Us millennials really have a way of doing things, this ‘stop at nothing’ attitude is what fuels us to do better in life. But then there are downsides of it all can’t be entirely ignored either. We tend to compromise a lot because of that and unfortunately our sleep falls into that bracket as well, which in turn wreaks havoc on our health. So how much sleep really needed for stay well? Though it is very personal but seven to eight hours should be enough for daily life. But is it possible to shorten this time without harming our health?
Sufficient sleep time is important for our body to stay well during the day. Sleep helps us to recover from illness, minimizes the effect of stress, increases ability to concentrate, and improves memory and coordination.
Here is a good news, it is indeed possible to shorten sleep time by up to 1 hour without the risk of sleep deprivation if you follow these two simple steps.
Step 1
It is not just the quantity of sleep that counts but also the quality is important.
Everyone has at least once in their lives, woken up after 10 hours sleep and felt a little dizzy as well as getting up after 6 hours of sleep feeling completely refreshed and well rested. There are many factors at play here that may influence how long you need to sleep to feel completely rested. How you can improve the quality of your sleep? There are a number of ways to do it but the most effective are:
Do not eat before going to bed. Eat at least 2 hours before bed time.
Sleep in dark and quiet room.
Sleep with fresh air.
Walk for minimum 15 minutes before the sleep time.
Do not watch TV while going to sleep. Read a book or take a bath or do something to calm your mind.
Do not drink coffee or other stimulants within 6 hours.
Do not take long naps more than 30 minutes during the day.
Step 2
Any habit can be changed, slowly
When do you go to sleep, how long you sleep, where you sleep –- it is all part of the sleeping pattern that our body is accustomed. Like any other habit it can be changed by taking small steps.
Start waking up 5 minutes earlier every 2-3 days in a week. In one week, you will be waking up 15 minutes before. In one month you will be waking up 1 hour earlier. To make it easier you can take slower steps and extend your experiment for 2 or 3 months by shifting your sleep time by 5 minutes in a week. To succeed in this experiment, you should try and go to bed at about the same time every day.
When you start sleeping less and less, it is crucial to remember and follow the first step, quality sleep. This is the only way to compensate for less sleep.
This way, once you develop a pattern and stick to it, you wouldn’t have to compromise on that much-needed sleep.
The post Is it possible to sleep less and yet not feel deprived of it? appeared first on Tiyo Health View.