Do You Need A Sleep Reset? (Find The Eight Episode #13)

It’s hard the do the things you need to do consistently and for long enough to see improvements—especially if your sleep difficulties are chronic or severe and if you’re exhausted, overwhelmed, or have a lot of other things going on.

The 8 things that make the biggest difference and need to come together are  

1. being able to be ready for sleep on time (productivity, organization, prioritization)

2. getting the right light/dark cues (including putting your electronics away early enough)

3. staying out of bed until sleepy and calm

4. responding to an overactive mind

5. relaxing your body

6. waking up early enough and at a more consistent time

7. cutting out napping

8. increasing physical activity

In our light-saturated and constantly connected world, putting all of these things together properly is really challenging.

WHY IS A SLEEP RESET HELPFUL? 

One option is to do a reset in which you tackle everything in a short, discreet period of time.

This way you can throw your limited energy, attention, and willpower at a short sprint.  

As opposed to just generally trying to improve your sleep and implementing changes here and there, this approach is more intense but you can see change faster.

You can also prepare for this time so that you can really hit the ground running and not be trying to sort things out as you go which ends up really slowing down progress.

THE BIKE ANALOGY

This idea is similar to what you would do if you were on a bike at the bottom of a steep hill.

Casually peddling up a steep hill is not going to work and will take too long—partway up the hill, you’ll be depleted and discouraged and it’s much more likely that you call it quits. 

Instead, to get to the top of the hill on your bike, you would start peddling as hard as you could. Maybe you’d stand up on your pedals, put your head down and give it all you had. This would be the fastest way to the top where you could ease up and start peddling normally.

WHAT DOES A SLEEP RESET LOOK LIKE?

A reset typically last 2-4 weeks and involves.  

In this Find the Eight episode, we defined what a good enough and ideal sleep schedule would look like for you. You can use these times to define this schedule for reset.  

For example, if you decided that ideal sleep would be 11-8am every day, this would be the only time during the reset that you’d allow yourself to sleep. At 11pm, if you didn’t feel sleepy, you would still stay out of bed until you were on the edge of sleep (just as we discussed in episodes 4 and 11).  

If you were unable to sleep within this window, you would also get out of your bed and only return once sleepy.

To see benefits sooner, you would need to cut out napping, cut out all other time awake in bed during the day, and you would also want to be careful about your other sleep behaviours during this time (like your screen time and light before bed) so that you could see change faster.

If you wanted the less challenging but slower to see results method, you would choose your good enough sleep timing as your window of opportunity for sleep. For example, you may choose to sleep only between the hours of 12AM-7AM on weekdays and 12AM-9AM on weekends.

WHEN TO DO A RESET AND WHAT TO EXPECT 

If you’re going to do this, I’d suggest doing it at a time when you’re likely to give it as much attention and energy as you can.

Things will not get better right away and, actually, things should get worse for a week or so before then get better because you’ll be cutting down on your opportunity for sleep before you can expect to see improvements in sleep.

You actually want this sleep deprivation means you’re building up sleep drive and, if you can stick to this schedule, this will help with resetting your sleep.

If you drive, you will need to be cautious and even not drive for a short period of time while you’re more sleep deprived.

It’s best to choose a time when you’ll be more successful in getting through a reset. During exams or when you’re moving or when you’re in a particularly chaotic time in your life may not be the best time because it will be that much harder to be consistent.

TIPS ON HOW TO MAKE THE RESET EASIER

During this time, you’ll want to clear away things that may derail you.

For example, you may want to cancel plans that will keep you up and alert too late.

It’s also helpful to make plans ahead of time that will make it easier for you to stick to the schedule you choose. You may want to plan things with a friend or family member on weekend mornings and at times that you are likely to nap during the reset.

Finally, you may want to also want to reward yourself and build in accountability:

• Set up a calendar where you give yourself a checkmark every time you stick to your daily goals, then give reward yourself after a week of sticking to the plan.

• Do this reset with a friend to keep each other accountable.

WHEN YOU NEED MORE SUPPORT

You may need more help because this process can be challenging to stick to properly. This is where working with a professional comes in.

This reset strategy is based on a type of therapy for insomnia called CBT-I. Ideally, you want to work with someone experience and expertise in this treatment.

ACTION:  

If you want to do a reset, I’d suggest as an easy first step that you get someone on board to do it with you. As soon as you can, text a friend or ask a family member to do this with you. 

Then, access this cheat sheet that summarizes how to set up a reset.

SUMMARY: 

If you are having a hard time seeing progress with general strategies, you might need to invest in a short sprint to get your sleep on track. 

To set up a successful sleep reset:

• Set your reset goals

• Choose a time when you'll have enough energy and attention to be successful

• Expect that things will likely get worse before they get better

• Do the reset with a friend

• Schedule activities that will help you stay on track

• Avoid activities and plans that will derail you

And remember, if you have a hard time doing this on your own, consider reaching out for professional support.

LINKS:

• Episode 1: The No. 1 Sleep Trap That You Need To Avoid

• Episode 2: How To Curb Bedtime Procrastination 

• Episode 3: How To Make Waking Up Less Painful

• Episode 4: Is Your Bed Keeping You Awake?

• Episode 5: Is Your Body Clock Out-Of-Sync?

• Episode 6: How To Hack Light To Sleep Better

• Episode 7: What To Do When Your Mind is Keeping You Awake

• Episode 9: Sleep Blocker That May Be Keeping You Out Of The Zone

• Episode 10: Getting Into The Zone: What You Can Learn From Michael Phelps

• Episode 11: What To Do When You Can't Sleep: Your Three-Step Plan