QQRT stands for Quantity, Quality, Regularity and Timing, the four healthy habits essential for good sleep, as explained by Dr. Matthew Walker:

• Quantity: Refers to the appropriate duration of sleep, typically 7-9 hours per night for adults.
• Quality: Focuses on how uninterrupted and efficient your sleep is, with a high sleep-efficiency score (ideally above 85% on your sleep-tracking device) indicating most of your time in bed is spent asleep, not awake.
• Regularity: Emphasizes maintaining consistent (within 30-45 minutes) bedtimes and wake-up times daily to support your body’s natural sleep/wake cycle.
• Timing: Involves understanding your chronotype (whether you’re a morning or evening person) and aligning your sleep schedule to match your biological preferences.

By optimizing these four factors, you can significantly enhance your overall sleep hygiene and health. For more, see this discussion with Dr. Matthew Walker.

Waking up in the middle of the night can be a normal part of the sleep cycle, particularly during lighter stages of non-REM sleep. Most people experience brief periods of wakefulness throughout the night as they transition between different sleep stages. However, if these awakenings are frequent, prolonged or cause difficulty falling back asleep, it may indicate an underlying issue. Also, if you wake up once during the night to urinate, this is normal, however with age this can lead to more frequent awakenings that may disrupt sleep.

To assess if you are getting enough sleep and your sleep quality is good, consider these key indicators:

• You feel emotionally and physically rested upon waking. If you still feel groggy or unrested after being awake for a couple of hours, it may indicate poor sleep quality.
• You can stay alert throughout the day without relying heavily on caffeine or naps.
• You have high sleep efficiency — meaning most of the time you spend in bed, you’re asleep.
• You feel tired at your usual bedtime each day.
• You keep your daily bedtime and wake-up time consistent, even on weekends. If not, this is analogous to changing time zones on the weekend — this makes waking up on Monday morning particularly difficult.

If your alarm clock didn’t go off in the morning, would you sleep past your scheduled wake-up time? If so, it means you’re very likely not getting sufficient sleep. 

Sleep trackers/wearable devices can be helpful in determining sleep behaviors and patterns during the night. It’s important, however, not to fixate too much on your “sleep score” or other metrics, which can lead to orthosomnia — an obsession with sleep health that can cause anxiety and conversely have a negative impact on the quality of your sleep. It’s best to use any wearable, gadget or device for directional guidance, and instead prioritize how your mind and body feel.

02:20:31 Tool: Sleep Tests, Alarm Clock, Micro-Sleeps

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, long-term sleep deprivation negatively impacts both mental and physical health, and can increase the risk of anxiety, symptoms of depression, obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Even a short period of sleep deprivation can have negative effects on memory, emotional regulation, mood and decision-making. 

Many, if not most, adults are not getting enough sleep —- so much so that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers sleep deprivation as a public health epidemic. Keep to your daily bedtime like you would any of your other daily non-negotiables.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer. Some people find an early afternoon nap to be highly beneficial (some cultures even have afternoon naps scheduled into their work day — like a Spanish or Mexican siesta), and yet others either can’t manage to fall asleep during the day, wake up feeling worse off than before, or can’t fall asleep later at night. There is no universal benefit to napping — if it works for you, great. If not, there are still tools and protocols that can help you with afternoon energy, including a short NSDR protocol or delaying caffeine intake in the morning to prevent an afternoon crash.

If you choose to nap, try to keep your naps under 25 minutes to avoid entering a sleep cycle, or around 90 minutes to allow yourself to complete a full sleep cycle. However, you'll have to experiment with this second approach as many find it difficult to fall asleep later that night without sufficient "sleep pressure" that could be reduced by a long nap. Waking up in the middle of a sleep cycle can be difficult due to sleep inertia, or you may wake up feeling irritable.

The most important factor in overall sleep health is long-term consistency: keeping bedtimes and wake times the same daily, with only 30-45 minutes of variance each day. However, occasionally experiencing a worthwhile late night isn’t going to destroy your sleep schedule and shouldn’t deter you from engaging in fulfilling social activities or events.

In the days leading up to your expected late night, try to maintain your regular sleep schedule as much as possible. The day of, you can prepare your bedroom so that when you do get ready for bed, you can transition to sleep as easily as possible. 

Importantly, the next morning, don't change your schedule. Wake up within an hour of your regular wake-up time — even if it means a reduced amount of sleep. Instead of drinking more caffeine than usual to feel more alert, use a protocol that naturally increases feelings of alertness, such as sunlight exposure, a vigorous workout or a short NSDR practice.

Melatonin is a hormone secreted by the pineal gland in response to darkness and is integral to regulating the body's circadian rhythm. The secretion of melatonin follows a circadian pattern, with levels rising in the evening, peaking during the night, and falling in the early morning. Light, especially blue light from screens and phones, can inhibit melatonin secretion, thus delaying sleep onset and shifting the circadian phase and making it harder to fall asleep. While melatonin supplements might be helpful for short-term issues like jet lag or adjusting to shift work, they should not be relied upon for chronic sleep disturbances, and are often sold in supplements in doses that are too high or even counter-productive. Take extra caution with melatonin supplementation in children as it has potential to interfere with hormonal development; consult with a healthcare professional.

Sleep hygiene practices promote consistent and restorative sleep. Good sleep hygiene doesn’t just start at bedtime — it’s about implementing healthy sleep habits throughout your daily routine that will make it easier to fall asleep at night.

Specific protocols include limiting exposure to bright light from electronic devices in the evening, avoiding late afternoon naps and stimulants like caffeine and setting up your sleep environment to support sleep through reducing noise (ideally below 35 dB) using earplugs or white noise, lower temperatures, total darkness (using blackout curtains or an eye mask and opting to read a book or listen to music at night instead of consuming highly stimulating content, such as the news, social media or politics.

Poor sleep hygiene can be summarized as an inconsistent bedtime routine where sleep is treated as an afterthought to your waking hours.

Most adults require between 7-9 hours of sleep per night for optimal cognitive and physical function, though individual variations exist. FYI: most people overestimate how much sleep they’re actually getting each night and underestimate how much sleep they actually need. 

Just as more sleep isn’t the same as good sleep, even if you are reaching deep, restorative sleep, you still need to sleep an adequate amount per night. For women, sleep patterns and sleep efficiency are significantly influenced by hormonal fluctuations throughout the menstrual cycle and menopause, making it important to aim to sleep a sufficient duration each night.