Here’s what you need to know about how much you need to sleep each night, what happens if you don’t get enough sleep, how to improve your sleep health and how to determine when to go to sleep.
How much sleep do you need?
According to the National Sleep Foundation, adults should sleep between seven and nine hours each night. Such a program is ideal, but you probably think why it would be so bad to sleep less than seven hours. Well, find out that the effects of sleep deprivation may be worse than the fatigue you feel the next day. Studies have linked sleep deprivation to increased levels of stress, cognitive disorders, high blood pressure and overeating.
How do you know when is the right time to go to bed?
Think about what time you will wake up the next day and make some simple calculations. According to researchers at Cambridge University, most people need between five and 20 minutes to fall asleep, so when calculating your bedtime, add this interval. So, if you have to be at work at 09:00 and you need two hours to be ready and to arrive at work, you should go to sleep between 9:40 pm and midnight.
If you wake up before the alarm sounds, try moving your bedtime later. If you cannot stay up until the appointed time, try to change it, putting it earlier.
You cannot recover, at the end of the week, the hours of sleep lost
After you set the bedtime that works for you, respect it even on the weekend. Matthew Walker, director of the Center for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, says recovering the sleep over the weekend is a myth.
“Sleep is not like the bank – so you cannot accumulate a debt and then try to pay it later. The brain doesn’t have the capacity to recover lost sleep,” he says.
How you can have a long and restful sleep?
There are tricks and products you can try to get seven to nine hours of sleep per night. According to specialists, if you can’t fall asleep, you should write. The creative act of writing, whether it’s random thoughts or a list of activities, will help your brain to relax.
This trick will work if you use pen and paper, not gadgets. If you can’t give up using the computer, use a screen protector that blocks the blue light.
Nutritionist Samantha Cassetty explains that eating near bedtime can affect sleep quality. She recommends eating at least two hours before bedtime.
