Sleep is arguably one of the top 3 pillars that dictate good health.
The other two are eating healthy and exercise.
If you eat well and exercise, you tend to sleep well. If you sleep well, you are more likely to eat well and have energy to exercise. They all hinge on one another.
In 1942, the average American adult slept for 7.9 hours per night. Now that number has gone down to 6.9 hours, with catastrophic consequences.
People who say they need less than 8 hours of sleep tend to be unaware of the science and data on how critical getting that much sleep is.
To put this in perspective, during daylight savings time, on the days in which we lose an hour of sleep, there is a whopping 24% increase in heart attacks that day. On the day we get an extra hour of sleep, there is a 21% decrease that day. In the USA, 79% of adults get less than 8 hours per night.
As Dr. Matthew Walker, the world’s foremost expert on sleep points out, “Routinely sleeping less than six or seven hours per night demolishes your immune system.” There is no better defense against pathogens than good sleep.
Sleep issues are among the most common that I help people with in the clinic.
“You can’t manage what you can’t measure,” is a most accurate quote when it comes to getting good sleep.
How do you know that you are getting good sleep or not? You have to be able to measure it.
My favorite device in the world for measuring sleep is a little ring that you wear called an Oura Ring. The Oura Ring is one of the most incredible pieces of technology that you can use to accurately measure your sleep.
Here is what I love about this ring:
1. It can measure the exact amount of deep sleep, REM sleep and light sleep you get per night. Anything above 85 is exceptional sleep.
2. It can track exactly when you go to sleep, exactly when you rise, how restful your sleep was and so much more.
3. It tracks your body temperature and can tell you when you are getting sick. It can also accurately predict your period and when you are ovulating if you are a woman.
4. It gives you a sleep score each night, from 0-100 on how good your sleep was in total.
5. It also measures HRV (Heart Rate Variability), which is a measurement of the amount of time (in milliseconds) that lapses between each of the beats of your heart. The higher the number, or more time that lapses between each beat, the healthier your nervous system. The lower the number, the less healthy.
6. It give you a daily readiness score 0-100, which combines all your data and tell you how active and ready you are to face each day.
7. The ring tracks your daily steps and knows exactly how much movement you have had. It also measures the rate of your pulse and gives you an activity score 0-100 daily.
8. It also measures blood oxygen saturation while you sleep to ensure that your blood is saturated with enough oxygen.
9. It is water proof.
10. It is made of titanium, so it is virtually indestructible and you barely notice it around the finger of your choosing.
This ring has been a game changer for me. When I first got this ring about 1.5 years ago, I thought I slept pretty well. Boy was I surprised. I routinely got less than 1 hour of both REM and deep sleep. I have since made a lot of tweaks to my diet, supplements, etc… to maximize my sleep.
Now, I routinely get over 1.5 hours of REM and deep per night. Since getting it, my average sleep score has gone up an average of 15 points! As a result, my energy levels have gone way up and my quality of life has been so much better.
For the first 5 people that decide to get an Oura from this list, they will take $50 dollars off of the regular price ($349). Click here to redeem that offer. If more than 5 people have redeemed, try to find a family member or friend that will give you their $50 dollar off link.
Sleep is one of the 3 pillars of health, and it is so critical to measure it so that you can start to make changes. I hope this tool is as beneficial to you as it has been for me.
Be well,
Dr. Scott
