Did you know that there are a lot of people who sleep for just six hours and feel more rested than those with eight? I have noticed this before, but I always heard how many experts say healthy sleep is supposed to be at least 8 hours. I want to mention here that the length of sleep does not guarantee a good quality sleep. But today we’re going to talk about how long you should actually sleep when it comes down to the number crunching!
I always thought adults needed 8 hours of sleep minimum, but I was wrong. You can get a good night’s sleep from six hours and even better from 7.5 and you don’t need to constantly feel tired as long as you’re getting quality time in bed!
The science of sleep is a fascinating subject for me. As I mentioned above, I recently learned that people tend to feel more refreshed after waking up from six hours of slumber than they do when resting in eight hour chunks. The reason lies in our body’s natural cycles, which last about ninety minutes and begin anew each night – around four times on average! Studies have shown the most rested individuals come out at the end of these 90-minute intervals; this can be seen by measuring brain waves during their periods awake versus asleep (we all know how powerful those are!). So if you’ve been struggling with sleep lately, you might want to start tracking your sleep, because the issue might be that your cycle doesn’t complete itself properly! I realized this was definitely true for myself.
There were studies done that showed that the length of sleep is not what causes us to feel refreshed in the morning. The key to a good night’s sleep is not the length of your slumber, but rather how many complete cycles you go through each night. For adults, it is ideal to have 5 full cycles every day or 7.5 hours per evening for an entire cycle; however, if that means cutting one short in order to get 4 whole ones instead then do so!
It’s important to remember that sleeping times vary from age group. For example, newborns need 12-18 hours of sleep and for preschoolers it’s 11-13 hours. However as with everything else in my opinion, your sleep requirements are individualized by you and your lifestyle. If you wake up tired even though you have a good night routine or get adequate amounts of rest then feel free to experiment with other options for sleeping times until something clicks!
And if you are still struggling with sleep and can use some assistance with that – click the link below to schedule your Complimentary session. You will experience Biofeedback frequencies during our call and its effect.
