Do you start each day wishing you could roll over and get that extra hour of sleep? If so, you’re certainly not alone.
With busy schedules and the holidays approaching, everyone’s feeling a bit tired and sluggish. I’ll bet a lot of people even hit the snooze button a couple times before crawling out of bed in the morning with the hopes of snagging a little more energy to get them through the day.
I’m here to tell you that might not be the best decision. While it seems like getting a few more minutes of sleep would help you and your body function a little better, that’s not necessarily the case. It’s not always the amount of sleep you’re getting it’s the quality of sleep you’re getting that really makes a difference.
As we sleep, our body goes through four different phases which collectively are known as the body’s natural “sleep cycle.” On average, it should take a person somewhere between 90 and 110 minutes to complete all the phases of this cycle. Completing full sleep cycles each night provides the quality of sleep needed for good health.
Sleep is an essential time of rest and rejuvenation, and benefits our minds and bodies in many ways. Getting good, restorative sleep is not just a matter of hitting the pillow at night and waking up in the morning. It’s about falling asleep naturally and waking up naturally.
I know it seems impossible with alarm clocks and busy schedules, but it is actually really easy to figure out the time it takes for your body to complete its cycle. Once you figure that out, you can slip into a routine that allows your body to wake up at the exact time your alarm clock is supposed to go off. Doing this will leave you feeling rested and refreshed even if you are crawling out of bed at 7 am every morning.
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