If I don’t get enough sleep, my whole day suffers. I get grumpy, feel exhausted and emotional, and find it tough to concentrate on my work. My eyes get gritty when staring at my laptop screen, and I end up wanting to take a nap at 1pm.
My problem is I’m a night owl. But unfortunately, I’m also most productive in the morning (like most people). That means that while I love staying up late with a good book or TV series, I regret it the next morning when I’m unable to get out of bed.
The average adult needs 8 hours of sleep, although some of us need more than that to function optimally. And studies have shown that the hours of sleep you get before 12am are the most important in order to feel refreshed for the next day.
When we don’t get enough sleep, we see massive impacts on our mental and physical wellbeing. You can expect to be short tempered, easily irritable, and suffer from a lack of concentration. If you’re like me, you can expect to be overly emotional (I tend to get weepy when I’m exhausted), and you’ll probably notice that taking in new information is a struggle. You can also expect to have health issues including heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.
According to a survey by Adjustamatic, 30% said that noisy neighbours or a snoring partner were the reasons they had insomnia. 24% blamed their lack of sleep on the room temperature, and there are a number of other factors that impact your sleep, including whether you smoke or eat a heavy meal before bed.
Caffeine should be avoided after a certain time if you’re hoping for a good sleep (I can’t drink it after 4pm), and one of the biggest struggles for me is avoiding my phone- the blue light that most devices emit can interrupt your brain as it tries to get ready for sleep.
If you’re planning to go to bed early, consider setting yourself up for a good night’s rest and preparing early. Ditch the phone and laptop, and curl up in bed with a good book, or take a warm bath. 39% of the people surveyed said the temperature of the bedroom helps them get a good night’s sleep. 18 degrees is the optimal temperature, however this depends on your gender and body temperature (I need it much warmer than that).
Another thing I’ve noticed is that if I stay up late one night, my body thinks it’s a party situation and will find it harder to go to sleep early the next night. When this happens, it can be worth getting up a little earlier. While you’ll be tired that day, you’ll definitely be ready to go to sleep early that night and will reset your body clock.
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