Sleep is important: it refreshes the brain, and allows the body time to refresh. Without enough sleep the risk of stroke, heart attack, and other cardiovascular events goes up.
But with longer days, and shorter, warmer nights there’s a temptation to stay up enjoying them! While you can fake it on 6 hours of sleep, it’s just that—faking it. Your brain will still be underperforming, at work, driving, and at your favorite activities. At best, getting less than 7 hours of sleep will mean you take longer on a project, or flub the winning moment of the game. But worse, it could cause a car accident.
Seven is a general minimum. Some people have genes that dictate needing more sleep.
Here are some ways to build and keep better sleep habits in the summer:
-Leave enough time to get 7-9 hours of sleep. Include time to unwind (taking up to 20 minutes to fall asleep is normal).
-If you’re having trouble, do what you do to wake up in the morning: set an alarm. Or two.
-If you want to change your sleeping hours, make it a permanent change. Your body is attuned to certain sleep cycles that go beyond just when you go to bed and wake up. Having a consistent routine can help ensure better quality sleep.
-For more support, go natural. Natural support means supporting your body with the minerals and more that it needs to function, not just knocking you out for 8 plus hours. Try Nite MGR or our Sleep Support Pack.
-If you think you aren’t sleeping well but aren’t sure why, get checked for sleep apnea. It has an easy fix.
-And set the scene to fight insomnia. Make sure your bedroom is conducive to deep sleep—comfortable bed, temperature, no light, soothing scents, either white noise or silent.
-Exercising, avoiding caffeine after lunch, and limiting alcohol can help with sleep, too.
Can you sleep too much? No, actually. Scientists haven’t found a way that too much sleep is bad for you, and there’s lots of reasons you might need more sleep—like recovering from an illness. In fact, it’s likely the reason that there’s a correlation between more sleep and death. Extra sleep is probably a symptom of a different problem.
Naps are even OK. As long as they’re brief, they can actually support better sleep later.
If you find yourself sleeping “too much”, try supporting your immune system with colloidal silver.
What do you think is the best tip for falling asleep?
