You're in bed by 9pm or 10pm, getting seven or eight hours, but when that alarm goes off, you feel like absolute rubbish. Groggy, heavy, like you barely slept at all.

Why do I wake up tired even when I sleep early?

Eight hours of interrupted sleep gives you less recovery than six hours of solid sleep. Your brain cycles through 90-minute sleep stages (light, deep, and REM), and each interruption—kids, bathroom trips, checking your phone—pulls you out of a cycle and forces you to start over. 

Deep sleep (muscle repair, immune recharge) concentrates in the first 3-4 hours. REM sleep (mental processing) dominates the second half. If you're waking up multiple times, you're fragmenting these cycles and missing the restorative stages. Time in bed doesn't equal quality recovery.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why complete 90-minute sleep cycles matter more than total hours in bed
• How micro-disruptions fragment your deep sleep and REM sleep stages
• Why alcohol suppresses REM sleep in the second half of the night despite helping you fall asleep faster
• What sleep inertia is and why waking mid-cycle makes you feel worse than waking after fewer hours
• Five practical fixes: protecting sleep continuity, optimizing room temperature (18-19°C), cutting alcohol 3 hours before bed, timing meals properly, and working backwards in 90-minute increments from your wake time

Quality beats quantity every single time. Protect your sleep cycles, not just your bedtime.

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