Let me start this with the obvious thing, or may be not so obvious. Sleeping is unavoidable just like water and sun and food. Of all these four, we may survive without one or the other for different periods of time, but sooner or later the lack or the small amount of each will reflect badly on us. And yes, when we are young and full of energy, sleeping may not be in our top priorities, but with age we are about to pay that tax. Yes, sleeping is a kind of a tax. Skip it, avoid it, do whatever you want – at some point you need to pay it. And the later it is, the higher the interest rate will be.
The shortest answer to the question “How much?” would be anything between 7 and 9 hours. That much time it takes for a lot of processes to happen with our bodies and minds.
In those maximum of nine hours between something like 21:00 and 06:00 we are suppose to sleep. That is the conclusion of deep researches into our circadian cycle. We are more or less animals and our cycle is 24 hours total, that is how we operate. Call me old and boring for not staying up late in the evening, but today or tomorrow observe yourself and how your reactions, speed of mind and cognition are after 21.00 And you will see for yourself that may be I am right to put that timing. Or I could be wrong and you are the night type of person (science calls you owl).
I know that nine hours of sleep are a luxury a small number of us can afford, but seven hours will do just fine too. Nine to seven hours out of 24 total is like 20% to 33% of our time. And it may seem much, but there are plenty of things that need to happen during that period and all is important:
- Brain activity decreases, that allows the nervous system to rest and repair
- Brain also stores new information that we believe is important and gets rid of the toxic waste
- Cortisol secretion is decreased and growth hormone secretion is increased
- Weight management (during sleep the secretion of the hunger-hormone, ghrelin is decreased and the secretion of the fullness-hormone, leptin is increased)
- The body repairs cells and restores energy (muscle repair, protein synthesis, tissue growth)
- Repaired cells respond better to glucose and good sleep helps with insulin resistance
- Immune system repairs and heals
There are plenty of factors that will predetermine the quality of your sleep and my clients are getting a full “The Ultimate Sleeping Guide” to help them sleep better, I will list here the major ones:
- Stress
- Caffeine and other stimulating drinks
- Light
- Screens
- Alcohol
- Water and food
- Sleep regularity
I know that in the majority of the cases you either do not get enough sleep or your sleep quality is poor and you feel tired, exhausted and empty the following day. Nobody is perfect, that happens to me too, so here is the list of things I would do in a day after a bad sleep.
- I will have a protein-rich breakfast. This will keep me satiated and full, giving enough energy without over-consuming carbs and fats. If I am in a foreign place, even the nuggets at McD will do the trick.
- I will stay hydrated and even over-hydrated for that day. Water will help with all bodily processes and if the night before included some alcohol, it will help even more
- I will walk. Walking as a light form of cardio will keep me active, but not exhausted and will not deplete the glycogen from my muscles. Something that will happen if I decide to go for a ‘refreshing morning run’ and end up hungry for carbs, finding myself eating doughnut after doughnut.
- I will go to the gym. Strength training will wake up the central nervous system. It will help me with movements coordination, cognition and alertness.
- I will take a nap. If possible, I would pay the sleeping tax as soon as possible. Even a short 30 minutes nap is helpful enough for me to get me to the end of the day, when I will be back to my normal routine.
- I will stay away from screens (if possible) for the good amount of three hours before bed.
Thank you for reading. I know you find my content useful, so go and share, the buttons are below. Or, even better, become a client and get that Ultimate Sleeping Guide as a bonus to all the care I provide.
