Are You Getting Enough Sleep?

Experts say that one necessity of life most Americans fail to get is a good night's sleep. Regardless of whether you're a day person or a night owl, the recommended daily requirements are eight hours of sleep a night for adults and at least an hour more than that for adolescents. Our bodies need rest in order to rejuvenate and recouperate from our daily activities. In addition to resting our bodies, our minds also need to rest. Surveys have shown that 71% of American adults and 85% of teens don't get the suggested amount of sleep which is detrimental to both the body and mind.

Sleep can be compared to food in the sense that we could not get enough of it but still be alive. Many of us function without adequate nutrition and even more function without the required amount of sleep. While the majority of us look at nutritional starvation as being horrible, many of us are living on the edge of sleep starvation without thinking twice about it. The reason for this is because so many of us are used to being chronically sleep deprived and we no long notice how exhausted we are. If you're used to getting a certain amount of sleep every night and for some reason your sleep is cut short by a few hours, you will notice a difference in the way you feel. You'll more than likely feel fatigued, tired, and even irritable throughout the day. However, if you consistently cut your sleep short you will get used to it and your body won't always throw out those feelings of being tired, fatigued, or irritable. People tend to adapt to their lack of sleep and feel fine although they aren't getting the recommended amounts of sleep. Over time though, the effects of lack of sleep will start to take its toll on the body. This may leave some people unable to concentrate, mentally impaired, and overall unable to function properly.

A person can be an otherwise healthy individual but a lack of sleep can have negative effects on their body and mind. According to sleep expert David Dinges, "The human brain is only capable of about 16 hours of wakefulness a day." Most people don't realize the important purpose of getting enough sleep. It may be more important to rest the mind than it is to rest the body. Most of the benefits of getting eight hours of sleep actually benefit the brain. Sleep helps memory, improves judgment, promotes learning and concentration, boosts mood, speeds reaction time, and sharpens one's accuracy to solve problems. Studies have even shown that sleep could benefit the cognitive function of individuals with mild to moderate Alzheimer's.

So what are some ways we can ensure we're getting enough sleep? Well for starters, we can have a set time that we go to bed each night, or at least on the weekdays when most of us are working or going to school. Turn off all distractions such as the television and radio. If for some reason you're not able to go to sleep earlier at night, try taking a nap during the daytime. The best time for a nap is between noon and 3 p.m for about 30-60 minutes. Sleeping in on the weekends isn't a good idea according to Timothy Roerhs, director of research at the Sleep Disorders and Research Center at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. Oversleeping on the weekends can disrupt your circadian rhythm and make it even harder to get a full night's rest later that night.

Among the most common reasons we aren't getting enough sleep is work. Many people work long hours which cut into their sleep time. Getting in a habit of work hard, sleep later can lead to bad sleeping habits where your body never gets the proper amount of rest that it needs. Just think, if you got the proper amount of rest you needed you'd be more mentally sharp. Although for some it may be easier said than done, stop depriving yourself and go to sleep. Staying up late to get ahead isn't as productive as getting a good night's rest.

Sources:
Sleep Disorders and Research Center at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine