Back in November 2010, we wrote about pilot error due to fatigue and sleep deprivation.  We also noted that the FAA and pilots’ unions were campaigning for schedule reform to mitigate this issue but were facing opposition from airline companies.

Some pilots even said that the FAA’s original proposal was not sufficient.  They wanted 10 hour breaks in order to ensure that 8 hours were spent sleeping.

In the end, Team Sleep won out.

The FAA and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood just announced a manditory rest period of 10 hours for all pilots, 8 hours of which must be spent sleeping.  As FAA Acting Administrator Michael Huerta said,

“This new rule gives pilots enough time to get the rest they really need to safely get passengers to their destinations.”

In addition, the FAA put a cap of 14 hours on the allowable length of flight duty for single crews, which includes the time crew members are required to report for duty, the time before and between flights without rest periods, and ends when the final flight is parked at the gate.

They’ve also stipulated that a pilot must have 30 consecutive hours free from duty on a weekly basis, an increase of 25% from the previous regulations.

Pilots, Airlines, and the FAA will also be responsible for assessing a pilot’s “alertness and fitness” before each flight, removing pilots from duty that day who report fatigue.  Pilots will also be required to undergo training every two years on how to spot signs of fatigue brought on by commuting, erratic sleep scheduling, and sleep debt.

While these new rules do not take effect until 2014 – nor do they cover cargo pilots, who sometimes work extra shifts as commercial pilots – they are a big step in the right direction.

It looks like the FAA has finally woken up to the seriousness of pilot sleep deprivation.

Now it’s time for the rest of us to get on board as well.

Andi (ZQ: 86) is the editor of Zeology and the Zeo Knowledge Center. By tweet or by post, email or Expert Answer, she makes sure people get the information they need about sleep.

Being tired isn’t exactly out of the ordinary for most people. It’s totally understandable to be tired once in a while, but being tired every day probably isn’t a very good sign. Especially if you’re getting a full night’s sleep.

If you routinely get the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep and still feel particularly exhausted during the day, there’s a possibility that you have sleep apnea.

But what exactly is sleep apnea and how does it affect your quality of life?

Intro to Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea, specifically Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), is characterized by the blockage of the upper airway while you sleep. The blockage is caused by a relaxation of the soft tissue in the back of your throat, which blocks your airways and causes cessations in breathing.

What Causes Sleep Apnea

This in turn leads to more frequent awakenings and, possibly, less time in more restorative sleep phases due to the fact that your sleep is constantly interrupted, which in turn leaves you feeling fatigued the next day.

Ever get the sense that something’s watching you while you’re asleep? Or that there’s some thing in the room? Perhaps it’s under the bed or standing over you?

Perhaps it even looks something like this:

If so don’t worry; you’re not crazy.   What you’re experiencing is what’s known as Sleep Paralysis (SP).  It’s when you think you’re awake but you’re physically unable to move.  You might also see wild, fantastical and sometimes frightning things, or feel as though something is pushing down on you.

What’s really going on is that some features of REM sleep – such as full body paralysis and dreams – are intruding into Light sleep or even Wake.  However, long before EEG, humans of all cultures attributed these sensations to those of ghosts, goblins, witches, and other supernatural beings.

Just in time for Halloween, we teamed up with dream researcher Ryan Hurd to create this inforgraphic which looks into the mythological underpinnings of Sleep Paralysis.  That alien encounter your neighbor said he had last week?  Before there were aliens, people used to report similar instances but said they were “fairy encounters.”

To look at it in all it’s creepy glory, just click on the image below.  It shouldn’t be too scary…but it’s okay to sleep with the light on if you need to.

Andi (ZQ: 86) is the editor of Zeology. By tweet or by post, email or Expert Answer, she makes sure people get the information they need about sleep.

Biological sex, that is.  The kind that operates within your body, affecting everything from blood pressure, to hormone production, to sleep.

We like to say that it doesn’t matter, that we’re all equal – until it does.

A recent Wall Street Journal article was just another reminder that sex, indeed, does matter.

Men are From Mars; Women are from Venus

Humans have long been grappling with sex and its sibling, gender.  We’ve argued back and forth about what differences there were between the two, and how that translated into social roles, work roles, cognitive abilities, physical abilities, communication skills, and who makes a better parent.

It’s possible that our long tortured history with this question has also spooked us a bit.  Just like race, biological sex was long used as justification why someone couldn’t do something.  Bringing it into the conversation, understandably, raises a number of red flags.

Exhibit A - How we don't want sex to be used.

But to completely ignore it – to say that it has little or no effect on biological functions like sleep – is missing the point.  In fact, bringing sex into the equation might be a good thing.

Sex is the new X Factor

In many different fields, it’s becoming clear that  sex and sex differences are playing a greater role in research.  More and more scientists are looking at how sex differences affect the brain, cells, organs – even how the body handles certain types of drugs, foods, and pharmaceuticals.

Such actions appear to be influencing sleep researchers, who are now asking questions like:

• Do men and women use sleep differently in memory processing?  If so, what does this mean for learning abilities – and our testing methods?

• Do men and women experience similar events – like insomnia- differently?  If so, where within the body do those differences play out?

• Do men and women have circadian rhythms of different lengths? If so, what does it mean for bedtime routine?

We at Zeo are doing our part to help, diving deeper into our DOZER database and looking how how sleep stacks up among men and women.  For instance, we presented a poster at this year’s APSS conference on how sleep phases change based on age and gender. (Download Full Poster).

Sleep based on Age and Sex

It’s a also study we couldn’t have done without your help. Just to get a fraction of this information across different ages and sexes would have taken tremendous effort on any researcher’s part.  So don’t thank us – thank yourself every time you upload data.  Your efforts are paying off, big time.

In short, the more all of us do and share research like this, the better we will all be at tackling the sex question. Just like age revealed itself to be a key component in understanding sleep, sex is poised to do the same.

So, what will you get?  A poster is nice – but a little something more in exchange for sleep data would be better.

How about more sleep tips, strategies, and information tailored to you?  Not just to your age and occupation, but also to your sex.   Information that take into account sex related issues like hormonal changes and hot flashes – not just that they happen, but how they play out and what you can do about it.

Sounds pretty good to me – but why don’t you weigh in below?  It is, after all, your data.

Tell us what you’d like to see done with this information here in the comments or on our forum. We’re all ears.

Related Posts

• Age and Sex affect Sleep Quality and Quantity
• Why Sleep Science Doesn’t Know Everything – and What You Can Do About It
• Sleep Architecture the Third:  Back to the Sleep Cycles
• Why REM could stand for “Remembering Everyday Memories”
• Behind the Headband: Your Internal Symphony

Andi (ZQ: 86) is the editor of Zeology. By tweet or by post, email or Expert Answer, she makes sure people get the information they need about sleep.

On your “good sleep” list, you’ve got all your sheep in place, so to speak.

• Deep Sleep De-Mystified? Check.

• REM remastered? Check.

• 7 Steps for Sleeping Soundly? Check.

The only thing your missing is Wake.  Or rather, you’re not missing it – you want to know what to do about it.

For the record, I only remembered the "Wake" in the middle -and it felt like forever.

I’ll know it when I see it, right?

Wake is a funny thing.  For instance, we as humans constantly misjudge our time in wake. We’re only right about 45% of the time.  For some, it’s even less.  I myself know that I rarely remember being awake unless it’s for more than 5 minutes.

Don’t worry though – not being able to remember your awakenings is not a sign of dementia.

And then there’s that whole time warp thing going on while you’re awake.  You know, that “I’ve been lying here for ages” feeling you get when you’re trying to fall back asleep.  For those suffering from broken sleep – sleep that is constantly interrupted by periods of wake – this can add to the frustration.

What to do about it?  How can I get rid of that dreaded “Wake” bar(s) once and for all?

You can’t.

I’ll let Dr. John Winkelman explain why.

News Flash:  You Wake Up A Lot More than You Think

Did you catch that?  We wake up, on average, 70 times a night.

70.

Holy Cow.

Did you know that?

Keep in mind that most of these awakenings are less than a minute long.  As you know, Zeo doesn’t record anything shorter than 30 seconds, and looks at the past five minutes to figure out what it should call that period.

So you’re waking up, but don’t see it in your sleep graph.  Instead, you’re getting depressed about the few 5 minute Wake bars (which could only be 2 minutes in reality) that show up in everyone’s sleep, no matter their age.  There’s a good chance that you don’t even remember that longer wake.

What to do?  Am I really telling you to just not worry about it?

Of course not.   There are things you can do to decrease the amount of time you spend in Wake each night- and I will share them with you.  I really want you to have the best sleep possible.

Ready?  Let’s go.

Taking Matters into Your Own Hands

The first thing for you to do is relax.  Seriously, stress doesn’t do your sleep any favors.

For instance, that chunk of wake in the sleep graph was from stress.  My body was waking me up to say “Andi!  You didn’t deal with issue X earlier – and it’s killing your sleep!   Deal with it, so that we can get some rest!”

The second thing you could do is look at your overall sleep patterns.  Do you get a typical amount of Deep, REM, Light and Wake (yes, Wake) for your age?  If so, then congrats.  You’re sleep -and Wake- is statistically okay.

Typical Zeo users, with breakdown by Age and Sex, 1 Standard Deviation

However, if you fall into the camp of “too much Wake” – what Dr. John called “Excessive Wake” – then it might be a good time to take inventory of your lifestyle and habits. That’s step three.

It’s possible that there could be some underlying issues – chronic pain, perhaps – that make it harder for your body to stay asleep.  Of maybe you’ve got a young kid who needs you at 3am or you’re going through a huge, life changing event.

It could be what you eat & drink – or even, what you don’t.

Your circadian rhythm could be off as well, or you’re trying to sleep when you’re not tired.  Travel, shift work, and light exposure all have an impact on our circadian rhythm, which in turn predicts whether or not we’re going to successfully “sleep through a night.”

Lastly, stop worrying about what being awake at night might mean for the next day.  Instead, teach yourself to focus on how much sleep -and its quality- you got.

Despite being awake for over an hour, I came pretty close to my standard amounts of Deep and REM.  Seeing that in the morning actually made it easier to face the day than just relying on my memory.

In short, the best way to manage your Time in Wake is to manage your daily life.  It’s been said before, but what you do during the day really helps you sleep more soundly – and with less interruptions – during the night.

Sleep Well!

Related Articles

• Sleep:  Forgetting to Remember to Forget
• How to Write Your Worries Away – At 2:45am
• What’s a typical number of awakenings for my age?
• Can I have more awakenings than I remember?
• A Tale of Two Sleepers

Andi (ZQ: 86) is the editor of Zeology. By tweet or by post, email or Expert Answer, she makes sure people get the information they need about sleep.

REM.

What was it I was supposed to remember?

It’s the stage of sleep where a day’s memories are processed and stored.  Anything that you’ve deemed to be “important” will be cataloged somewhere in your brain while the rest will be forgotten.

If you skimp out on REM – say by not getting enough sleep- you’ll negatively impact this process and won’t be able to remember anything, right?  I mean, that’s what we’ve been saying.

Maybe.

This is Your Brain on REM

The scientific theory that sleep in general benefits memory performance is well established, but is has changed over the years.

Early sleep studies claimed that depriving people of REM sleep impairs certain kinds of memory formation, namely declarative memory, the next day.

In addition, studies done on insomniacs noticed that REM sleep was seen to correlate with comparatively higher levels of memory consolidation, most likely compensating for lower levels of Deep sleep.

Since then, the best evidence for memory consolidation during REM comes from neuroimaging (PET) scans.

Red = most active, Purple = least active

These snapshots of the brain show that the areas involved with long-term memory and retrieval are actually more active than in waking states. What’s more, the brain’s emotional center is also highly activated, suggesting that consolidation of emotional memories are especially targeted during REM.

Light Sleep is good, too

However, new evidence indicates that the consolidation of memory also takes place outside of REM sleep.

A 2010 study found that subjects who napped AND dreamed of a memory-related task during a non-REM nap–that is, they did not go into REM sleep at all– improved their performance of the task later on.

Wamsley et al., Dreaming of a Learning Task is Associated with Enhanced Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation, Current Biology, 2010 May 11: 20(9): 850-855

On top of that, certain features of sleep architecture are now thought to play a role in the overall memory process. Sleep spindles, which typically occur in Light sleep, are now thought to play a role in declarative memory consolidation along with REM.

Don’t let the name fool you; Light sleep is now thought to do a fair amount of heavy lifting so don’t despair when you look at your sleep data.

Hormones for Human Growth

Finally, hormones are now recognized as an important piece of memory consolidation.

Low levels of cortisol–a major stress hormone–are associated with memory consolidation, whereas increased levels impair consolidation. In healthy sleepers, cortisol remains low in the first part of the night–when we have most of our Deep sleep mixed with Light–but tends to increase towards morning.

So while REM sleep still plays an active role in memory consolidation, it’s important to remember that other sleep stages and bodily functions appear to play important roles as well.  To keep this process humming along, make sure that you keep your sleep habits in good order.

Your memories will thank you for it.

Related Content

• Are there any associations between insomnia and memory loss?
• How important is Light sleep?
• The 3 Rules of Deep Sleep
• Is it beneficial or harmful to get more REM and Deep sleep than Light?
• What is stress and how can it affect sleep?

Okay, so you’re not happy with your sleep.  Specifically, you’re not happy with the amount of Deep Sleep you get.

Every day, you wake up wanting more.

Where's the Deep?

But what to do about it? I mean, you’ve tried everything under the sun.  Everything.  You’ve even done all 7 things to improve your sleep, and still that Deep Sleep number doesn’t move the way you want it to.

I’m going to share with you the 3 Rules of Deep sleep.  These rules will guide you as you navigate the murky waters of sleep, help you to keep it real, and take action.

Ready, class?

The 3 Rules of Deep Sleep

#1 – You Do Not Talk about Deep Sleep

That’s right; don’t talk about it.  Don’t focus on it.

If you focus on it–and only it–you’ll miss the forest for the trees.

Deep sleep is a lot like your weight; it’s one part of a whole recipe for living.  If you focus too much on what you “Time in Deep” is–and not the whole picture of your sleep architecture, circadian rhythm, your sleep schedule, and how you feel during the day–you’re going to miss out.

You won’t find out how all those pieces fit together and as a result,  you won’t figure out what you can do to sleep better and feel better, day after day.

Seriously.  Stop focusing on that “Time in Deep” number.

#2 -  Deep Sleep Naturally Decreases As You Age

It’s true.  Every stage changes as we age, but none decline quite so dramatically as Deep Sleep.  There’s no hard, fast rule as to why this happens–though educated guesses abound–but it does appear to be natural.

Sleep based on Age and Sex of Zeo Users

Just like you can never be 25 again, your sleep can’t be, either.  A 40 year old will have much less deep sleep than a 30 year old, and a 50 year old even less.

The good news is that Light sleep appears to get “deeper” as we age, potentially helping us retain higher levels of memory processing as we get older.

# 3 – Good Habits lead to Better Quality Sleep

You’ve all heard this before–but it bears repeating because it’s the real deal.

In order to get the best sleep that you can, you need to take care of yourself.  What you do during the day affects you at night, regardless of your age.  It might not look as dramatic on a 20 year old but trust me, they too can feel it.

If you treat your body badly during the day, then there’s little wonder that your sleep reflects such abuse during the night.  Quit beating yourself up.  Your body is a temple–and it’s high time you start treating it that way.  No excuses.

PS:  Those good habits also give you REM & Light sleep (which your body needs!), and are helping to regulate your organs, your memory processing, and your overall health.

Is that it?

But I treat my body right, you say.  I’ve got great sleep hygiene, sleep according to my circadian rhythms, have little or no chronic pain, and I still only get a pitiful amount of Deep.  Now what?

Try treating it badly.  Do everything wrong–and see how it plays out in your sleep.  How you feel the next day.  Chances are, all those good habits are giving you those precious minutes in Deep that your body loves so much.  You know, those ones that you think are insufficient.

Remember:  The first rule of Deep Sleep is You Do Not Talk about Deep Sleep.

Class dismissed.

Related posts

• It’s Past Your Bedtime
• 7 Ways to Improve your Sleep Tonight
• Sleep Architecture the Third:  Back to the Sleep Cycles
• How Age & Sex Affect Sleep Quality and Quantity
• 4 Simple Steps for Better Sleep

Andi (ZQ: 86) is the editor of Zeology. By tweet or by post, email or Expert Answer, she makes sure people get the information they need about sleep.

Be honest:  How many times have you had that extra drink at night or that soda in the afternoon?

Didn’t get that walk in like you said you would?  Suffered though a night of pain instead of talking with your doctor to help find a solution?

We’ve all done these things more than we’d like to admit–but hey, what’s the worse that could happen?

You will screw with your sleep, that’s what.

You’ll deprive your body of its necessary building blocks and guarantee that it will under-perform.

The worse part is that you’ll think this is normal.  Like being drunk, you won’t even recognize it until it’s too late.

To help you out, I’m going to share with you 7 things that you can to today to sleep better tonight.  I’m going to give you actual sleep data and resources to show you how effective these tips are.  And I’m going to encourage you the whole way through.

A little change goes a long way, especially in the sleep department.

Ready? Let’s go.

7 Steps to Sleep Fitness

1. Skip the caffeine. You think you can’t feel it? That you fall asleep just fine at night after that afternoon soda? Think again. Caffeine six hours out was as disruptive or more so than caffeine 3 hours before bedtime–especially compared to no caffeine whatsoever.
   

   Drake C, Kick, A Roth T. The effects of caffeine given 0, 3, or 6 hours before bedtime on objective sleep parameters measured in the home. Sleep 2010;33 (Suppl.):A107. Abstract 0306.

2. Quit Drinking after dinner. There’s a reason why your doc says not to have more than 2 drinks/day. This stuff really screws you up on many levels, and your sleep (like your liver) takes a big hit.
   

   As the the drinks go up, the Deep sleep comes down,

   

   The REM takes a beating, ...

   

   ...& and Andi@Zeo's ZQ drops by 10 points. Ouch.

3. Get Moving. You don’t need to run a marathon, but you can’t just sit there all day and expect yourself to have good sleep. Your body was made for movement–and Deep sleep gets a boost from consistent, moderate exercise.
   

   L-R: Julie's Deep Sleep vs No run, Easy Run, Moderate Run, Long & Hard Run

4. Dim the Lights at Night. Light has the biggest impact on our circadian rhythm–far more so than food or social cues–so do yourself a favor and step away from the TV. If you truly must work after dinner, use a dimmer on your computer or laptop screen to block out blue light, as that type of light can keep you awake longer than yellow light.  Use an eyemask to block out unwanted light–and potential wake ups–during the night.
5. Keep cool. Body temperature and room temperature both help us fall asleep, stay asleep, and get more restorative sleep, too. Keep your bedroom between 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit for the best results.
   

   Rhiannon@Zeo found her Deep Sleep tanked when she was too hot

6. Know your medication. Numerous types of medication, from OTC to doctor prescribed, can have a noticeable affect on your sleep quality. If you are on medication, make sure you talk to your pharmacist or physician about any potential or noticeable side-effects before making any changes.  Always take as directed, too.
   

   Kuji@Zeo's Ave Time to Z by Day--No Medication use on Saturday. Tuesday (Day 2 of meds) is the worse day.

7. Respect Chronic Pain, Physical Ailments, and underlying Health Issues. These are not fun in the least, and they’re often a big handicap for good sleep. Sometimes the pain is physical, sometimes it’s mental, but often the two work hand in hand, making it a giant mess. The most important things to do are:
   • Talk to your doctor about it
   • Treat any pain as best as you can to help minimize sleep disruptions
   • Practice calming and relaxation techniques to ease your frustrations
   • Celebrate your achievements, big or small. Feeling a bit better today than you did yesterday is a real big deal and can be a game changer in the long run.

I really want you to do this. Really, truly. I know that many of you out there have struggled with your sleep and get depressed or discouraged when you compare your sleep to others. Instead of worrying what you’re neighbor got, start looking at what you’ve got–and what makes you feel better.

So, go on. Take this list and mix things up.

See how moderate exercise–that lunchtime walk, for example–compares to a high octane gym session.  Don’t try to ignore any pain; instead, work with your doctor to help manage it.

Give yourself a whole week to set yourself up and get a few nights of data, then come back and share it with me. Post it here in the comments section, or up on our Facebook page. I’m really curious to see what you find.

Sleep well!

Related Posts

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Andi (ZQ: 86) is the editor of Zeology. By tweet or by post, email or Expert Answer, she makes sure people get the information they need about sleep.

Q: What are the physiological differences between someone who gets by on 5 hours vs. 7 hours of sleep a night? I’ve heard that some people are “just fine” after only 5 hours.

First off, the recommended sleep averages are only that: averages. Every person has a unique relationship to sleep and health, and the most important goal in learning more about your sleep patterns is to find what works for you. The goal with sleep health is finding the factors that lead to you feeling refreshed after sleep and invigorated throughout the day.

That said, research into sleep has found significant health issues related to differences in sleep duration. Mortality studies suggest that those who get less than seven hours (as well as much more than seven) have a shorter life span. The risk of disease due to consistent sleep restriction of five hours or less is also elevated, particularly coronary artery disease, stroke and hypertension. Those who sleep less than seven hours are also more likely to be obese, diabetic and have compromised immune systems as well as high blood pressure.

Did you know that you can lose up to 15lbs just by sleeping more each night?

Particular at risk for cardiovascular disease are adults 60 years and older who sleep five hours or less. The chance of getting this disease is up to three times greater than those who sleep seven hours, according to a 2010 study.

On the cognitive side, those who sleep five hours or less have shorter attention spans, more negative emotions and less memory recall. On top of that, longer reaction time is another cognitive trait of sleep restriction, meaning that it could take you twice as long (if not longer) to perform tasks or react in a dangerous situation. If you’re driving after not getting enough sleep, that extra second it takes for you to keep your car from drifting could mean the difference between life and death.

Even Spock needs 7 hours to keep the logic flowing.

As if that wasn’t enough, those who sleep less than 7 hours tend to make poorer food choices. Even if you normally shun high fat, sugary foods, that double chocolate glaze on the break room table looks more tempting to a sleep deprived brain than a well-rested one. And of course, those who sleep five hours of less are often fatigued during the day, and more likely to need stimulants in the morning and for making it through the day.

As a side note: true “short sleepers” often don’t require caffeine or a nap to keep them going during the day.

In short, when you’re cutting back on the sleep, your body notices it on many different levels. To keep everything in good working order–as well as staying fit, smart, and having more energy all around– make sure you’re getting an adequate amount of sleep every night.

Related Questions

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Check out the original Answer here

Let’s say that you’re doing an experiment 100 times and out of that 100 times, you got the results you needed for 80% of the trials.

But what if you wanted to take that 80% and boost it to 90%? What would you do? You’d probably refine your experiment to increase your precision of getting that magic result.

This would mean going back into the individual pieces of the experiments and figuring out what controls or changes would be needed in order to boost the numbers.

Despite all that, your experiment could still have the same level of accuracy as the earlier one. How is that possible?

Grading on a Curve

For something to be listed as “accurate”, you’d think that would mean “100% right, 100% of the time.” Maybe 98 or 99.9% to allow for the one fluke or two, but generally spot on, every time, with no errors or issues. Super high precision, too.  Otherwise, it’s a failure, right?

It depends.

If you’re talking about mechanical engineering–where precision and accuracy have to both be 99.99% or else something would blow up–then yes, being off from that 99.99% would be a failure.

But if you’re talking about human biology–where it’s impossible to have that type of precision and accuracy due to the fact that everyone is different–then what you’re striving for and what you think is acceptable will be different. You’re going to adjust your expectations accordingly and grade your results on a curve.

The Gold Standard

The current gold standard for sleep has an accuracy of 85% out of a possible 100%.  Given all the bodily functions that need to be monitored in order to perfectly determine sleep/wake and sleep phases–not to mention the fact that everyone is different– it’s highly unlikely that we’re going to hit that 100% with a one-size-fits-all method or procedure.

In terms of “grading on a curve” that 85% now becomes an A+.  It’s the new standard that other methods need to be compared against.

The technology behind Zeo means that based on the fictional 100%, we’re at 75% accuracy.  But when you compare it to the actual ceiling of 85% , we’re much better.  When you work it out, Zeo is 88% as good as the current gold standard.  That’s a B+ on our grade curve.

That said, since the metric that we’re fine-tuning our system to is only 85% as good as a hypothetical 100%, there are going to be outliers.  People are going to get different results due to small biological differences and due to the natural limitations of that 85%. But that does not affect the overall accuracy. When tested repeatedly, that B+ accuracy will stand as a general rule.

Know Thyself

What this all means for you, the Zeo user, is that your readings and results are your own.  They are a reflection of how your body works and interacts with Zeo. Sometimes, your readings could mean that you’re an outlier, but again, those are just based on averages as well.

Instead of getting hung up on the one offs, take comfort in knowing that there are a number of ways in which your brain signals and activity are similar to others.  Statistically, that’s what that B+ accuracy means.  It means that 8.8 out of 10 users’ brains will be similar enough for Zeo to know what phase of sleep you’re in.

What you then do with those numbers–and more importantly, what they mean to you–is for you to decide. Don’t worry, we’ll continue to give you real, science-based information to help you out, but your still going to make the final decisions.

Some will look at 30 minutes in Deep sleep and think it’s terrible; others think it’s great.

One camp thinks a more holistic and balances approach to life is the way to go, but others are hell bent on being as efficient and precise as possible.

Some will even think that based on the B+, Zeo sucks. They want only an A or better.  That’s fine, too–but a sleep lab night after night is awfully expensive, not to mention uncomfortable.

The question I have is: Now that you know the way the exam will be graded, what will you do?

Related Posts

• Behind the Headband Pt 2: Your Internal Symphony
• Behind the Headband Pt 1: How Zeo Works
• Why Sleep Science Doesn’t Know Everything
• A Tale of Two Sleepers

Andi (ZQ: 86) is the editor of Zeology. By tweet or by post, email or Expert Answer, she makes sure people get the information they need about sleep.