we've usually had a meal, had a workout, walked the dog, and put in an hour's worth of work here at T Nation before 8 AM. So, how do you do this? It seems impossible at first, I know. But it all starts with going to bed early, consistently. For Dani and I, that means we're in bed by about 8:30 PM. Our wake time fluctuates by 15-30 minutes because we're not forcing it with an alarm. When the mind and body are fully rebooted by sleep, you wake up naturally. If the sleep process needs 30 minutes more or 30 minutes less, that's allowed to occur organically without interruption. For us the sleep cycle finishes up at 5 to 5:30 AM. Your schedule will vary of course, but it all starts with hitting the sack earlier than you do now and allowing the sleep machinery to finish its job. Yes, I know you're busy and yes, I know you can't do this with a newborn in the house. (I also know you watch several hours of TV a night.) But at least try to allow yourself a "window" for your wake time rather than setting an alarm for a designated time. Supplement Help To help this along, use a natural sleep aide like Biotest's Z-12 to regulate your sleep cycles and spend more time in the replenishing stages of sleep. What most people find with Z-12 is that they're better able to complete all the sleep cycles because each one is more efficient and restorative. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Eating 10 Mistakes Women Make With Diets Here are the most common mistakes and how to fix them for long-term leanness and health. Coconut Oil, Dietary Myth Busting, Feeding the Ideal Body, For Women, Nutrition & Supplements, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Protein Dani Shugart December 9 Eating Tip How Going to the Gym Can Make You Fatter If you know you're going to hit the gym tomorrow, it often affects what and how much you eat today. Here's the science. Diet Strategy, Losing Fat, Nutrition & Supplements, Tips TC Luoma December 8 Diet & Fat Loss High Performance Nutrition Made Easy I'm going to spare you nutrition intricacies like the latest information on Glut-4 transporter translocation and just give you the Cliff's Notes–or Clay's Notes–on how to piece together meals and eating plans that'll help you achieve your physique and/or strength goals. Feeding the Ideal Body, Nutrition & Supplements Clay Hyght, DC March 26 Supplements Tip The Strength Vitamin Most athletes have low levels of this vitamin. And only one type of it will keep your strength gains coming. Here's the science. Building Muscle, Nutrition & Supplements, Tips, Vitamin D Shawn Wayland December 23