The Wind Down: How A Bioengineering Professor Gets High-Quality Sleep

I've been a great sleeper my whole life; I can fall asleep in any situation pretty easily. (I'm famous among my friends for falling asleep on a chair or couch if they stay over too late!)

As an undergrad, I remember asking my M.D. adviser if it was abnormal to sleep for 10 hours/night (which is what I did), and he said, "No, always get the sleep you need." I still live by that. As a medical intern, I didn't drink coffee and always tried to get sleep. Sometimes I had to stay up very late or all night, but then I did my best to catch up right away. Some say there is no "catching up" on sleep, but I found it was important to get as much sleep as possible as soon as possible after a late night taking care of patients.

I've taken Nebula Genomics' at-home DNA sequencing test, and it's given me some insights into how my genetics may affect my sleep habits. Certain genetic factors can play into sleep quality and duration. For example, studies have shown that variants in three genome regions (ATOH8, NPY, and MPP61) are associated with sleep quality.

Note: I'm not chronically sleep-deprived, and I have not been diagnosed with narcolepsy (other reasons that people fall asleep easily) although I sometimes wonder if I should be checked to be sure I don't have something like sleep apnea. I once told a friend who is a sleep expert about my profound ability to fall asleep, and the part that impressed him most was that when I'm anxious at night, I go to sleep even earlier. I have found that when I feel nervous (like before tests or big days), it makes me sleepy, so I always go into big days with lots of sleep. I also notice that I am more tired during allergy season, and I do have big-time hay fever. My father was ill for about a year, and worrying about him disrupted my sleep. For the first time in my life, I woke up at 4 a.m. worrying about things, though this stopped eventually.

10 p.m.: I check with my wife about when she is ready for bed. She's usually in her home office—sometimes I'll even go to bed and call her to tell her that I'm in bed while she's wrapping up work.

10:30 p.m.: I go to bed and turn on YouTube's Country Life Vlog, which has hypnotically beautiful and relaxing videos of people cooking.

10:35 p.m.: Turn on auto timer to turn off TV in 30 minutes.

10:36 p.m.: Close eyes and say good night.

10:37 p.m.: Fall asleep.... and get up to pee 1-2 times per evening. Welcome to being 61 years old.