While sleep requirements vary slightly from person to person, most healthy adults need seven to nine hours of sleep per night to function at their best. Just because you’re able to operate on six or seven hours of sleep doesn’t mean you wouldn’t feel a lot better and get more done if you spent an extra hour or two in bed. In reality, though, it’s a recipe for chronic sleep deprivation. In today’s fast-paced society, six or seven hours of sleep may sound pretty good. According to the National Institutes of Health, the average adult sleeps less than seven hours per night. There is a big difference between the amount of sleep you can get by on and the amount you need to function optimally. Source: Your Guide to Healthy Sleep, The National Institutes of Health Furthermore, sleeping later on the weekends can affect your sleep-wake cycle so that it is much harder to go to sleep at the right time on Sunday nights and get up early on Monday mornings. Myth: You can make up for lost sleep during the week by sleeping more on the weekends.įact: Although this sleeping pattern will help relieve part of a sleep debt, it will not completely make up for the lack of sleep. Some people sleep eight or nine hours a night but don’t feel well rested when they wake up because the quality of their sleep is poor. Myth: Extra sleep at night can cure you of problems with excessive daytime fatigue.įact: The quantity of sleep you get is important, sure, but it’s the quality of your sleep that you really have to pay attention to. Consequently, it can take more than a week to adjust after traveling across several time zones or switching to the night shift at work. Myth: Your body adjusts quickly to different sleep schedules.įact: Most people can reset their biological clock, but only by appropriately timed cues-and even then, by one or two hours per day at best. It also compromises your cardiovascular health, energy, and ability to fight infections. Myth: Getting just one hour less sleep per night won’t affect your daytime functioning.įact: You may not be noticeably sleepy during the day, but losing even one hour of sleep can affect your ability to think properly and respond quickly. In fact, you’ll likely get much more done during the day than if you were skimping on shuteye and trying to work longer. By addressing any sleep problems and making time to get the sleep you need each night, your energy, efficiency, and overall health will go up. The good news is that you don’t have to choose between health and productivity. Regularly skimp on “service” and you’re headed for a major mental and physical breakdown. Without enough hours of restorative sleep, you won’t be able to work, learn, create, and communicate at a level even close to your true potential.
While you rest, your brain stays busy, overseeing biological maintenance that keeps your body running in top condition, preparing you for the day ahead. Sleep isn’t merely a time when your body shuts off. And over the long-term, chronic sleep loss can wreak havoc on your mental and physical health. But even minimal sleep loss can take a substantial toll on your mood, energy, mental sharpness, and ability to handle stress. When you’re scrambling to meet the demands of a busy schedule, though, or just finding it hard to sleep at night, getting by on less hours may seem like a good solution. No other activity delivers so many benefits with so little effort! Sleep impacts your productivity, emotional balance, brain and heart health, immune function, creativity, vitality, and even your weight. The quality of your sleep at night directly affects your mental and physical health and how well you feel during the day. Sleep How Much Sleep Do You Need? What are your nightly sleep needs? What does sleep do for your health? By understanding your body’s needs, you can improve your sleep schedule and the quality of your waking life.
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