Follow your natural rhythm.

Your energy schedule, also known as your circadian rhythm, is a map to guide your activities throughout the day. If you can listen to your body, no matter your sleep debt, you can take advantage of what it's telling you today.

Finish your RISE setup and keep your energy schedule close to where you make decisions. Connect your calendar, add the iPhone Home Screen widget, and install the Apple Watch app.

What to do during your mid-day dip

Your body is in a recharging state during your dip. While you'll have less energy and more difficulty focusing, here are some ideas to help you during your dip:

• Schedule mundane tasks. Do tasks that don't require you to be 100%.
• Get some exercise. Get an energy boost by taking a walk or doing a workout.
• Social time. Reach out to coworkers, friends, or your partner to catch up.
• Mentally recharge. Do something that gives you joy or provides a mental boost, such as meditation.
• Nap if you can. Dips are ideal to get a 20-min recharging power nap.

Making your mid-day dip feel better

There are ways to make your dips feel less low. The two main ways are:

• Lower your sleep debt. Low sleep debt is your most effective tool for minimizing dips. Even mundane tasks like searching on google show lower cognitive ability with high sleep debt. Regardless of what you're doing in during a dip, you'll be better at it if you are getting enough sleep.
• Avoid caffeine. Drink caffeine at a low and slow pace in the morning to help you feel less groggy. However, caffeine stays in your system for 10 hours, so avoid it during your afternoon dip. Many find themselves in a cycle where they use caffeine to cope with their dip, disrupt that night's sleep, and then need even more caffeine the next day. Break the cycle.

Using your evening dip to find your natural sleep schedule

Your body is already sending signals for when to wind-down for sleep—your evening dip—the challenge is to be prepared to sense them. Taking small steps toward a more consistent sleep schedule is the best thing you can do to start sleeping better and feeling better.

Protect your wind-down time: Follow your body's energy dip in the evening to give yourself plenty of time to decompress before bedtime. It's crucial to start turning off your body and mind to prepare for sleep. This is your cue to end the workday. Avoid activities that take mental energy or cause stress. Instead reward yourself with a hot shower or some mindless entertainment. Dim the lights and put your devices into "Night Shift" mode to limit blue-light that prohibits your brain from making optimal melatonin.

Use your melatonin window: RISE uses your sleep times to predict the circadian phase when your brain is producing the optimal amount of melatonin to help you fall asleep and stay asleep. Sleeping according to your ideal circadian timing leads to higher quality sleep, better health, and productivity.

Consistency: Have you slept in on Sunday and felt groggy for most of the morning? That's because your grogginess (sleep inertia) is overlapping your morning energy peak. Keep your wake time consistent (within an hour) even on weekends to prevent your circadian rhythm from shifting. While there is no scientific evidence of benefits to waking up in a particular phase of sleep, there is evidence that irregular sleep-wake patterns negatively impact performance and mood.

Be more productive today using your peaks

What requires your highest level of attention and focus today? Your morning and evening peaks are the best times to schedule critical decision-making, presentations, analysis, collaboration, homework, etc.

Defer mundane tasks to the first 90 minutes after you wake up or your afternoon dip — you'll be less energetic, focused, and attentive. Your dip is also a great time to exercise, meditate, or get outside for some sunlight.