Tuesday Tip: How Much Sleep Do You Need?

I feel like I am not getting enough sleep. Over the past few weeks, I am averaging 5 ½ to 6 hours of sleep a night. I go to bed tired and wake up tired. We have some sleep issues in our household. My husband has insomnia and sleep apnea. My daughter is a night owl and prefers to stay up late. Her sleep patterns were the same when she was an infant. I can fall asleep quickly. My sleep patterns have varied. When I was in college, I worked an early shift so I slept in the afternoon. When my daughter was born, I stayed up late. She would only fall asleep at 11:00 p.m. so my only “free time” was from 11:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m. On the weekends, I work a part time job that requires me to wake up at 2:30 a.m.

So how much sleep do I need? According to Helpguide.org, adults need about 7 hours of sleep per night.

What happens if we don’t get enough sleep?

Many of us want to sleep as little as possible. There is so much to do that sleep seems like a waste of time. Yet sleep, an essential time of rest and rejuvenation, benefits our minds and bodies in many ways. When you continuously don’t get the amount of sleep you need, you begin to pay for it in daytime drowsiness, trouble concentrating,
irritability, increased risk of falls and accidents, and lower productivity.

Just for fun - Try the Sheep Dash. You can test your reaction time directly related to sleep. My results - Ambling Armadillo.

If you are like me and are feeling like you are not getting enough sleep...check out Your Guide to Never Feeling Tired Again. This weekend I need to make up some of my sleep debt.

What were your results in the Sheep Dash? Do you need 7 hours of sleep or do you function better with more or less?

Tuesday Tip: How Much Sleep Do You Need?