Sleeping All Day: A Guide To Maximum Relaxation

Sleep is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle, and getting a good night's rest is just as important as regular exercise and a nutritious diet. While it may be tempting to sleep in and spend the whole day in bed, this is not something you should aspire to do often. Sleeping all day can affect your mental state and cause health problems such as blood clots, bed sores, and nausea. However, if you're trying to catch up on sleep after an all-nighter or preparing for a long night, there are some things you can do to increase your chances of sleeping for a whole day. Firstly, clear your schedule and make sure you have no commitments for the next day. You can also make your room as comfortable and dark as possible to encourage deep sleep. Additionally, avoiding caffeine and alcohol, exercising the day before, and eating a filling meal before bedtime can help you fall asleep more easily.

Clear your schedule for the next day

To sleep for an entire day, it's important to clear your schedule for the next day. This means cancelling or rescheduling any commitments, hangouts with friends, checkups, and appointments. Having an open schedule will allow you to sleep without any interruptions or worries about missing something important.

Identify your commitments:

Write down or make a mental note of all your commitments and obligations for the next day. This includes work meetings, school projects, social events, family gatherings, and any other responsibilities that require your time and attention.

Assess the importance of each commitment:

Go through your list and evaluate the significance of each commitment. Are there any deadlines that cannot be missed? Are there people relying on your presence or contribution? Identify which commitments are non-negotiable and must be honoured.

Communicate your plans:

Let the relevant people know about your intention to take a day for rest and sleep. Inform your employer, colleagues, friends, family members, or anyone else who may be affected by your absence. Explain your reasons and emphasise the importance of this time for your well-being. Most people will understand and support your decision.

Reschedule or delegate:

For the commitments that cannot be avoided, try to find alternative solutions. If possible, reschedule them for another day or time. If you have teammates or colleagues, consider delegating tasks to them and return the favour at a later date. Effective communication and planning will help ensure that your responsibilities are still managed in your absence.

Set boundaries:

Let those around you know that you will be unavailable for the day. This includes friends, family, and colleagues. Inform them that you will not be responding to messages or calls, except in cases of emergencies. Setting clear boundaries will help minimise distractions and interruptions during your day of sleep.

Plan ahead:

If possible, prepare in advance for the day you intend to sleep. Finish any urgent tasks, stock up on essential supplies, and ensure that your sleeping environment is comfortable and conducive to sleep. This way, you can fully focus on resting without worrying about pending tasks or responsibilities.

Remember, sleeping for an entire day is an unusual occurrence and should not become a regular habit. It's important to listen to your body and maintain a healthy sleep schedule most of the time.

Make your room as dark as possible

To sleep for an entire day, it is important to make your room as dark as possible. The human body takes cues from the environment, and darkness makes it easier to sleep. Even if it may seem extreme, blocking out any source of light can help you sleep better.

To achieve this, you can seal the blinds, close the curtains, and shut the doors. If there is light seeping in through the bottom of the door, use a towel to block it. You can also invest in blackout curtains or blinds, which are designed to block out light and provide total darkness. If you have a window that lets in light, try using a thick, dark curtain or blind to cover it.

In addition to blocking natural light, you should also minimise artificial light in your room. This includes light from electronic devices such as phones, tablets, and laptops. The blue light emitted by these devices can negatively impact your sleep. Try to avoid using these devices at least two hours before bedtime, and if necessary, turn them off completely.

By making your room as dark as possible, you can create an environment that promotes better sleep and helps you achieve your goal of sleeping for an entire day.

Avoid caffeine

Caffeine is one of the most popular substances in the world and, as a result, is one of the most common causes of sleep difficulties. Caffeine's stimulant effects can make it difficult to fall asleep when it's bedtime, even if you're normally tired.

If you're planning to sleep for a whole day, it's best to avoid caffeine the day before. This includes coffee and tea, as well as caffeinated gum and snacks. If you have to have coffee, try not to have any after noon to give your body plenty of time to process it before bed. It takes about six hours for the body to get rid of half a dose of caffeine.

If you're trying to sleep for a whole day, it's also a good idea to exercise hard the day before. Physical exercise is well-known for its ability to promote good sleep and is even used as a treatment for clinical insomnia.

• Skimp on sleep beforehand. It's easier to sleep beyond your normal limit if you're abnormally tired when you go to bed.
• Clear your calendar for the next day. It's easier to sleep deeply when you know there's nothing you need to do the next day.
• Make your sleeping area as comfortable and dark as possible.
• Keep yourself at a comfortable temperature. Most people tend to sleep best within 65-72 degrees F (18.33-22.22 degrees C).
• Eat a filling meal before you go to bed. Meals that contain tryptophan and large amounts of carbohydrates tend to make people the drowsiest.
• Have everything you'll need the next day within reach. Knowing that you'll have everything you need to stay in bed will help give you peace of mind so that you can drift off to sleep easier.
• When you wake up, try to close your eyes and go back to sleep.
• Make short trips out of bed for important needs, such as eating and going to the bathroom.
• Replicate your natural sleep habits. Everyone has a routine before they go to bed, and performing these bedtime habits can help signal to the body that it's time to "shut down" again.
• Try mental sleep tricks, such as distracting yourself with a mental game or focusing on an imaginary sensation.
• Try a small dose of a mild sleep aid, such as Diphenhydramine (Benadryl), Doxylamine succinate, Melatonin, or Valerian.

Avoid alcohol

Alcohol is a sedative and a central nervous system depressant, which means it can slow down brain activity and make you feel relaxed. While it may help you fall asleep, it can significantly impact your sleep quality.

Firstly, alcohol can negatively affect your sleep cycle. Typically, a sleep cycle consists of three non-rapid eye movement (NREM) stages of sleep, followed by a final rapid eye movement (REM) stage. The body cycles through these stages every 90 to 120 minutes, with NREM sleep dominating the first part of the night and REM sleep increasing in the second half. Each stage is essential for learning, memory consolidation, and achieving refreshing sleep. When you go to bed intoxicated, you are likely to experience more N3 sleep, or "deep sleep," and less REM sleep. Later in the night, once your body has metabolised the alcohol, you will likely experience more N1 sleep, the lightest stage of sleep, leading to frequent awakenings and fragmented sleep.

Secondly, alcohol can worsen pre-existing sleep disorders and snoring. It relaxes the airway, worsening snoring and obstructive sleep apnea, a disorder characterised by pauses in breathing during sleep. For people with central sleep apnea, which occurs when the brain fails to send signals involved in breathing, alcohol interferes with the brain's ability to receive chemical messages involved in the respiratory process, increasing the likelihood of pauses in breathing.

Thirdly, alcohol can cause or exacerbate insomnia, a disorder characterised by difficulty falling and staying asleep. As many as three-quarters of people with alcohol dependence experience insomnia symptoms when they drink. Conversely, people with insomnia are at an increased risk of developing alcohol use disorder, as they may turn to alcohol as a sleep aid. This can create a destructive pattern, where individuals drink to fall asleep but experience poor sleep due to alcohol's disruptive effects, leading them to rely on caffeine to counteract daytime sleepiness, which further disrupts their sleep at night.

Finally, alcohol can interfere with circadian rhythms, the biological patterns that operate on a 24-hour clock. It can decrease the body's sensitivity to cues like daylight and darkness, which trigger shifts in body temperature and melatonin secretion, playing a vital role in the sleep-wake cycle. This disruption can result in feeling alert when you want to sleep and sleepy when you want to be awake.

To avoid the negative impacts of alcohol on your sleep, it is recommended to refrain from consuming alcohol at least three hours before bedtime. If you consume multiple drinks in a short period, drink on an empty stomach, are sensitive to alcohol, or take medications that intensify its effects, you may need to stop drinking even earlier. Remember, alcohol can disrupt your sleep even if you do not realise it, so it is best to avoid it altogether if you aim to sleep well.

Exercise the day before

If you're planning to sleep for a whole day, it's a good idea to get some exercise the day before. This can be a great way to tire yourself out and improve your sleep quality. Aim for at least 150 minutes of exercise throughout the week, and make sure to leave a few hours between your workout and bedtime.

The day before your planned sleep session, try to fit in some physical activity. This could be a brisk walk, a jog, a swim, or any other form of exercise you enjoy. Just make sure it's something that gets your heart rate up and leaves you feeling pleasantly tired.

It's worth noting that exercising too late in the day might make it harder to fall asleep, due to the stimulatory effect of exercise. So, finish your workout at least a couple of hours before you plan to turn in for the night. This will give your body a chance to wind down and relax before bed.

Exercising the day before can promote good sleep and is often recommended for people with insomnia. It's a natural way to improve your sleep quality and duration, and it can help you feel more relaxed and ready for a full day of slumber.

If you know you'll be sleeping in, you might also want to get some sunlight and fresh air during your workout. Natural sunlight is a great way to regulate your body's sleep-wake cycle, so spending time outdoors can help you feel sleepier when it's time for your long slumber.

Frequently asked questions