Sleep Calculator : Want To Know The Best Time To Sleep & Wake Up?

You track what you eat to optimize your diet. You follow your workouts to get fitter. So it’s natural that you are here to use a sleep calculator to track your sleep cycle.

Alongside food and fitness, sleep is one of the critical pillars of health. A consistent sleep routine will not only allow you to wake up full of energy, but you will find that proper sleep will allow you to reach your goals much sooner. With the help of a sleep calculator, you can easily create a sleep schedule with ease.

What Is A Sleep Calculator?

A sleep calculator will suggest the time to fall asleep and the best time to wake up. Most sleep calculators factor in how many sleep cycles you will complete within the recommended sleep schedule.

Do you find that you wake up exhausted and unmotivated even after sleeping 7 – 8 hours each night? A sleep calculator can help you work out what stage of the sleep cycle you are in when your alarm buzzes each morning. Waking up mid-cycle or in the middle of REM sleep can lead to intense grogginess and even sleep inertia.

If you want to improve your sleep routine and learn more about the best schedule for your unique lifestyle, use the Puffy Sleep Calculator.

How Does Your Sleep Cycle Work?

There are two separate sleep categories: non-rem sleep (NREM) and rapid eye movement sleep (REM). NREM starts with a series of light sleep stages and finishes with the dreamy stage of REM sleep.

When you use a sleep calculator, you will be able to wake up during a lighter stage of sleep strategically. Doing so can make a noticeable difference in how you feel when you wake up. Most people who have never used a sleep cycle calculator feel the benefits of tracking the sleep cycle quickly.

How Long Is A Sleep Cycle?

One sleep cycle lasts for around 90 minutes. Most people will complete 5 – 6 sleep cycles per night, and this is of course if you get between 7 – 8 hours of sleep.

Each sleep cycle can be broken up into the sleep stages of NREM and REM. Here’s how long each stage of sleep lasts and what happens to the mind and body during each phase.

Stage 1

This is the first stage of sleep, where you can easily be woken up. The body begins to relax noticeably, breathing starts to slow down, and the heart rate also reduces its pace.

Stage 2

Often referred to as light sleep, during stage 2, breathing and heart rate continue to slow down. A unique characteristic of this stage of sleep is that sleep spindles occur. Sleep spindles are sudden spikes in brain wave activity that happen during the process of memory consolidation. All the information you gather during the day gets consolidated during this stage of sleep.

Stage 3 & 4

The mind and body become fully relaxed during these sleep stages, and the heart rate slows rapidly in preparation for REM sleep. Stage 3 and 4 involve moderate to deep sleep, and there is no muscle activity or eye movement.

REM sleep

The final stage of sleep is the one most people find intriguing. REM sleep is the only stage where eye movement occurs. Also referred to as dreamwave sleep, the body enters paralysis; however, internal functions and brain activity is high. Heart rate increases, breathing quickens, and brain activity increase, leading to dreams and sometimes nightmares.

If you wake up feeling scared and confused, chances are you were in the middle of REM sleep. If you wake up feeling light and energized, you may have woken in the early stages of the sleep cycle. A sleep calculator can help you identify what stage of the sleep cycle you will wake up in.

What’s The Best Time To Sleep And Wake Up?

While everyone wants to sleep at a reasonable hour and wake up bright and early, it isn’t always possible. Commitments like work, children, study, and social life can make it hard to adhere to a suitable sleep schedule.

The best time to fall asleep and wake up in the morning will vary from person to person, and it changes as you get older. The first step of creating a sleep schedule is to identify precisely how many hours you should be getting each night. Here are the recommended hours for every age group:

Age	Recommended Hours
0 – 3 months	14 – 17 hours
4 – 12 months	12 – 16 hours
1 – 2 years	11 – 14 hours
3 – 5 years	10 – 13 hours
9 – 12 years	9 – 12 hours
13 – 18 years	8 – 10 hours
19 years and older	7 – 8 hours

Do you get 6 hours of sleep and feel completely fine? There’s nothing wrong with that. Sleep cycles vary considerably from person to person. It can also take some trial and error to figure out a sleep schedule that supports your lifestyle.

As a guide, you should aim to complete at least 5 sleep cycles. Below you will find an example of what time to wake up and go to sleep to achieve 5 cycles per night. Keep in mind this is just a guide. Time spent in each stage of the sleep cycle varies between individuals.

Bedtime (5 cycles, 7.5 hours)	Wake-up time
09:30 p.m.	5:00 a.m.
10:00 p.m.	5:30 a.m.
10:30 p.m.	6:00 a.m.
11:00 p.m.	6:30 a.m.
11:30 p.m.	7:00 a.m.
12:00 a.m.	7:30 a.m.
12:30 a.m.	8:00 a.m.

Should You Always Stick To A Routine?

Yes – it’s the best way to develop a body clock and wake up without an alarm. Keeping a regular sleep routine helps maintain the body’s internal body clock so you can fall asleep and wake up with ease.

A few small changes to your lifestyle can make it easy to stick to a sleep routine. To ensure you always fall asleep at the same time, create a set of nightly rituals that allow you to stick to your schedule and get sleepy just before bed.

• Don’t use technology 30 minutes before bed. Cutting out all blue light when it’s close to bedtime is a great way to relax and limit distractions that may keep you up later than usual.
• Drink something warm and calming. Replace any late-night snacks with something healthy like a warm cup of milk or chamomile tea. This can ensure you don’t stay up due to heartburn or indigestion.
• Meditate to clear your mind. Many people miss their bedtime because they spend hours lying in bed overthinking. One of the best remedies for stress is meditation. Even 10 minutes of meditation before bed can help you stick to your bedtime routine.

Optimize Your Bedroom For Better Sleep

Timing is essential for good sleep hygiene, although it’s not the only thing that counts. To get better sleep, you need to ensure your mattress and bedroom accessories are working for you, not against you.

The thing is, you can have a reliable sleep routine and use a bedtime calculator every night, but if your bed is uncomfortable, you won’t get the sleep you deserve. The most comfortable mattress needs to balance support, comfort, and cooling if you are a hot sleeper.

Ready for a mattress upgrade? These are the two most popular mattresses:

• Hybrid mattress: This mattress will offer you the contouring and plush comfort benefits of memory foam with the added stability of encased coils.
• Memory foam mattress: Memory foam is highly adaptive and a top choice for those who want to relieve pressure points.

Memory foam and hybrid mattresses are both made with higher density materials allowing you to enjoy comfortable sleep every night. Other benefits of these award-winning mattress types are better edge support, motion isolation, and cooling benefits.

Ready For Better Sleep?

Use our sleep calculator to find the best sleep and wake time according to your lifestyle. Remember that a sleep calculator is just one tool that can help you sleep better. Also, consider eating well, setting up your bedroom with the best mattress, and sticking to the same routine for optimal results.

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