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SuperMemo:SleepChart

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SleepChart
Editable(wiki)versionofthispage

Contents
1Introduction
1.1Repetitionstimeline
1.2Sleeptimeline
2Timelinegraphs
2.1Timeline
2.2Circadian
2.2.1Sleepinitiation
2.2.2Sleepmaintenance
2.2.3Optimizingbedtime
2.3Learningcircadiancycle
2.4Phaseshift
2.5Alertness
2.5.1Alertnessapproximationbuttons
2.5.2Otheralertnessgraphbuttons
2.5.3Homeostaticalertnessparameters
2.6Napping
2.7REM
2.8Sleepblocklengthdistribution
2.9Periodogram
2.10Learning
2.11Memoryconsolidation
2.11.1Correlationbetweenrecallandconsolidation
2.11.2Goodlearningdays
3Twocomponentsleepmodel
4FAQ
4.1YoucanabandonSleepChart
4.2YouneedtocopysleeptimelinewhenreinstallingSuperMemo
4.3GapsinTimeline
4.4ShouldIloglightsleep

Introduction
Sleepisvitalforlearning.Tosleepwellandtolearnwell,youneedtounderstandyourowncircadianrhythm.SleepChartinSuperMemowasdesignedtoassistyouinthattask.
Itcanhelpyouoptimizethetimingofsleepaswellastooptimizethetimingofyourlearning.Youcaninspectthetimelineoflearningthatisgeneratedautomatically.Yoursleep
datamustbeloggedmanuallyintheSleepChart.Collectingyoursleepdatacanbeusefulinunderstandingthelinkbetweensleepandlearning.
Atminimumskilllevel,youcanuseSleepChartforbasicvisualinspectionofyourfavoritelearningandsleephours.However,moreadvancedfunctionssuchasoptimizingthe
timeforlearningorthetimeforsleeprequireadvancedanalysisandunderstandingofcircadianrhythms.Currently,thetoolsetforanalysingtheimpactofsleeponlearningisvery
limited.However,ifyoustartloggingyoursleepdatatoday,youwillbeabletousefuture,moreadvancedversionsofSuperMemotostudyandunderstandyoursleepand
learning.
YoucanaccessSleepChartwith:
1. Tools:SleepChartonthemainmenu,
2. SuperMemoCommander,or
3. byjustpressingF12.

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Sleepblocksaremarkedin blue .Learningblocksaremarkedin red .Totallearningtimeonindividualdaysisdisplayedontheright.Selectedsleepblockisdisplayedin yellow .

Thelengthofthatblockisdisplayedatthebottom.

Repetitionstimeline
Thetimelineofrepetitionsiscollectedautomaticallyandisseparateforeachcollection.EachtimeyourmakerepetitionswithSuperMemo,thelearningblockisaddedtothe
timeline(displayedinred).

Sleeptimeline
Thetimelineofsleepmustbeloggedmanually.ThereisonlyonesleeptimelineinSuperMemo(unlikerepetitiontimelinesthatareseparateforindividualcollections).Ifyoumove
SuperMemobetweencomputers,remembertomoveyoursleeptimelineaswell.Thetimelineisstoredinthe[SLEEP]subfolderoftheSuperMemofolderassleep.tim(e.g.
d:\sm16\sleep\sleep.tim).Thisfile'snameandlocationcannotbecustomized.ThisfileiscompatiblewithSleepChartandcanbeopenedandeditedinthatapplication
independentofSuperMemo.
Tologablockofsleep,clickthebeginningoftheblock(sleepstart)andthenclicktheendoftheblock(sleepend).Youcanalsostartfromclickingtheendofsleepfirst.Sleep
blocksabove22hoursaredisallowed.Sleepblockscannotoverlapwithrepetitionstimeline(youcannotlearnwithSuperMemoandbeasleepatthesametime).Ifyouhave
alreadycollectedyoursleepdatainSleepChart,youcanimportthisdatawithFile:Import:SleepChartfile.YoucanalsoimportdatafromaspreadsheetintheCSVformat.If
youimportfilesfromSleepChart,youcantestforsleepandlearningoverlapswithFile:Verify:Blockoverlaps.Protectionfromblockoverlapsisanimportantadvantageof
usingSuperMemooverSleepChart,inwhichitwasveryeasytofalloutofphaseinloggingdata(e.g.byfailingtofilloutasingledayandnoticingthatonlyamonthlater).You
canmarkblocksofforcefullydelayedsleep,aswellasmarkblockscutshortwithanalarmclockorotherfactors.Pleasenotethatyoucangetbestanalyticalresultsifyoudonot
artificiallyregulatesleep(e.g.withanalarmclock,sleepingpills,etc.).Appliedmodelswillnotfullyaccountforartificialintervention.Lastbutnotleast,naturalsleepiswhatyou
shouldaimforinlearningaswellasforthesakeofmaximumhealthandwellbeing.Naturalfreerunningsleepwillmaximizeyourfuninlife!

Timelinegraphs
Currentlyyoucanuse11analyticalgraphsinSleepChart.ThissetislikelytogrowinfuturereleasesofSuperMemoasmoregetstobeknownaboutinformationthatcanbe
extractedfromcorrelationsfoundinsleep&learningdata.Ifyoudeemthepresentedanalyticalpowerasinsufficienttoday,itshouldnotstopyoufromcollectingsleepdata.Start
today!Everydatapointcancontributetovaluableconclusionsinthefuture.

Timeline
Timelinedisplaysrepetitionsblocksofthecurrentcollection(inred)andsleepblocks(inblue).Datesandtotalrepetitiontimearedisplayedontheright.Sleepblockscanbe
consolidatedwithConsolidatebuttononthetoolbar.Forexample,ifyouwokeupfor510min.inthenight,consolidationwillmakeSuperMemotreattheentirenightblockasa
singleentity(shortawakeningsareafrequentoccurrence,evenifwearenotawareofthem,andhavelittleimpactonlearning).Sleepoptimizationdatacanbedisplayedinthis
graph.Mostimportantly,twoindependentmodelsareusedtopredictmiddleofthenightpointsaswellastheexpectedoptimumretirementandawakeningtimes.Those
approximationsmaybehelpfulinoptimizingsleepinpeoplewhoworkshiftsorsleepinirregularhoursforvariousreasons.Forexample,afteraweekofirregularsleep,itmaybe
difficulttodeterminetheoptimumretirementhourthatislikelytoproducebestqualitysleep.Goingtosleeptooearlymightresultinprematureawakening(whichmayoftenruin
thenightsleepentirely).Goingtosleeptoolatemayresultinshortnightsleep,sleepdeprivation,andreducedalertnessonthefollowingday.Predictingoptimumsleeptimeon
thebasisofsleephistoryisinexactscience,andtwomodelsusedmayproducedifferentoutcomes.Important!Yournaturalinstinctshouldalwaystakeprecedenceover
mathematicalmodels.Moreover,bestresultsinsleepoptimizationareaccomplishedinfreerunningsleep.Ifyouuseanalarmclock,orforceyourselfawakethroughthenight,or
takesleepingpills,themodelsmaynotadequatelyaccountforthechaoticchangethatisoccurringinyoursleepcontrolsystems.
Itisimpossibletoprovideasure&simplewayofinterpretingthefollowinggraphs.Onlyroughguidelinesareprovided.Formoredetailedinterpretation,sendyourdatato

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sleep2009(AT)supermemo(DOT)com.Yourdatawillbeusedtoimprovefutureanalytics.Ifpossible,youwillalsoreceivepersonalhelpininterpretingyourresults.

Figure:Computingoptimumsleephoursmaybeuseful,forexample,whenrecoveringfromanightshift.
Blue and red continuouslinesarepredictionsofoptimumsleeptimeusingtheSleepChartmodel(basedonsleepstatistics). Yellowcontinuousline showsthepredictionofthe
maximumofcircadiansleepiness(circadianmiddleofthenightpeak)usingaphaseresponsecurvemodel.Notethattheoretically,yellowlineshouldroughlyfallintothemiddle
betweenblueandredlines.However,whenadistruptionofthesleeppatternissevere,thoselinesmightdivergetestifyingtothefactthatitisveryhardtobuildmodelsthatfully
matchthechaoticbehaviorofthesleepcontrolsystemsubjectedtoamajorperturbation. Aquadots pointtothepredicteddaytimedipinalertness(i.e.thetimewhenanap
mightbemostproductive).

Circadian
ThecircadiangraphinSleepChartcanhelpyoubetterunderstandyoursleeppatterns,aswellastovisualizethedegreeofcycleinstability(i.e.howdifficultitisforyoursleep
wakecycletofitinto24hours).Youwillneedafewmonthsofdatabeforethegraphbecomesmeaningful.Inaddition,subjectivenightapproximationlinesinthesleeplogare
subjecttosubstantialhysteresis .Ifyourlifestylechangesdramatically(e.g.asaresultofatherapy),youmayneedafewweeksfortheapproximationlinestoalignproperlywith
data.Thecircadiangraphmaythenbemoredifficulttointerpret.Insuchcases,youcanuseFromthefirstdayandTothelastdayoptionstodemarcatetheperiodofinterest.
Thiswilllimittheanalysistoaselectedperiodcharacterizedbyaselectedlifestyle.

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Figure:Circadianandhomeostaticsleepiness.Circadiangraphplottingyourfavoritesleeptimesascountedfromnaturalawakening( bluehomeostaticline ),aswellasthe

resultingaveragesleeplengthproducedbyvariousretirementhours( redcircadianline ).The slantinggreenline separatesthegraphintotheareasofphaseadvanced(right)and
phasedelays(left).Thelineisdeterminedbypointsinthegraphwherethewakingtime(horizontalaxis)addedtothesleeptime(leftverticalaxis)equalsto24.0hours.Theplace
wherethe greenbreakevenline crossesthe redsleeplengthline determinestheoptimumbalancedsleepcycleof24hours.Thegreatertheanglebetweenthe green and red
lines,theharderitistobalancesleepandfititintothe24hcycleoftherotatingearth.Inthepresentedexample,thelongestsleepoccursaftera17hourday,thebestadjusted
cyclehappensaftera19hourday,whiletheusualwakingdaylastsaround20hours.

Sleepinitiation
Blueline showsthepreferredtimetofallasleep.Itcorrespondswithsleeppropensityderivedfromthenumberofsleepblocksfallingintoagivenhourofthewakingday,
wherezeroonthehorizontalaxisreferstothehourofwakingup.Percentageofsleepepisodesinitiatedatanygiventimeisdisplayedontherightverticalaxis.Theblueline
roughlyexpressesyour"tirednessofwakefulness".Italsoexpressesyourabilitytofallasleep.Yourownoptimumbedtimehourisyourpersonalcharacteristicasitdiffersbetween
people.Formostpeopletheoptimumbedtimefallsintotherangeof1620hoursfromwaking.Intheexample,themostfavoredbedtimeoccursinthe18thhourofwaking.

Sleepmaintenance
Redline showstheaveragelengthofsleep.Thislineisaroughreflectionoftheabilitytomaintainsleep,i.e.thelongestsleepepisodesoccurduringthesubjectivenight.
Theaveragelengthofsleepisdisplayedontheleftverticalaxis.Thegraphwilltellyouthatevenifyouareabletoinitiatesleepduringtheday,itwillneverlastlong.Inmost
casesofregularsleepers,onlyafter1114hoursofwakingdoesthelengthofinitiatedsleepstartincreasing.Notethatthesleeplengthgraphisslightlyphaseshiftedinreference
tothepreferredsleepinitiationtimeduetothefactthatlongsleepismostlyachievedbyinitiatingsleepearly.

Optimizingbedtime
Ifyouaretryingtodetermineyouroptimumbedtime,findtheeveningpeakinthe bluecurve andchoosenearbypointsthatproducesufficientlylongsleep( redcurve high
enough).Inaddition,payattentiontothefactthatyourwakeandsleeptimeshouldaddupto24hours,otherwiseyouwillexperiencephaseshifts.
Somepeopletakenapsduringtheday.Othersdon't.Innappers,the bluecurve shouldalsopointtothemaximummiddayalertnessdip.Shortnaptimemayactuallybeasign
ofgoodnaptimingaslongasthenapisnottakentooearlyinreferencetothe bluecurve .Nonnapperswillalsoexperienceapeakofsleepinessaroundthe7thhoureven
thoughtheir bluecurve willnotshowasaprominentbulge.
Ifthegraphshowsthatyouroptimumnaptimefallsintothe8thhour,andyouwakeupat6am,youshouldtakeabreakataround14:00(2pm)andlookforasecludedplacefor
afewminutesofrest.Youcouldalsoplanyourlunchataround13:0013:30tocompleteaperfectsettingforasiesta.

Learningcircadiancycle
Ifyoulearn"ondemand"(asopposedtoplannedlearninginaspecifictimeofday),youcanseethecircadianplotofyourlearninganalogoustotheSleepChartplot.Thisshows
youwhenyouliketolearnandforhowlong.

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Figure:Learningcircadiancycle.Theexemplarypictureprovesthatmorningisthebesttimetolearnwitha"second(circadian)wind"intheevening( blueline ).Themorning

learningtimeisshortandsharpwithlongerindividuallearningblocks,whiletheeveningtimespansoveralongerperiodbutshowsgraduallydecreasingdropinthe"powerto
learn"(2haverageinthemorning,1haverageinthe12thhour,downto510min.attheendoftheday)( redline ).Therapidincreaseinthelengthofblocksafter21sthhour( red
line )representsthedaysof"earlyrisingwithextralearningpower".Eventhoughthoseearlylearningblocksarelong,theydonotoccuroften(asindicatedbylow blueline ,which
represent"frequencyoflearning"atthatparticulartime).

Phaseshift
ThephaseshiftgraphmaybeusedbypeopleinfreerunningsleepsufferingfromASPSorDSPS.Thisgraphshowsthedegreeofphaseshiftaswellasitsdependenceonthe
timeofday.Thegraphcanbeusedtoseetheexpectedbedtimegivenaspecificnaturalwakingtime:

Figure: Blueline showsthebedtime(verticalaxis)fordayswithagivenwakinghour(horizontalaxis). Redline showsthenextday'swakinghours(whichareshiftedby12hours

inDSPS). Fuchsia and gray linesindicatethesiestaperiod.Eventhoughthe redwakingline beginsattheoriginofthegraph,itshowsasubstantialphaseshiftatlaterhours
(DSPS).Fromthepresentedexemplarygraphonecanreadthatforthewakingtimeequalto7am(horizontalaxis),theexpectedtimetogotobed,asindicatedbythe blueline ,
is1am(verticalaxis),whileoptimumsiestatimeoccursbetween15:00and16:00.However,ifthewaketimeis11am,thebedtimeislikelytocomeonlyat5amthenextday.

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Remember!Eachindividualwillhaveahisorherownuniquegraph.Moreover,thegraphwilllookdifferentlyifitistakenattimesofworkorattimesofsummervacation.Itwill
beaffectedbystressesatworkandathome.Itmayevenchangewhenyoumovefromonehousetoanother,orwhenyouchangetheclimatezone.Thegraphwillaccurately
reflectyourrhythmonlyifyouadheretofreerunningsleep.Ifyouuseanalarmclock,thisgraphwillbemeaningless!

Alertness
Inhealthyindividualswhoarenotsleepdeprivedandwhosleepinthecorrectphase,thebestlearningresultsareobtainedearlyinthemorning.Thiseasilyreproducible
observationwasanincentivetointroducetwooptionsinSuperMemothathelpusersoftheprogramstudytheiralertnessthroughoutthelearningday.Thetermalertness,in
SuperMemo,isusedinterchangeablytodescribetwodifferentmeasuresofcognitivefunction:
1. inverseofsleeppropensity(orsleepdrive)asderivedfromthetwocomponentmodel,and
2. theaveragegradeinlearningwithSuperMemowhichcorrespondswithmemoryrecall.
Bothexpressionsofalertnessarecloselycorrelated.SuperMemomeasuresalertnessaswellasattemptstopredictchangesinalertnessintwodifferenttimeframesintendedto
separatethehomeostaticandcircadiancomponentsofsleeppropensity.Bothapproachesrequireasleeplogforthemeasurementsandforthepredictionstobepossible.To
demonstratethehomeostaticchangestoalertness,SuperMemomeasuresthelearningperformancesincethelastsleepepisode.Todemonstratethecircadianchangesto
alertness,SuperMemomeasuresthelearningperformanceinreferencetothecircadiantime(i.e.timemeasuredsincetheoptimumnaturalwakinghour)inperiodsthatmayor
maynotincludeinterveningsleepepisodes.Asitcanbeseenintheenclosedpictures,itisnotpossibletofullydeconvolvetheimpactofhomeostaticandcircadiansleep
propensityonlearning.Homeostaticgraphswillalwaysincludeasmallcircadianbumprelatedtopostsiestalearning,whilecircadiangraphswillbeaffectedbysleephabitsthat
arecloselycorrelatedwiththecircadiancycle,esp.infreerunningsleep.
IfyouhavealreadycollectedyoursleepdatawithSleepChart,youcanseeyourwakerecallcorrelationswiththenewestSuperMemo.Notethatonlyrepetitionsexecutedwith
SuperMemo13.0(2006)orlaterwillbeincludedinthegraphsasearlierSuperMemosdidnotstoreprecisetimeofrepetitionsinrepetitionhistory.
Youcanseehowfastyouralertness,recallandgradesdropduringthedaybyinspectingtheAlertness(H)graphinSuperMemo.Inthisgraph,youcanseethetimethathas
passedsincethelastsleepblock,andhowyourrecallchangesinwaking:

Figure:Alertness(H)graphmakesitpossibletovisuallyinspecthowrecalldecreasesduringawakingday.TheDeviationparameterdisplayedatthetoptellsyouhowwellthe
chosenapproximationcurvefitsthedata(inthepicture:negativelyexponentialrecallcurve).Thelesserthedeviation,thebetterthefit.Thedeviationiscomputedasasquareroot
oftheaverageofsquareddifferences(asusedinthemethodofleastsquares).
InAlertness(H),theminimumlengthofasleepepisodeinconsiderationisdeterminedbyMin.sleepblock(h)box(0.2hours,or12min.isthedefaultminimum).Shortersleep
blocksaredisregardedinplottingthisgraph.Homeostaticalertnesshalflife(inhours)tellsyouwhenyourlearningcapacitydropsbyhalfafterwaking.Youcanmodifythis
parametertolookforabettercurvefitinyourcase(theModelbuttonmustbedepressed).SeeDeviationtoevaluatethefit.Thishalflifecandifferbetweenindividuals.Notably,
itisveryshortinnarcoleptics,andverylonginnaturalnonnappers.
ThecircadianchangesinalertnesscanbeseenintheAlertness(C)graph,whichplotsalertnessthroughoutthedayinreferencetothecircadiantimemeasuredfromtheactual
wakingtimeorfromtheoptimumnaturalwakingtime:

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Figure:Alertness(C)graphshowingthepowerfullybiphasicnatureofthehumancircadiancycle.Thehorizontalaxisshowsthecircadiantime,i.e.thetimethatelapsesfrom
phase0,i.e.thepredicted"endofthenight"time(ifModelisdepressed).ThepredictioncomesfromthecircadianmodelemployedinSleepChart,andisderivedfromthesleep
logdata.The yellowline isthepredictedcircadianalertnessderivedfromthesamesleeplogdatausingthetwocomponentmodelofsleeppropensitydevelopedforthepurpose
ofsleepoptimizationinSuperMemo(inspiredbysimilarworkbyAlexanderA.BorbelyandPeterAchermann).Theoverallalertness,notshowninthegraph,istheresultantofthe
statusofthetwocomponentsofsleeppropensity:thehomeostaticcomponentandthecircadiancomponent.The blue dotsarerecalldatatakenfromthelearningprocessin
SuperMemothatcorrelatewellwithoverallalertness

Alertnessapproximationbuttons
Homeostaticapproximationofthehomeostaticalertness(inverseofthehomeostaticsleepdrive).DependingonthestatusoftheModelbutton,theapproximationiseithera
theoreticalnegativelyexponentialcurvethatprovidesthebestfittothealertnessdata,oristakenfromthetwoprocessesmodelprovidingbestfittothesleeplogdata.
Circadianapproximationofthecircadianalertness(inverseofthecircadiansleepdrive).DependingonthestatusoftheModelbutton,theapproximationisadjustedforthe
actualwakingtimeorforthepredictedoptimumwakingtimetakenfromthetwoprocessessleepmodel.DependingonthestatusoftheExpFIbutton,thegraphisalso
adjustedforthetheoreticalassociationbetweengradesandrecall(asopposedtoonlyfailvs.successmeasurement).
Alertnessresultantalertnessthatcombineshomeostaticandcircadianalertness(inverseofthemodelledsleepdrive).Theformulausedtocombinethetwocomponentsof
alertnesshasbeenderivedheuristicallytoprovideagoodfittosleeplogandrecalldata.
Wakewakingtimeproportionatagivenpointincircadiantime(thisisastraightlineinthehomeostaticgraphasallpointsinthegraphareplottedafterthelastregistered
sleepepisode).Thewakingproportionisnottoscaleasallapproximationgraphsarestretchedbetweenminimumandmaximumlevelsforbettergraphclarity.

Otheralertnessgraphbuttons
Modelswitchbetweenactualwakingtimeandthemodelledpredictedoptimumwakingtimetakenfromthetwoprocessesmodel.Thisbuttonalsoswitchestothenegatively
exponentialapproximationofthewakevsrecallcurve(asopposedtothecurvetakenfromthetwoprocessessleepmodel).
ExpFIuseexpectedforgettingindexestimationstodifferentiatebetweengradesinthelearningprocess(whenthisbuttonisdepressed,onlyfailandpassgradesaretaken
asrecall0and1).
ExcelexportdatatoExcel.

Homeostaticalertnessparameters
Whendisplayingthehomeostaticalertness,youcanadjusttwoparameters(bottomofthegraph):
minimumlengthofsleepblocksconsidered(inhours).Allsleepepisodeslastinglessthanthesaidparameterwillbeignoredinthegraph.
homeostaticalertnesshalflife(inhours).Thisnumbertellsyouwhenyourlearningcapacitydropsbyhalfafterwaking.Youcanmodifythisparametertolookforabettercurve
fit(Modelmustbedepressed).SeeDeviationtoevaluatethefit.Thishalflifecandifferbetweenindividuals.Notably,itisveryshortinnarcoleptics,andverylonginnatural
nonnappers.

Napping
Thisgraphletsyouknowhowmuchtimeyouneedtocompensatewithnapsifyournighttimegetsshortened.

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Figure:Optimumnapduration.Whenthecorrelationbetweenthedurationofnighttimecoresleepandthetotaldurationofnapsisinvestigated,arathernonlinearrelationship
emerges.Inthepresentedexample,anegativelyexponentialfunctionprovidesfarbetterfittodatathanalinearfunction.However,inthemoststudiedrangecorrespondingwith
thenighttimesleeprangingfrom4to8hours,anearlylinearrelationshipcanbeobservedwhereeachhouroflostnightsleeprequires20min.ofreplacementnaptime.This
showsthannappinghasapowerfulcompensatorypower.

REM
ThistabisincludedinSuperMemoforresearchpurposesonly.Usingcircadianphasemisalignmentinnighttimesleepblocks,SleepChartattemptstomakeheuristicguesseson
thepossiblesleeparchitecture,incl.theproportionofREMsleepachieved.Thiscanthenbecorrelatedwiththequalityoflearningonthefollowingday.SuperMemoREMheuristic
hasnotbeenproperlyvalidated.IfyouusedifferentREMmeasurementmethods(e.g.basedonnighttimemobility),youmayobtaindifferentresults.Inparticular,
polysomnographicmeasurementsarethebestwaytogetdataontheproportionofREMinnightsleep.

Sleepblocklengthdistribution
NREMREMsleepcyclestakeroughly90min.Apopularmythsaysthatthelengthofahealthynighttimesleepepisodewillthereforealwaysbeamultipleof90min.Another
mythsaysthatitisoktointerruptsleepafteramultipleof90min.Avariantofbothmythssaysthatsleepissupposedtolastamultipleofaperiodthatisspecifictoagiven
individual.
SleepChartdisplaysthedistributionofthelengthofallsleepepisodes.Thatdistributioncanbeusedtoinvalidatetheclaimthatsleepblocksclusterinmultiplesof90min.

Figure:Sleepblocklengthdistributioninamonophasicsleeper.Inthepresentedexample,thegraphindeedshowsclustersat:1,2,3,3.5,4,5,6,7,8,9,and10hours.
However,uponcloserscrutiny,thisclusteringcomesonlyfrominaccurateloggingbythesubject(itiseasiertomark3.0hourblockthan2.95hourblock).Thereisno90min.trend

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discernible,however,onemightbetemptedtonoticeamultipleof60minutes.

Figure:Sleepblocklengthdistributioninabiphasicsleeper.Thisgraphusesasemilogscale,whichisbetterforvisualizingshortsleepblocksofahabitualnapper.Inthiscase,a
biphasicsleepershowsonlyonesignificantclusterat7hoursofsleep.Thisclusterwasagaincausedbyimpreciselogging.

Figure:Sleepblocklengthdistributioninaregular7hourspernightmonophasicsleeper.Thereareafewpeaksdiscernible,however,noregularsleeplengthmultiple.In
particular,nopeaksaroundtheexpected5.5and8.5hours.

Periodogram
Thisgraphhelpsyoudetectthefrequenciesthatunderlieyoursleepcycles(circadiancyclesandultradiancycles).

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Figure:Examplaryspectrogramshowsasleepwithaprevailingfrequencycorrespondingwithaperiodof24.454hours(i.e.27minutesmorethana24hdaynightcycle).Thereis
alsoaclusterofperiodsaround12.112.8hours(thosearereflectedbyamiddaycircadianlowtimesuitableforsiestanaps)

Learning
Thisgraphletsyouseethecorrelationbetweentheamountoflearningandyoursleepneeds(thecorrelationmaysurpriseyouasitoftenhappensthatonagooddayyoulearn
morewhileyousleepless).

Memoryconsolidation
Thedeclineintheabilitytoconsolidatememoriesduringthewakingdayfollowsacurvethatmirrorsthedeclineintheabilitytorecallthingsfrommemory!Asthedaygoeson,the
abilitytostorefactsinmemorydeclines.Shortnapsseemtorestorethememoryconsolidationpowertobaseline.Asmuchasrecall,consolidationseemstobeinversely
correlatedwiththehomeostaticdrivetosleep.
Theconclusionisthatinfreerunningsleep(i.e.primarilyintheabsenceofanalarmclock),wecangetbestlearningresultsifwelearnearlyinthemorning.Thesameholds
forexams.Therecallandexamresultswillbebestiftheexamisheldinthemorningeventhoughsometimeforpreexamcrammingmayskewtheoutcome.

Correlationbetweenrecallandconsolidation
Thefactthatbothrecallandconsolidationcurvesseemtofollowaverysimilarcourseduringawakingdayseemstoindicatethattheybothmaydependonthesameunderlying
mechanism.Thisconclusionisamplifiedbythefactthatrecallisapassiveprocess,whileconsolidationisanactiveprocessofformingneworreconsolidatingoldmemories.We
canhypothesizethattheunderlyingmechanismisthereforenotmolecular.Thedeclineinrecallandconsolidationmightsimplybecausedbyadeclineinoperationalefficiencyof
theneuralnetworksinvolvedinlearning.Thatefficiency,expressedasalertness(see:AlertnessinSuperMemo),dependsonbothhomeostaticandcircadiancomponentsofthe
sleepdrive.Thehomeostaticcomponentdeterminesanoveralldeclineinnetworkefficiencyoverthecourseofawakingday,whilethecircadiancomponentallowsofasmall
bumpinthesecondhalfofthewakingday,presumablyduetoaneurohormonalimpactofthecircadiancycleontheoverallfunctionofthecentralnervoussystem.

Goodlearningdays
Thecorrelationbetweenrecallandconsolidationcanalsobeseeninabstractionfromthecircadiantime.Iftheoverallrecallandconsolidationdataaretakenfromindividualdays
oflearningprocess,theycorrelateprettywelltoo.
InSuperMemo,youcanseethatlearningdaysthataregoodforrecallarealsogoodformemoryconsolidation.Recallisexpressedasafractionofcorrectanswersonagivenday.
Consolidationisexpressedasafractionofcorrectanswersonthedayofthenextrepetitionthatfollowstheoneonthedayforwhichtheconsolidationismeasured.
Wecanconcludethatgoodlearningdaysareequallygoodforrecallastheyareforconsolidation.Amoregeneralconclusionisthatsuccessfulrecallisessentialforconsolidation
ofmemories.

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Figure:Exemplarygraphshowinghowgoodmemoryrecallimprovesmemoryconsolidation.Therelationshipbetweenrecallandconsolidationisnearlylinear.Thegraphwas
plottedusingover800,000repetitionsinSuperMemo,with538,000ofthesecontributingtheirdatatotheconsolidationestimates.Recalllevelswithfewerthan3000datapoints
havebeenomittedfromthegraph.TheDeviationparametersayshowwellthelinearfitmatchesthedata(thelessthedeviation,thebetterthefit).Thedeviationiscomputedas
asquarerootoftheaverageofsquareddifferencesbetweentheapproximationandthedata.

Figure:Exemplarygraphshowingtheaveragerecallfordaysproducingagivenlevelofmemoryconsolidation.Therelationshipbetweenconsolidationandrecallisnearlylinear.
Thegraphwasplottedusingover800,000repetitionsinSuperMemo.Consolidationlevelswithfewerthan3,000datapointshavebeenomittedfromthegraph.Loweredrecallfor
consolidationof100%comesfromthefactthatthisconsolidationlevelisoverrepresentedbysmallsampledayswhereluckyperfectrecallinjustafewitemsmayresultinperfect
consolidationreadingwithoutactuallysayinganythingabouttherecallonthedaytheconsolidatingrepetitiontookplace.Sufficientlylargenumberofsuchcaseswilllet
consolidationcategoryof100%passthe3,000datapointsoutlierlimitsetforthisgraph,andresultinarecalllevelthatismuchclosertotheaveragelevel.

Twocomponentsleepmodel
SuperMemousesatwocomponentsleepmodelinspiredbythepublicationsofAlexanderA.BorblyandPeterAchermann.Unlikeothermodels,SuperMemousesuser'ssleep
datatopredictthehomeostaticandcircadianstatusofoverallsleeppropensity.Thismodelishelpfulinchoosingtheoptimumtimeforlearningonagivenday(givenaparticular
historyofsleep).Itcanalsohelpplanningtheoptimumbedtimeincaseswherethesleeppatternishighlyirregular.Themodeldoesnotpredicateonthetiminganddurationof
NREMandREMsleepepisodes.
ThemodelistunedtofittypicalSleepChartdatalogs.However,thereareindividualgeneticdifferencesthataffectthelengthofthecircadiancycle,steepnessofthehomeostatic
declineinalertness,sleeplengthpreferences,sleeparchitecture,spectralpropertiesofsleep,fragmentationofsleep,etc.Thismodelislimitedinaccountingforthesevariables.If
youaresleepyagainstthesimulationsbasedonthemodel,youcanprobablytrustyourowninstinctsbetter.Ifyoufeelalertagainstthesimulationsbasedonthemodel,youcan
certainlygetdowntolearningandignorepredictionsofthemodel.Moreover,sleeppatternsareagoodmeasureofyoursleepcontrolsystemsonlyiftheyarenotartificially

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disturbed(e.g.byforcefullydelayingsleep,usingalarmclock,usingmedication,etc.).Inotherwords,ifyouarenotfreerunningyoursleep,thepresentedmodelmayfailtomap
yourcircadianrhythmscorrectly.Youcanmarkblocksasartificiallyshortenedordelayed(ForcedawakeningandDelayedretirementonthecontextmenuavailablewitharight
click).However,markedblockswillhavealimitedeffectasthereisnowayofknowingthedegreeofthecutintothesleepingpatterns,and,consequently,knowingtheresulting
perturbationinthesleepcontrolsystemproducedbyartificiallymodifiedsleep.
InBorblymodel,thetimingofsleepisdeterminedbythepointsinwhichthecurvesrepresentingthehomeostaticandcircadianprocessescross.SuperMemousesasimpler,but
moreintuitiveapproach,inwhichbothcomponentsofsleepinessareintegratedintoanoverallalertnesslevel( redline inthegraph).Theadvantageofthatapproachisthe
possibilityofinstantfeedbackfromanactuallearningprocess,wherethelevelofmemoryrecallissupposedtocorrelatedirectlywiththelevelofalertnessdeterminedby
themodel.TheformulaforintegratingthetwocomponentsofsleepintooverallalertnesswaschosenheuristicallywiththehelpofalertnessdatagatheredinSuperMemo.The
purposeoftheintegrationwastoachievethebestpossiblematchofthepredictedalertnessinthemodelwiththeaveragerecalllevelinSuperMemo.Asithasbeenshownearlier,
bothhomeostaticsleepinessandcircadiansleepinessaffectthegradesinSuperMemo,however,onlyacombinedeffectofbothcomponentsprovidesagoodmatchwiththe
changesofrecallfordifferentcombinationsofhomeostaticandcircadiansleepiness.InthemodelusedinSuperMemo,sleepisinitiatedwhentheoverallalertnessdropsbelowa
certainlevel.Sleepmaythusbeinitiatedbybothcomponentsofsleepinessindependently,butthetiminganddurationofsleepwilldifferforvariouscombinationsofchangesin
thehomeostaticandcircadiansleeppropensity.Despiteusingadifferentapproachtodeterminingthesleeponset,predictionsofthemodelfittheactualsleeplogdataprettywell
infreerunningconditionincasesstudied.
Toseethepredictionsofthemodelforyourownsleepdataforanygivenday,makesureyouhaveyoursleeplogfilledoutforrecentdaysinSleepChart,andshiftclickthedayin
questioninthesleeplog.

Figure:TwocomponentsleepmodelinSuperMemo:Thehorizontalaxisrepresentstime. Blueblocks showtheactualsleepepisodes. Aqualine showsthe24hcircadiansleep

drivewithamiddaysiestahump. Greenline isaninverseofthehomeostaticsleepdriveandcanbeinterpretedashomeostaticalertness,whichdeclinesexponentiallyduring
wakefulnessandisquicklyrestoredbyslowwavesleep(forsimplicity,asinBorbelymodel,theentiresleepblockisassumedtohaveacontributionproportionaltoitslength,as
theSleepChartmodeldoesnotaccountforsleepstages). Yellowverticallines showthepredictionofthecircadianacrophase(circadianmiddleofthenightpeak).Acrophase
computationsaredonewiththehelpofaphaseresponsecurvemodel(asopposedtoastatisticalmodelusedinearlierversionsofSleepChart). Redline showstheresultant
alertness(peaksarebestforlearning,valleysarebestforsleep).Forexample,AlertnessonOct1,2008at7:43waspredictedtobeat59%ofthemaximumbutwouldkeep
increasingfastinthefirst2hoursofwakefulness(atypicalsymptomofanightsleepthatisterminatedtooearly).ThepictureshowstwopeaksinalertnessonOct1,2008,at9
amandat7pm.Thoseperiodswouldlikelybebestsuitedforlearningonthatday.
ToseeamoreaccuratepresentationofyourownhomeostaticandcircadianalertnessinSuperMemo,seetheAlertnesstabinSleepChart.

FAQ
YoucanabandonSleepChart
Question
IusedtologmysleepintoSleepChart.OncethisfileisimportedtoSuperMemo,shouldIabandontheSleepChartfileandlogsleepdetailsdirectlyintoSuperMemo?
Answer
Yes.AllSleepChartfunctionalityhasbeenincludedinSuperMemo.YoucanquicklygetSleepChartwithF12.However,thereisfullcompatibilityatthefilelevel,andyoucan
alwaysgobacktoSleepChartinthefuture,orintroducesleepblocksusingSleepChartifitismoreconvenient(anddoesnotleadtoconfusion).Allyouneedtorememberistouse
thefileattherightlocation:SuperMemoFolder/sleep/sleep.tim.SuperMemowillalwaysusethefileatthislocationonly.

YouneedtocopysleeptimelinewhenreinstallingSuperMemo
Question
IinstalledanewversionofSuperMemoandcopiedmycollectionsintothatinstallation.However,mysleeptimelinedisappeared.
Answer
Inadditiontocopyingyourcollections,youwillneedtocopythefollowingfile:<SuperMemoFolder>\sleep\sleep.tim.Thisfilemustbeplacedinthe\sleepfolderinthenew
installation.

GapsinTimeline
Question
Ihadbeenmeticulouslyrecordingmysleepforabout6monthsuntilIlosttrackforacoupleofweeksandthenbeganrecordingmysleeponcemore.Howaresuchgapsin
SleepCharttreated?Cananythingbedoneafterwardstominimisethedamagetothedata?
Answer
Currently,SuperMemohasveryweakprotectionsagainstmissingdata.Ifyouuseyourdatatostudysleepcycles,youcouldtrytoroughlyestimatethesleephoursfortheperiod
andfillintheapproximatedata.However,itishardtosayhowthiswillaffectsleep&learningcorrelations.Evenasmallchangecouldproduceamajordifferenceingraphs.You
couldbackupsleep.timfile,fillintheapproximationsandpeekattheAlertnessgraph.Ifithasnotbeendisturbedmuch,youmightleavetheapproximateddataandhopethat

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withtheinflowofnewsleepandlearningdata,thedamagewillbediluted.Hopefully,overtime,SuperMemowilladdmechanismstobettercopewithmissingsleepdata.However,
ifyouwanttounderstandyourownsleepandmemory,youwoulddobestbyjustbeingreligiouslysystematicwithlogginginyoursleepblocks.

ShouldIloglightsleep
Question
Hello,shouldlogthetimefromwhenyougetintobedortrytoestimatethetimeatwhichyouactuallyfallasleep?IsometimestakeuptwohourstotrulyfallasleepevenifIam
tired.AndifIspentanhouronmybedinakindoflightsleepbutconscious(ormeditating),shouldIlogthatin?OrshouldIjusttrytotrulysleepwhenIaminmybed?
Answer
AsSleepChartdoesnotprovidefordifferentiatingbetweensleepstages(thiswouldrequiresomeadvancedmeasurementtechnology),youcanuseconsciousmindasthesole
indicator.Lightsleepwithlossofconsciousnessshouldmarkasblue=sleep,whiletossingandturningormeditationwithoutthelossofconsciousthinkingshouldmarkas
white=wake.Ifyouhappentoguessyouhadshortmomentsofsleep(12min.),youcouldmarktheseasshortverticalbluesleeplines.Whetheryouareinterestedinoptimizing
sleep(e.g.whentogotosleep)orinviewingyourlearningperformanceinwakingtime,SuperMemoshallcopeokwithadegreeofimprecisioninloggingsleepinsituationslike
theonedescribed.

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