We have been mislead. We misunderstand. But now we know...
7-9 hours is the “gold standard” recommended sleep for adults. The problem with this seemingly simple guideline is that some adults need all 9 hours. Not the bare minimum.
SEVEN hours is DRASTICALLY different than NINE hours. Up to 1/4 of your sleep is being sacrificed when you cut one or two hours from your sleep. Most people can feel the deficit.
If your body and brain need 9 hours of sleep than 7 hours is about 25% less.
How do you feel when you cut 25% off your food, water intake, oxygen, exercise, work day or leisure time?
Getting the bare minimum amount of sleep in this recommended range is not the goal.
The goal is to get what YOUR body needs and the only way to know how much is enough is to gift yourself with the time to find out and then commit to getting that sleep every night.
There are many habits that encourage healthy sleep but to get started:
Finish dinner early enough to get into bed when you feel sleepy every evening and allow your body to sleep as long as needed for at least a week. Create an environment for sleep.
Sleep might get worse before it gets better, so stick with it. You deserve it.
If you need additional guidance - get a copy of my free sleep journal to help you on your way.
