How Many Hours of Sleep Do You Need Before the Workday

How Many Hours of Sleep Do You Need Before the Workday Youre lying in bed before the workday. Maybe you have an important presentation. Perhaps youre looking forward to a special activity or dreading a difficult one. Maybe you want a good nights sleep just to get through the day. But no matter what you do, you just cant fall asleep.You keep looking at your phone thinking If I fall asleep now Ill get seven hours of sleep. If I fall asleep now I get six... And so on. Its driving you crazy.Weve all been there. While the occasional restless night is normal, even though your body may feel a little off the next day and you may suffer from daytime sleepiness, long-term sleep deprivation can lead to sleep debt (or deficit in sleep over a long period of time) and have serious consequences on your mental and physical health and well-being.Why is your sleep cycle so important?Sleep has an effect on nearly every facet of your waking life, including productivity, energy and psychological well-be ing. If you are routinely sleeping poorly, your psychological well-being, interactions with family and friends and even physical health could suffer.Simply put, your body needs sleep. If youre not sleeping well, it wont function correctly.Not only will your body feel worse, but sleep problems can also have a severe impact on your work performance. Sleeping is linked to memory, so you may be less able to complete certain tasks or do them as quickly or as well as you would normally if youre sleep-deprived. It also concerns productivity, so you may not work as efficiently as you normally do when you havent had a good nights sleep. Lack of sleep over the long term can have mora severe consequences on your job performance and lead to burnout.Consequences of lack of sleepSome of the more serious consequences of lack of sleep on your life in general include Brain fogging, which makes it difficult to focus and make decisions and increases your risk of accidents Depressed mood An increased r isk for obesity, high blood presaya, diabetes, heart disease and othersHow many hours of sleep do you need?The National Sleep Foundation recommends 79 hours of sleep per night for adults between the ages of 18-64. Of course, peoples individual sleeping needs vary depending on numerous factors, including specific age, sex, amount you exercise and many other considerations. (In summary, different people need different amounts of sleep.)How much sleep is too little and too much?Accounting for these variations in people and sleeping patterns, the National Sleep Foundation also says as few as six hours and as many as 10 to 11 hours of sleep per night may be appropriate for young adults 1825, and six and 10 hours respectively may be appropriate for adults ages 26 to 64. NSF does not recommend fewer than six hours or more than 11 hours for young adults, and fewer than six or more than 10 hours for adults.Is it okay to get five hours of sleep?While getting five hours of sleep occasionally i s enough to function (though you will likely feel irritable and tired), doing so for several nights in a row can have detrimental effects. According to the study Prioritizing Sleep Health Public Health Policy Recommendations, doing so decreases mental performance as much as drinking enough alcohol to have a BAC of 0.06 does.How can you sleep better? Eight tipsIt may be tempting to use the help of sleep medicine or another sleeping aid, but there are many steps you can take to solve sleep problems without these drugs. Its also important to keep in mind the side effects of common prescription sleep medicines, including daytime drowsiness and dizziness, and more complex and potentially harmful side effects, including parasomnias (behaviors people may exhibit and actions people may take while asleep, such as sleepwalking, eating, or driving). Though rare, these disorders can result in serious harm. Be sure to ask a medical professional about all the possible side effects of sleep medica tions if she prescribes them to you.There are many minor adjustments you can make to your routine to sleep better. Here are some tips to start1. Stick to a sleep schedule.Going to bed and waking up at the same time every night, including on weekends, helps regulate your body clock.2. Avoid bright lights.Turn off electronics with bright screens, including your laptop and television, which can stress or excite you, making it more difficult to fall asleep.3. Practice a bedtime routine.Engage in a relaxing activity, such as reading a book or meditating. Make sure the activity doesnt involve bright lights, which will only agitate you. A bedtime routine will help you associate certain activities with sleeping.4. Exercise.Not only will daily exercise improve your overall health and well-being, but it can also help you fall asleep and sleep more deeply. While rigorous exercise has the most benefits, even a short walk can improve your sleeping. (Dont do it right before bed, though, since thi s will raise your body temperature and make it more difficult to fall asleep.)5. Improve your sleeping conditions.Make sure youre sleeping on a comfortable bed and pillows. Keep your bedroom relatively cool (between 60 and 67 degrees, according to the National Sleep Foundation) and free of noise and distractions.6. Use your bed only for sleep and sex.Avoiding doing tasks like work on your bed will help you associate it with sleeping, rather than a place to be awake. Also, you should avoid taking naps during the day so youll rest better at night. If you absolutely need to do so, take your naps early in the day and keep them under 20 minutes.7. Avoid certain foods and drinks later in the day.Dont eat a big meal right before bed. Cut the caffeine around noon. Alcohol and cigarettes can also disrupt your sleep, so try not to overdo it.8. If you cant sleep, go into another room and do something else until you feel tired.Avoid electronics and work you brought home because they might agita te you and keep you up. Instead, engage in a relaxing activity, such as reading a book, listening to music or meditating (another way to help you sleep better). If you do opt to read, avoid tablets that have backlights because they can also interfere with your ability to sleep.How do you deal with sleep disorders?If you have a sleep disorder, such as sleep apnea, suffer from extreme sleep deprivation or insomnia or feel that your sleeping problems are taking a toll on your work, personal commitments, relationships and other aspects of your waking life, it is important to seek out the help of a medical professional who can determine the underlying causes and find an appropriate treatment for you.