sleeping

you're just about to fluff up your

pillows and get dressed in your favorite

pajamas you then set your alarm for the

next day it's gonna ring in eight hours

yeah that should do the trick isn't that

what your doctor suggested but as the

alarm starts ringing the next morning

you wake up feeling more tired than you

were when you got into bed

are those eight hours of recommended

sleep just a myth

sorry to break it to you but as natural

as sleep is for human beings some of us

can indeed be bad at snoozing and it

might have something to do with your

circadian rhythm

let me explain the Circadian rhythm is a

natural internal process a lot of living

organisms have

think of it as the project manager of

our bodies that's in charge of our

schedules for falling asleep and waking

up in the morning

it also helps to synchronize our bodies

with the environment and the amount of

light we're exposed to during the day

we're not the only creatures with the

Circadian rhythm it's actually found in

most living beings including animals

plants and even some bacteria it plays a

crucial role in regulating sleep feeding

needs and even hormone production

during the day the body produces

hormones such as cortisol which helps us

stay alert and awake

at night the body begins to produce

melatonin which makes us feel tired and

promotes sleep

the Circadian rhythm helps to let your

body know when it's appropriate to

generate these hormones so it can

function properly

when our circadian rhythm is messed up

like when we have jet lag or work

irregular shifts at our jobs our sleep

patterns may become disruptive as well

what happens next we can find it

difficult to fall asleep or we end up

waking up frequently throughout the

night

or as you might have experienced already

we end up feeling tired and groggy

during the day even if we've slept a

reasonable number of hours during the

night

to make sure our sleep pattern remains

healthy we need to have a consistent

sleep schedule

it may also help if we expose ourselves

to natural light during the day and

avoid looking at screens like our phone

or tablet before bedtime

by following these rules and ensuring

that our body's internal clock is

functioning okay we can improve the

quality of our sleep and overall

well-being

foreign

sleep is but how much sleep do we

actually need

the explanation is kind of complex for

starters it has a lot to do with our age

when we're born we need the most amount

of sleep somewhere around 14 to 17 hours

of Snooze time

as we grow older by the time we're

toddlers we need 11 to 14 hours each day

most teenagers need 8 to 10 hours of

sleep and by the time we're adults we

should be just fine with as little as

seven hours

apart from age genetics also has a lot

to do with our sleep needs some people

are naturally more prone to needing more

or less sleep

also people who lead more active

Lifestyles may need more sleep to

recover and regenerate their bodies

high levels of stress can affect our

sleep and cause people to need more

sleep to feel rested

you might have also noticed that you

need more sleep when you've caught a

cold or when you've eaten too much

do all of us need to fall asleep at the

same hour to feel rested you've surely

heard of some people being night owls

While others are considered larks

night owls tend to be more energetic and

productive at night while Larks are more

productive in the morning

both types of people have their own

unique habits and preferences and

there's no right or wrong way to be a

night owl or a lark

there are lots of questionnaires you can

do online to see which category you fit

in best or you can test it for yourself

at home

try going to bed at different hours for

a specific period of time and see which

option fits best for your energy levels

throughout the day

how about our sleeping position can that

also influence how well rested we feel

when waking up

absolutely

and the most effective way to figure out

what works best for you is to note

everything down in a sleep diary

you'll need to record your sleep habits

for at least a week or two to have the

best results

just make sure to switch between falling

asleep on your back your side or your

stomach each night you don't have to

change your favorite sleeping position

if you're not having any issues as long

as you wake up feeling well rested

if you do experience problems here are a

couple of things you can try for example

if you have neck pain you'll have better

rest while sleeping on your back or your

side

you can also try using a thicker pillow

when sleeping on your side and a thinner

one when resting on your back

if your sinuses are the ones keeping you

up at night

you can try sleeping on your back with

your head a bit more elevated

a thicker pillow should do the trick too

if you have hip or back pain try

sleeping on your back but place a pillow

or a rolled up towel underneath your

knees it should reduce the pressure on

your spine and help relieve the pain

can't finish our list of facts about

sleep without talking about the greatest

love story of all

the one we all have with the snooze

button am I right

does hitting the snooze button really

give us some extra time to rest this

might also be the biggest myth of all

not only is this information untrue but

hitting the snooze button can make us

feel groggier in the long run even

though technically we're sleeping more

those 10 minute intervals of sleep we

indulge in over and over again aren't

not a good type of sleep

there simply isn't enough time for us to

properly fall back into a deep sleep

also there is such a thing as actually

sleeping too much and oversleeping makes

you even sleepier during the daytime and

can affect your metabolism and your

energy levels too

not to mention it can be a real nuisance

for people sharing the same bed or room

with you

breaking up with the snooze button can

be overwhelming I know but there are

things you can do to soften the blow

for starters set a realistic alarm if

you're more of a night owl Don't force

yourself to wake up really early in the

morning if you don't have to

find a sleeping schedule that works for

you and most importantly stick to it

follow up with getting out of bed as

soon as you wake up

the change in posture will trigger the

right chemicals in your body that remove

your need to go back to sleep

if nothing seems to work you can even

move your alarm clock across the room if

you need to get out of bed to hit the

snooze button you'll be less likely to

go back

just because you don't have any of these

problems doesn't mean your sleep

patterns are doing great some people

seem to think that just because they can

fall asleep anywhere they're good

sleepers but that can't be further away

from the truth on average it should take

us 5 to 15 minutes to fall asleep after

we go to bed

if it takes longer for an extended

amount of time it may be a sign of

insomnia

on the other hand if falling asleep

takes less than five minutes you may be

sleep deprived and it can happen for a

lot of different reasons like stress or

even diet changes it can also mean the

sleep you're getting even if it's the

recommended seven to nine hours a night

is fragmented or disturbed.