Tracking Quality Sleep and Supplementation - WHOOP Review

Bluestone Health Group LLC
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How many of you out there are tracking how well you are sleeping?

How do you know if you are getting good sleep?

Do you hop right out of bed, ready to seize the day? Are you sluggish upon waking?

Is your face puffy and bloated feeling upon waking up?

Do you toss and turn? Are your covers all over the place upon waking? Do you snore? What does your partner say about your sleep?

All of these questions are very important when it comes to sleep. If you think you have a sleep problem… Odds are, you do have a sleep problem. Most people who think they don’t have a sleep problem, still have a massive sleep problem.

Sleep is not about total hours, completely. It is about quality hours. I have many clients who sleep 10 hours a day, and yet have a massive sleep quality problem.

WHOOP has come out with a great heart tracking monitor that measures a whole host of different things like daily strain, recovery, sleep and the different levels of sleep, and keeps track of them to allow for great weekly comparisons. I have found this to be an invaluable tool when learning what aspects of sleep hygiene and supplementation work.

For me personally, I have found melatonin to be of massive importance. When all other lifestyle factors are standardized, melatonin plays a massive role in increasing REM and Deep Sleep. (Workout intensity and strain, recovery, eating enough food, no alcohol and constant sleep window are the standardized factors.) It does appear to be mg related as opposed to time release or quick release.

My personal dose of melatonin to achieve maximum sleep is 60 mg per night, taken in one bolus dose 15 min before I lie down in bed. I did achieved a night with more REM sleep than light sleep. I have been looking for ways to improve sleep efficiency and it looks like high dosing melatonin is an effective way to accomplish this.

Notes:

  • Tried lower dose time release melatonin - did not have the same increase in REM. Although, it did increase REM over no melatonin (20mg time release melatonin)

  • 5HTP - minimal testing. I don’t think I worked with 5HTP enough to offer any valid information

  • I went 1 week without melatonin and during the week my REM dropped 15-30 min per night until the final day of the week I achieved 15 min or REM total. Interestingly, I also slept less in length of time and did not begin to experience fatigue in terms of energy. Mental acuity was lower though.

  • Science, efficacy and dosing strategies will be discussed in future articles for The SLEEP Endeavor project.

Takeaway:

  1. Use Melatonin to improve REM sleep.

  2. Get a WHOOP and begin to log data on your sleep. See what works for you and how you can improve it with lifestyle and supplementation.