Enjoy Life – Get as much good sleep as possible
Get enough sleep and enjoyment of life will increase.
But what is enough sleep?
As with most human things we’re all a bit different when it comes to sleep. What is enough for one person is not necessarily going to be enough for someone else. If you wake up naturally and get out of bed feeling refreshed and ready to go you’ve had a good sleep.
The average adult needs about 7-8 hours of sleep. But interestingly this estimate has gone down by a whole hour over the past 50 years. In 1959 the amount of sleep for an average adult was said to be 8-9 hours. The human world has sped up since then and many people are walking around sleep deprived.
What are the symptoms of sleep deprivation?
Some people actually feel a little elated and have more energy when they are sleep deprived in the short-term. But ongoing sleep deprivation for the vast majority of people leads to irritability and depression, memory lapses, concentration difficulties, headaches and, surprise surprise, feeling tired a lot of the time.
Consuming drugs is one of the most common ways that people don’t get enough sleep. We’re mainly talking about caffeine, which can interfere with getting off to sleep, and alcohol, which almost always interferes with staying asleep as well as eroding the quality of the reduced sleep.
Obesity also affects quality of sleep because of both mechanical and respiratory reasons. Even reducing body weight by 5% can improve the quality of sleep and in turn improve mood and cognitive functions – and the reduced snoring will improve the sleep of people around you as a further benefit.
Persist – By being a good parent to our inner child Take Control – Think one day at a time
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