Most of the content below is a repeat from a post in 2022…and yet, it’s still true.
Also?
It’s getting worse.
A recent AP News story caught my attention: only 42% of the people who took a recent Gallup poll felt they were getting enough sleep.
42%. And not the fun kind of 42, either. (Don’t panic! Do you know where your towel is?)
That’s not good.
Where do you fall? Are you getting enough sleep?
Cheers! Here’s to your health!
***
I recently had an absolutely awful night’s sleep. I couldn’t get comfortable, I hurt, I couldn’t get into a good position for sleeping, and I woke up still tired. The day after the absolutely awful night’s sleep was also absolutely awful. I had multiple appointments and plans, all of which I cancelled because I could not face leaving my house.
Luckily, the following nights were much, much better, so it didn’t take me long to recover. But here’s the thing. Even a single night of poor sleep can have a negative impact on your overall health & wellbeing.
I’ve posted about sleep several times over the past however many years, mostly because World Sleep Day (in March!) reminds me to do so. LOL! I gave it more thought again recently because of the aforementioned lousy night’s sleep.
How much sleep do you need? How do you know if it’s quality sleep? Why does it matter?
Let’s start with that last question. Why does it matter? What does sleep do for you anyway, other than waste time you could be cross stitching or crocheting? (Oh, wait…that’s me. But I digress…)
Sleeping helps you form memories as well as holding on to and recalling details about your life and everything you have going on. (And let’s face it, our attention spans are decreasing, so recalling details about life is even more important.) Sleeping soundly helps rest your heart by decreasing your blood pressure. It also gives your body important down time during which your body repairs any issues that may have come up during the day, as well as fighting off any germs you may have encountered. Glucose levels drop when you’re sleeping deeply, which potentially helps fight off type 2 diabetes. A solid night’s sleep also helps with appetite control! It’s important for your mental health, too.
Ok, let’s go back to that second question. How do you know if it’s quality sleep? How do you feel when you wake up? Are you refreshed? Feel rested? Are you cranky, creaky, or grumpy? Check in with yourself for a few mornings in a row to see how you’re feeling. That will help you determine if you’ve slept well.
Last but not least because it was first on the list: how much sleep do you need? This really is the million-dollar question, isn’t it? Some people border on bragging that they function just fine on 4 or 6 hours of sleep. That may be true (I have my doubts) but it isn’t necessarily a good thing (reference all of the text above or the links I’m sharing later). The recommendations on hours of sleep are based on age, generally, but also depend on overall health and activity levels, which makes sense if you think about it. Infants? Experts suggest 12 to 15 hours a night. (Zoikes!) Teenagers? Eight to 10 hours. Older adults? Seven to eight hours. Honestly? It’s important for you to figure it out for yourself. How? I have ideas. (Of course I do.)
Start picking a bedtime and stick to it. If you can, try not to set an alarm and see if you wake up naturally and feel good about waking up, then see how many hours of sleep you’ve had. Try that for several days and see what happens. (I’ve become so accustomed to waking up between 5-5:30 a.m. that I ALMOST don’t need an alarm to do so!) Put away your technology; the light from cellular phones, tablets, and laptops messes with your body’s ability to get good sleep. Create a bedtime routine that helps you wind down, and stick to it, even on weekends and vacations. Make sure you have a comfortable place to sleep and a quality mattress and pillows. An awful lot of this seems like common sense…so why aren’t we sleeping better? “I’ll just check Facebook one more time,” and suddenly it’s 45 minutes later and you’re wide awake because you’ve had an argument over whether Star Trek or Star Wars is better.
(For the record? It’s both. Now move on.)
Sleep. It’s good for your health. What are you going to do to sleep better? Cheers! Here’s to your health!