“I didn’t get nearly enough sleep last night.” “I need to get to bed sooner.” “I just can’t wake up in the morning, and I’m not a morning person.” We often think of sleep as a debt to be paid to some mysterious collector. Sleep evades us when we most want it and won’t let […]
Our apps tell you when to avoid light because light exposure is the number one input to your body’s circadian clock (which regulates sleep, metabolism, immune response, DNA repair, physical performance and more). Light at some times speeds up your clock and helps you fall asleep faster, while light at other times can slow down […]
Don’t use your phone before bed! Turn off overhead lights in the evening! Block blue light as you wind down! There are tons of recommendations out there for helping you get to sleep at night that deal with light and technology, and—spoiler alert—I think they’re right on the money. But missing from the standard advice […]
Imagine you’re on a boat. This boat has a sail, which you can put up or pull down. You’re on the ocean, and you’re trying to get to the sweet, sweet island of sleep. You can control the boat’s sail as much as you want. The only problem is: you can’t control the wind. But […]
Ah travel—booking tickets, hopping on a plane, immersing yourself in a new locale, and…feeling more tired than you’ve ever felt before. Jet lag is our name for all of the circadian disruption—and subsequent fatigue—that comes from traveling and changing time zones. While we can’t help with the physical toll being in an airplane seat for […]
When are you most productive? Are you an early bird, a night owl, or somewhere in between? Your prime productivity window each day may be different from mine, and it may even shift during your lifetime. For example, my current prime productivity period is from roughly 9am to 12pm each day, but ten years ago […]
If you follow us on social media, you already know what we picked for our monthly reading material. For those who don’t, don’t worry: we’re also highlighting them here, on the blog. Let’s dive in, with… June’s article of the month Interindividual variability in neurobehavioral response to sleep loss: A comprehensive review We picked this […]
College, as any student can attest to, is a hectic life. Look no further than my past spring semester for a prime example of this. Taking multiple difficult classes while managing club activities and a social life was a whirlwind that was both exhausting and invigorating at the same time. The thorn in my side, […]
Imagine you’re on a swing on a playground with a friend standing behind you. This friend is not a jerk, so they’re going to push you when a normal person would push you on a swing—right when you’re at the end of your backwards motion and ready to start moving forward again. They, like a […]
Back by popular demand, here is part two of the “We Rate Sleep Memes” blog series. If you’re just now tuning in (check out part one here), the title pretty much says it all. We take sleep-related memes we find online, we use them as an excuse to talk about sleep and circadian science, and […]
