The degradation of performance due to sleep depravation and working in stressful conditions is one of the most immediate concerns that affect sports performance, military readiness and productivity in business. Gaining a sleep advantage is the basis for optimizing health, energy, and performance. Lack of recovery and not getting enough quality sleep depletes body resources and creates a greater opportunity for accidents, injury, poor decision making, illness and lifestyle diseases. The problem is how do you know where you really stand without expensive tests or drawing incorrect conclusions based on perception? Fortunately, advances in technology now make it possible to take the guesswork out of how real life affects the body. Mobile ECG monitoring of the nervous system provides reliable feedback of stress reactions during sleep, the % of recovery, and the amount and quality of sleep. In our testing we often discover a significant gap in how people perceive sleep quality and where they actually are.
Self-reported sleep quality in the case below was reported as high (green smiley face). The person slept long enough, but the amount and quality of recovery was very poor revealing stress overload and exhaustion. Achieving sleep advantage is more than getting the recommended “length” of sleep. It starts with being able to obtain reliable data to draw meaningful conclusions about what promotes rest and recovery and aligning factors that matter.
