1. Think in cycles, not hours

Needing eight hours a night is a myth, says Nick. Our sleep follows a natural 90-minute cycle as we move between deep NREM (Non-Rapid Eye Movement) and REM sleep. The important thing, he says, is not to interrupt one of these phases, so structure your sleep in multiples of 90 minutes: this could be 7.5, 6, or 4.5 hours of shut-eye.

Nick advises sticking to a regular wake time and working backwards. So, if you plan to wake at 6.30am for example, you should plan to drift off at 5am, 3.30am, 2am, 12.30am or 11pm.

2. Think about sleep over a week, not just a night

Rather than achieving a set number of hours a night, Nick believes it’s all about getting the right amount of sleep cycles each day and week.

“What we want to achieve is 35 cycles in seven days, which is five a day,” says Nick. If you go to bed late, simply balance it with an extra cycle the following night, or try to plan in a rest earlier in the day. He says we should look at the week ahead and plan our recovery cycles according to our work and social schedules.