Assessment
Sleep Assessments and Sleep Tracking
Before you begin any fitness and strength interventions, it’s crucial to assess where you currently stand. This section will guide you through key assessments, including cardiovascular fitness (VO2 Max), muscular strength, and body composition. By establishing your baseline, you can track your progress effectively as you move through the experiment.
Sleep Tracking
Now that we have excluded or treated the disorders above that are related to sleep, it is time to begin evaluating your sleeping pattern and using that to improve your sleep. There are myriad ways to track sleep available on the market today, and new ones are constantly being released. In our program, we use a popular ring called an Oura Ring. This ring has biosensors lining the inside and is capable of tracking movement, heart rate, and oxygen levels. The ring (like many commercially available sleep tracking devices) provides significant insights into sleep quality, including restlessness, deep/REM sleep, duration, and timing.
Sleep Tracking Device Measurements
Sleep trackers are mostly capable of measuring all of the following elements: ✅ Total Sleep – The total duration of time spent asleep. ✅ Efficiency – The time spent in bed vs. the time actually spent asleep. Poor efficiency may indicate: Lying in bed too long, disrupting sleep drive for the next day. Sleep anxiety or difficulty falling asleep. ✅ Restfulness – If sleep is restless, possible reasons include: Eating too close to bedtime. Consuming caffeine late in the day. Drinking alcohol within three hours of sleep. Experiencing stress or anxiety. Dealing with urinary issues or menopause symptoms. ✅ REM Sleep – The phase of sleep associated with creativity and emotional processing. It can be negatively impacted by: Stress. Alcohol consumption. General sleep disturbances. ✅ Deep Sleep – The most restorative form of sleep, crucial for both physical and mental recovery. Deep sleep naturally declines with age and can be affected by poor sleep habits or environmental factors. ✅ Latency – The amount of time it takes to fall asleep. If latency is high, it may indicate going to bed too early or not being truly ready for sleep. ✅ Timing – Most sleep trackers provide ideal sleep midpoints, helping you determine whether you are falling asleep at the right time.
