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This is common knowledge, obviously rest in the form of either sleep or lack of physical activity is important. But just how important is it ? We were told since we were young that we need at least 8 hours of sleep in a day to lead a healthy life? But I knew that me and my peers were getting much less than that daily but I am still alive, so what are the consequences of sleeping less? Just feelings of being lethargic and sleepy? Or is there something more that we are missing here.

On average, a human being sleeps for 26-27 years. That is a whole third of someones life. If we are sleeping for so long, the question remains. Why do we sleep?

What science has to say

The biological reason of why we sleep is still unclear but there are some theories out there. The main idea being physical and mental repair. This can come in the form of repairing muscle cells and protein synthesis. It could also be about energy conservation, the less you are awake the less energy you expend.

A study has shown that sleep has importance in cognition. Sleep helping with memory consolidation and brain plasticity, allowing the brain to cement the ideas it has of the real world in reality

Studies have also shown that sleep can also control weight gain as a loss of sleep can largely increase the amount of hunger hormone (ghrelin) produced by the body. Showcasing the idea that sleep is linked with energy conservation.

Another study has also shown the idea that sleep has to do with immunity. Reaching an understanding that people such as insomniacs, alcoholics and those under stress experienced a high level of cortisol (stress hormone) after a poor nights sleep.

But why I am still so tired…

Although this seems so obvious, we sleep to feel refreshed. So the amount of sleep I have should be correlational to the amount of energy I have right ? Well it doesn’t seem like that is the case.

Firstly, it all has to do with high quality sleep.

With each sleep cycle being roughly 90 minutes long, it is crucial we must reach deep sleep for as many times in a single sleep session. However, it is important that we wake up when we are in a light sleep allowing our body to reach an awake state much faster than from deep sleep. Hence making a power-nap session no more than 30 minutes long! So if you are setting an alarm, here is an example:

Say you have to wake up at about 7am and you sleep at 11pm, that is 8 hours of sleep. Convert that to minutes and that would be 480 minutes. Divide 480 by 90 minutes of each sleep cycle and you get 5 remainder 30. That means you would have a total of 5 sleep cycles with an extra 30 minutes. So you may just feel better setting the alarm for 6:30 rather than 7!

Other than the quality of sleep you may also suffer from stresses of the environment and your body. Not having proper nutrition and hydration could lead to less restorative deep sleep, causing energy levels to dip. With stress being another factor to look out for as cortisol keeps people awake. (Can’t sleep a day before a big test or exam)

Another factor is not getting into a rhythm and having a proper routine. Your body is not built for spontaneity when it comes to sleep. So maybe it is beneficial if you have a wind down routine of sorts, a sleeping ritual to prepare you for a good nights rest. For example

What I have to say

Firstly, please take my words with a pinch of salt. At the end of the day science doesn’t answer the question of why we sleep.

I think the reason why we sleep is just to prepare for the next day. No matter the task ahead it is important that we sleep. Our sleep allows to take a break, to feel refreshed and to do it all over again.

But to me I feel that the best amount of sleep to get is relative to the routine or lifestyle you want to set. Most overachievers and hard workers always get to bed early and wake up even earlier. The early bird does get the worm.

Waking up that one or 2 hours earlier grants you the gift of being productive. Even if you spend the first hour awake doing nothing by waking up that one hour earlier you essentially did not waste any time at all had you waken up at your normal time.

I recently went on a trip to Brisbane (click here to read more)and got my sleep schedule back in check, going to sleep by 11 and waking up at around 8-9 as compared to back home when I wake up at noon.

This reset has allowed me to “live more life”. In the sense that I have more hours in the earlier day as to when I am awake, allowing me to have more time to work on my projects, relax and just have a good time.

The most amount of work gets done in the hours where no one is awake. Those who wake up at 4 or 5 in the morning are also those who are the most successful. Being able to wake up a bit earlier than everyone sets you up for success as just knowing the fact that you are awake when everyone else isn’t allows you to have zero distractions allowing for pure focus.

I know I went on a tangent and in the end I might’ve wasted your time by not reaching a conclusive answer. But I will say this, that having a good sleep schedule, getting into bed by a certain time, waking up earlier, these are all ingredients to live a much more fulfilling happier life.

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