How are you sleeping these days?

How well do you sleep every day? Sleep is important, and you probably know that. But besides sleep, there are many other important things to do every day—exercise, eating, drinking water, working, taking care of kids, staying positive, playing games, writing reports… When stress builds up, the first thing we often sacrifice is sleep.

However, doctors agree that out of all these things, sleep is the most important and the one we shouldn’t compromise. You may have heard that “life is in movement” or “water is life,” but these aren’t as important as sleep. Why?

The harm of poor sleep is more than just feeling tired. Doctors think about health in reverse—what we can’t live without, and what will bring the quickest decline in health if neglected. It turns out that sleep is one of those things.

If we don’t drink enough water, it’s serious, but food usually has enough water to keep us going. If we don’t exercise, we might get weaker over time, but we still move a little every day—like walking to the bathroom. However, sleep is different. If you don’t sleep, you just don’t sleep.

Doctors believe sleep is the foundation of our health, influencing physical health, mental balance, cognitive function, and emotional stability. It’s the one thing we can’t replace with anything else, and it deserves our full attention.

Sadly, poor sleep is becoming more common. In recent years, I’ve seen a change: heart disease used to mostly affect overweight people, but now, about 70% of heart disease patients have sleep problems.

There are many reasons for poor sleep, but let’s find the minimum and ideal sleep goals. These are the “sleep bottom line” and the “sleep ceiling.” The bottom line is what we must not cross, and the ceiling is what we aim for to achieve the best sleep. As long as you sleep within this range, you’re good.

I’ll explain the three key factors of sleep: how long to sleep, what time to sleep, and your sleeping environment.

Golden Sleep: 7-8 Hours

First, how much should we sleep? This is one of the most important factors for sleep quality. The answer is not strict, but there’s a reasonable range: 6-8 hours. You should not sleep less than 5 hours or more than 9 hours. Sleeping less is definitely bad, but what happens if you sleep too much?

What’s the best sleep duration? Research shows that the risk of disease and death decreases with sleep duration, but only up to a point. After that, the risk increases again. The ideal duration is between 7-8 hours. Research shows that getting 7-8 hours of sleep can increase life expectancy by 5 years.

So, to summarize: for a 60% score, you can sleep 5-9 hours; for 80%, aim for 6-8 hours; and for close to a perfect score, sleep 7-8 hours. Of course, it depends on the person.

Bedtime and Wake Time

The second question is: when should you go to bed and wake up? This is important because getting the timing right can improve your sleep efficiency.

Why does bedtime matter? Our biological clock is affected by natural light. Having a good sleep schedule helps maintain a balanced biological rhythm, which is essential for good sleep.

The best sleep schedule is to sleep between 10 and 11 PM and wake up between 6 and 7 AM. This ensures you get enough sleep and stay in sync with your biological clock.

What if you can’t sleep by 10 PM? Don’t worry. This is the ideal, but as long as you get enough sleep (7 hours), it won’t make a huge difference. However, late nights can affect metabolism. For example, fat metabolism and insulin function repair happen most actively after midnight. A study of over 13,000 participants showed that late sleep can increase the risk of insulin resistance and coronary heart disease.

If you don’t have issues like high blood sugar or family history of diabetes, late nights won’t harm you much, but try to avoid staying up past midnight.

The key is consistency. If your sleep time varies a lot from night to night, it can increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and even emotional issues like depression. Research shows that a small change in sleep time—like going to bed 30 minutes earlier or later—can raise blood pressure risks. So, try to keep a regular sleep schedule.

Sleep Environment

Lastly, let’s talk about your sleep environment.

While sleep duration and rhythm are key, your environment also plays a big role. You already know to keep the room dark, quiet, and clean, but here are a few lesser-known tips:

1. Room Temperature: This is very important. If it’s too cold, you’ll need thick blankets, which can make it hard to fall asleep. If it’s too hot, it’s one of the main reasons for poor sleep. The ideal room temperature is between 16°C-19°C (60°F-66°F).

2. Bedding Temperature: The best temperature for your blankets is between 32°C-34°C (89°F-93°F). If it’s too cold, your body will waste energy trying to warm up, making it harder to sleep. Using an electric blanket can help in winter.

3. Humidity: This affects both sleep quality and respiratory health. The ideal humidity for your bedroom is between 50%-70%. You can use a humidifier to achieve this.

Summary

If you follow these guidelines for sleep duration, timing, and environment, you’ll protect your health in the long run.

For this week, make it a goal to adjust your bedtime and sleep schedule. I’d love to hear how you’re doing with your sleep in the comments.