Who has time for eight hours of sleep?
I used to pride myself on functioning on six hours of sleep, but no more.
We’ve all heard the old adageyou can sleep when you’re dead.
Most healthy adults needseven to eight hours of sleepper night.
You’ll learn more
Sleeping eight hours is absolutely vital to learning any new skill.
Scientists are just beginning to uncover new research that reveals ourbrains process new informationwhen we sleep.
“But something happens while you sleep that makes you learn it better.”
Oftentimes when we’re in a learning environment, we don’t have a lot of extra time.
Physical skills, such as riding a bike or playing the piano, require us to use ourprocedural memory.
During sleep, our brain processes our procedural memories.
It goes far beyond muscle memory it’s sleeping memory!
You’ll feel happier
We all feel crabby when we’re tired.
Small tasks just feel harder and it’s easy to become quickly frustrated.
“If you sleep better, you’re free to certainly live better.
It’s pretty clear.”
“Sleep and metabolism are controlled by the same sectors of the brain,” Dr. RapoporttoldHealth.
Physicians even consider a lack of sleep a serious risk factor for obesity.
Sleeping for eight hours is associated with regulating our metabolisms and appetites.
Your heart will thank you
Getting eight hours of sleep is also important for heart health.
Sleep deprivation puts us at higher risk for heart attacks, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
In fact, sleeping less than five hours per night puts you at a45 percent increased riskfor heart attacks.
We all feel a little out of sorts on no sleep, but it actually goes beyond simple grumpiness.
Our behavior becomes a little erratic, because we’re more likely to make snap judgments.
Sleep affects our ability toregulate our glucose levelsor blood sugar.
You’ll fight off infection better
Sick ofcatching colds?
Start making sleep a priority.
She was right to maximize your sleep!
Studies have shown that there’s a reason why we feel extra sleepy when we’re sick.
It’s our body’s way of getting better.
The more sleep we get, the better able ourimmune systems are to fight infection.
You’ll live longer
Yep, you probably knew this one was coming.
Looks like eight hours is the sweet spot.
Focus on taking care of yourself and sleeping enough, and all the sex concerns will sort themselves out.
You’ll be a safer driver
We’ve all driven when we were tired.
It often feels like we don’t have a choice.
When I first graduated from college, I was working as a nurse on the night shift.
In driving tests, sleep-deprived drivers perform more likealcohol-impaired driversthan their sober pals.
Sleep is the time when our bodies do their best repair work.
Their skin also healed from minor trauma more quickly.
Many migraine sufferers find that sleeping can help relieve the migraine.
However, it turns out that sleep could actually prevent them as well.
Even if you don’t experience full-on migraines, try increasing your sleep to help those annoying daily headaches.
How to prioritize shut eye
Sure, more sleep would beahhhmazing, but who has the time?
First, try sticking with a set sleep schedule,even on the weekends.
This will allow your body to know when to wind down, helping you fall asleep faster.
Next start cutting yourself off fromcaffeine and screen timebefore bed.
Before you know it you’ll be snoozing soundly.
Your body and mind will thank you!
