A Healthy Night’s Sleep

How Much Sleep do you Need?

Asking this question to most people will result in the answer, ‘Around 8 hours’. It is given that statistics have shown that on average most people sleep for about 8 hours a night. However, this is an average, meaning that people will fall at either side of this, with some extremities. The correct answer would probably be that each individual is different, needing different amounts of sleep depending on their lifestyles. Most of us will have experienced some kind of physical exhaustion through some form of exercise - be it running a marathon, climbing a mountain, bike riding and so on. This form of tiredness is perhaps more predominant than mental tiredness. Meaning we perhaps feel physical exhaustion more intensely that mental. However, this is perhaps where people fall short of their sleep as they feel tired in their mind but not their body and force themselves to stay awake after their day at work to watch the TV, spend time with families etc. Due to a lack of physical exhaustion we are perhaps more likely to push ourselves further and this in itself can lead to sleep disorders as we do not let our minds relax even though we are more likely to let our bodies relax after physical exertion.

A healthy night’s sleep is one that leaves us waking up feeling refreshed and energised for the day ahead and will also put us in a good, healthy mood. Some people wrongly think that getting more sleep will leave them feeling more refreshed. However, the quality of your sleep is just as important. Even if you sleep for long periods of time, if this sleep is disturbed, the quality of your sleep falls short and you will still be left feeling fatigued and groggy. Remember - the quality of your sleep is just as important as the quantity.

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