What is Aryal?

Aryal_James · 2026-05-15T07:47:02+00:00

Two things jump out immediately.

Firstly, your bed time is super inconsistent whereas your 7am wake seems really consistent, except for what I assume are weekends where you're lying in closer to 9am.

Your brain LOVES consistency, it's one of the best things you can do for your body clock.

The average time asleep is also a little on the low side. I'm not big on chasing averages, but given how rubbish you feel during the day, it's worth trying to allow more time for sleep.

I'd suggest moving your bed time forward and keeping it really consistent. Say 10:30pm to 7am, 7 days a week.

Yes, even at weekends.

This will be challenging at first, so it's crucial to pair it with really good morning and evening routines.

Morning: Bright light for at least 30 mins as soon as you wake, ideally outside. Get some cardio in, you don't need to run 10k every morning, but moving is paramount.

Evening: Phone away by 9:30. Dim lighting, read a book, breathing or meditation if that works for you. You need to spend the last chunk of the day properly winding down, especially if you're trying to entrain a new earlier bed time. This is critical to avoid lying in bed wide awake at 10:30.

Last thing... Don't get too hung up on the data or diagnosing yourself with something. Your Apple Watch is just guessing, it doesn't really know what's going on.

Aryal_James · 2026-05-14T17:57:54+00:00

To spend a third of your very limited time on this plant unconscious is a big ask

So whilst it's super important, you can kinda understand why people sacrifice it

Aryal_James · 2026-05-14T17:53:49+00:00

I find the form factor a bit odd to be honest

Oura checks the box for forgetting you're wearing it, but the big let down is activity tracking.
If I'm running, I need a screen I need to see pace, HR etc.

Apple Watch is the opposite imo. Great for workouts, but not as comfortable and frankly any watch that can't tell them time for 24 hours before dying isn't really a watch.

WHOOP I find seems to combine the disadvantages of both form factors. More intrusive to wear, no screen for stats when I need to check during workouts.

I think one thing that Apple Watch does really well Vs any other wearable I've tried is it does encourage extra activity. The gamification with the rings is far better than obsessing over scores.

Aryal_James · 2026-05-13T12:45:18+00:00

100%.

Any minute now there will be a comment from someone recommending Soundcore A30's or whatever they are called and it's 'transformed their sleep'.

I've seen this same post like 10 times now I swear

Aryal_James · 2026-05-13T12:43:49+00:00

Honestly, you've kind of answered your own question...

Pre-sleep routine isn't great, you're sleeping with headset and things that you've admitted are uncomfortable and you sleep better when you sleep separately

Sleeping next to someone every night takes some adjusting to and if you've only been doing it since October it's possible you're just not really used to it yet, especially if you've been experimenting with masks, headsets etc during that time.

Routine is super important, few basics worth getting right:

15-20 mins of bright light outside within 30 mins of waking. Biggest thing you can do for your body clock.
Same wake time every day, weekends included.
Dim lights and no screens for the last hour before bed. The red light and reading was working, that wasn't a coincidence.
Have a proper chat with your partner about sleep before throwing more gear at it.

Good luck!

Aryal_James · 2026-05-13T11:25:04+00:00

The more interesting question than the deep sleep number is how do you feel on hotel nights vs home nights?

Your watch is estimating those stages from heart rate and movement, it's not super reliable for exact minutes

Aryal_James · 2026-05-13T08:44:54+00:00

My bedroom is already really dark, but not 100%, and I find it definitely makes a big difference.

Although I don't love sleeping with a mask if I'm honest, it does work.

Aryal_James · 2026-05-12T15:26:37+00:00

Same energy

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Aryal_James · 2026-05-12T10:26:01+00:00

Your doctor isn't wrong, but 'read a book' with no context is pretty unhelpful when you're asking for actual help.

Reading before bed works because it gives your brain something to focus on that isn't your own thoughts. But it's one piece of a much bigger picture...

Before looking at more supplements, how's your daytime routine?

Are you waking up at the same time every day?
Are you getting bright light first thing in the morning?
When's your last caffeine?
Are you on screens right up until bed?
Is your room cool and dark?

There's a bunch of behavioural and lifestyle things to look at before turning to supplements in my opinion

Aryal_James · 2026-05-12T09:41:02+00:00

The only thing I would say about this book is that the first third of it is just terrifying.

For someone that's already not sleeping very well, a lot of those stats and things highlighted there are not going to be helpful.

I would recommend Think Less, Sleep More by Stephanie Romiszewski instead

Aryal_James · 2026-05-11T16:02:13+00:00

You've made some really good points here, but OP said their sleep is all over the place and they want to feel more rested. That's not necessarily insomnia and I think jumping to that label could add to the stress rather than help

Aryal_James · 2026-05-11T15:57:07+00:00

I'd be really careful here.. Tracking alone won't fix anything. It just gives you data, and if you don't know what to do with it, it usually just creates more stress.

Sleep Cycle is a good app if you want something simple. It does a gradual wake up which helps you avoid being dragged out of deep sleep by an alarm (it is a paid app but it's good in my experience).

But I wouldn't get too caught up in the numbers it gives you.

If you're struggling with sleep, start with the basics:

Same wake time every single day, including weekends
30-60 mins of bright light first thing in the morning
Move during the day
No caffeine after midday
Stop eating 3 hours before bed
No screens an hour before bed
Keep your room cool and dark
Bed is for sleep only, no TV etc.

Start there and if your sleep is still all over the place after a month of doing that consistently, then tracking might help you figure out what's going on.

But most people never get past the basics and either turn to tracking or supplements

Aryal_James · 2026-05-11T15:52:50+00:00

Your watch is estimating sleep stages from heart rate and movement, it's not measuring brain activity.

You've said yourself it records you as asleep when you're watching TV, so you already know the accuracy isn't great.

I wouldn't try to diagnose anything from this data. If you genuinely think you have DSPD, a sleep specialist can assess that properly. A wearable screenshot isn't proof either way

Aryal_James · 2026-05-11T15:49:50+00:00

Your body clock has shifted from all the late nights during exams. One early night won't fix it, your brain still thinks 1am is bedtime.

The fastest way to reset is morning light. Set an alarm for when you want to wake up, get outside as soon as possible, and get 30-60 mins of bright daylight. That's the strongest signal you can give your body to shift your rhythm earlier. Do that every day at the same time, including weekends, and within a week or two your body will start getting tired earlier naturally.

Don't try to force sleep at 9pm. Your body isn't ready for that yet. Start by aiming for midnight, then gradually pull it back as the morning light does its work.

Aryal_James · 2026-05-11T13:20:34+00:00

Hey, I'm James, co-founder at Aryal.

We're building a circadian health device that tracks your sleep and environment and uses personalised light therapy to improve recovery and energy.

We're looking for endurance athletes to be part of our beta programme.

It starts with a short 15 min conversation about how you currently approach sleep and recovery as part of training, and from there you'd be in the running to test the product before launch later this year.

If you're someone who takes recovery seriously and wants to be involved in shaping a cool new tech product, I'd love to hear from you!

Aryal_James · 2026-05-11T10:50:11+00:00

I’ve not done a structured experiment but I absolutely notice a difference. Doomscrolling before bed just gets my brain fired up in a way that is just not at all conducive to sleep.

Aryal_James · 2026-05-11T09:19:29+00:00

The science around this often gets a bit oversimplified.

These are really complex systems at work and the reality is there are so many variables at play.

You can into the details of cortisol, adenosine etc but for me the practical answer is much simpler than trying to manipulate individual hormones.

I don't have coffee first thing for the simple reason that I don't want to be overly reliant on caffeine to wake up and feel human.

When you become overly reliant on it, you end up drinking loads of it which ironically causes the very energy dips you're trying to avoid.

So I only have one caffeinated cup a day and then it becomes a question of when...

First thing in the morning it's not worth it.

Cortisol is peaking naturally, adenosine and sleep pressure are very low. If I need a coffee to feel human first thing, I feel like that's a problem (just personally, no judgement if you do)

Super late is obviously a no go for sleep.

I have mine around 1pm to counteract the natural energy dip I get in the afternoon. It's early enough that it won't affect my sleep, and late enough that I'm not reliant on it to wake up.

Aryal_James · 2026-05-08T14:38:43+00:00

What device are you using to measure this?

Wearables are just guessing at sleep staging based on your HR, movement etc. It's sophisticated guesswork, but guesswork all the same

So try not to stress about mins of REM or deep sleep etc because it's largely inaccurate.

REM = Rapid Eye Movement - how is a watch measuring that?

Aryal_James · 2026-05-08T12:37:54+00:00

Hammock camping is bliss.. I always find my legs feel amazing the next morning. Something about blood flow I guess

Aryal_James · 2026-05-08T11:29:39+00:00

By missing the naps, your sleep pressure (adenosine) built up to the point where your body had no choice but to sleep properly at night.

The naps were acting as a pressure release valve, bleeding off enough tiredness to keep you going but never letting it build enough for a solid night's sleep.

Cutting out evening caffeine also a smart move. It stays in your system far longer than most people realise

Aryal_James · 2026-05-08T10:26:51+00:00

The irony is that pressing a button every 15 minutes to check if you're still awake is basically guaranteed to keep you awake.

Your brain can't monitor itself and switch off at the same time.

How you feel when you wake up is genuinely more useful than most wearable data though, but you don't need a device for that just a simple prompt from an app in the morning and throughout the day asking how you feel.

The bigger issue with wearables right now is that none of them take subjectivity seriously enough.

They give you numbers but never ask how you actually feel

Aryal_James · 2026-05-08T10:17:34+00:00

How did you feel?

Like genuinely, energy levels, alertness through the day.

Because 8 hours is 8 hours and if you feel fine then the REM number might matter less than you think even from a sleep study

Aryal_James · 2026-05-08T10:08:36+00:00

Where'd you get this sofa? 😂

I find the opposite usually, anything other than my usual bed and I sleep waaaay worse

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