Type A personalities always see sleep as a necessary evil. With so much to do, the thought of sleeping part of their day away does not seem like a good use of time. But we all know that sleep does play a part in our mood and our effectiveness throughout the day.
But how much sleep do we really need?
People have argued that it is different for people. Awhile back, I discovered that my sleep cycle is about 1.5 hours, which means that I can get 1.5, 3, 4.5, 6, 7.5 hours and feel fairly refreshed. But still, I felt extremely tired throughout the day. Over the years, I just began to accept my tiredness as part of my lifestyle until I discovered that I had sleep apnea. This made me more conscious of the importance of sleep.
I am still trying to get at least 6 hours of sleep a night but it is not always easy to do with my schedule and other things going on in my life. But Christina is doing everything possible to help me remain faithful to this discipline of sleeping early and getting up early.
Daniel Kripke, co-director of research at the Scripps Clinic Sleep Center in La Jolla, California, has discovered that the ideal amount of sleep is about 6.5 hours to about 7.5 hours a night. The research shows that people who get this amount of sleep tend to live the longest!
What is even more fascinating is that people who get 8 hours or more, or less than 6.5 hours don’t live quite as long. Incredible!
You can read the whole TIME magazine article here.
As I am trying to keep up with my health (exercising and eating more healthy), I have to definitely consider sleep as one of those components that will need to be incorporated in my lifestyle change.