The importance of sleep

Think of sleep like your phone. As the day goes by you get more and more tired the same way your battery life decreases. At the end of the day or whenever you get the chance you’ll always reach for your charger to charge your phone , that’s the same for your body. You need to recharge, you need sleep.

”You should sleep at least 8 hours a day” ”Don’t go on your phone before bed” ”You should always sleep early” You’ve heard all these right? but will you listen to them? I personally don’t feel the need to sleep for 8 hours in a day or more, that’s way too long for me. I usually get 6-7 hours a day but I only know this because I have studied my body enough to know that’s all I need and that it only works if I sleep at a reasonable time, It’s not always about the quantity of sleep but the quality. Have you studied your body?

This isn’t to say I have the perfect sleeping pattern, I most certainly don’t but what I am doing is working on it. With loneliness creeping in and netflix culture we often venture for our phones and screens at night. Sleep can affect you emotionally, physically and meantally. Everybody’s body is different, some may only need 5 hours sleep (which is not recommended), others need 9 because that’s what their body allows them to have but paying attention to your body’s needs is very important.

Benefits of good sleep

• You can actually get stuff done!

I’m definitely ready to take on the day! If I’m going to work I feel more ”alive” and It’s easier to deal with annoying customers when you’re not tired. When in the classroom it’s much better to pay attention and understand what the lecturer is saying.

• Better mood

Sleep actually affects your mood. Notice how you feel when you wake up after a good night rest, don’t you feel much better and hopeful for the day?

Studies have shown that even partial sleep deprivation has a significant effect on mood. University of Pennsylvania researchers found that subjects who were limited to only 4.5 hours of sleep a night for one week reported feeling more stressed, angry, sad, and mentally exhausted. When the subjects resumed normal sleep, they reported a dramatic improvement in mood

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Challenge yourself for a week or two and ask yourself these questions. See how long you sleep for. What time do you usually go to sleep? Are you yawning way too much during the day? Is the quality of sleep good? Is it affecting you positively of negatively? Do you need to make a few changes before going to bed because I know I do. Listen to your body and it’s needs, don’t deprive your body of sleep because you want to watch one more episode or stay on your phone.

Not every single individual needs 8 hours of sleep exactly, some have that much and still feel terrible during the day due broken sleep others have that and more and feel amazing. What’s important is the quality of sleep that you as an individual gets. Your wellbeing is more important than anything and anyone else so take it upon yourself to work on getting better sleep.