By: Kristen Falik
The average adult spends around 36% of their life sleeping in their whole lifetime. This is a lot of one’s life. So why do we need sleep? How much do we need? How can we get better sleep?
What is the purpose of sleep?
Sleeping is essential for brain and body health. The main purpose of sleep is to restore our minds. Throughout the day as your brain goes through normal neurological activities it collects metabolic waste. If we collect too much waste then it could lead to neurological disorders. Sleeping helps us get rid of that waste much faster than during waking hours. This is because when you're sleeping your brain cells shrink by around 60 percent. This enables the waste removal system in the brain to work easier. Allowing you to wake up feeling refreshed. There are also other purposes such as maintaining long-term memories and just for your overall physical and mental health.
How much sleep do I need?
You may be wondering now that you know why sleep is important exactly how much sleep you need. A study was done to understand the amount of sleep needed. 48 healthy men and women were split into groups, one group sleeping for 4 hours per night, the second for 6 hours per night, and the third for 8 hours per night for two weeks straight. The people that got to sleep for 8 hours per night showed no attention lapses, cognitive decreases or motor skill decreases during the study. Whereas the other groups getting 4 and 6 hours of sleep their performance levels declined by the day. The 4-hour group had notably performed the worst but not too far off from the 6-hour group. Research from the study found that the people who got 6 hours of sleep per night for two weeks had their performance level decline at the same level as someone who stayed awake for 48 hours straight. So, with that being said getting 8 hours of sleep is recommended.
How can I sleep better?
Because sleep is so important it is good to figure out how to improve your sleep quality. The blue light from your screens can interfere with the production of melatonin which helps to prepare the hormones needed to begin sleep phases. Shutting off electronics an hour or so before bed can help immensely. You can try things like reading, journaling or meditation before bed. It not only keeps you off your screen but also helps you relax and de-stress which improves sleep quality. Also going to sleep earlier and consistently each day is extremely beneficial for improving your quality and length of your sleep. Some daily habits you should consider implementing to improve sleep quality are getting outside for at least 30 minutes a day, avoiding caffeine several hours before bedtime and reducing blue light in your environment to warmer light at night. Another great one is exercising since it makes it easier for the brain and body to wind down at night. Though make sure to not exercise less than 3 hours before bedtime because this makes it difficult to wind down at night.
I hope you found this helpful and happy sleeping!
Source: https://jamesclear.com/sleep
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