Is it really necessary to sleep early and for 8 hours a day?
You will have to admit that there are days when you are determined to sleep early but wake up with a sluggish, tired spirit. Meanwhile, there are nights when you stay up late and get up at 7am and your mind is awake. Is the advice for getting into bed early and enough 8 hours a day for good health?
The importance of sleep
On average each of us spends a third of our lives sleeping. This process of rest gives people many health and mental benefits. During sleep, new cells are regenerated, the hair will be longer and grow in height in the teens. When you fall asleep, the brain signals the body to release hormones that help retain memory, maintain the immune system, review and manage health problems.
Are we required to sleep 8 hours a day?
The answer is NO! In fact, there are many great and talented people such as Thomas Edison, Isaac Newton, Leonardo da Vinci, Margaret Thatcher, Barack Obama, Mark Zuckerberg … have less than 5 hours of sleep a day but still have a better physical and mental condition than the person.
After many studies, American scientists concluded that sleep time depends on the age, health status of each person. More specifically, the number of hours of sleep of babies is 17 hours a day, adolescents should sleep 8 hours to 10 hours and adults can sleep from 6 hours to 9 hours.
In 2009, biology and genetics researcher Ying-Hui Fu (University of California, San Francisco) studied sleep and compared gene maps of 250 volunteers. She discovered that some people’s sleep duration is also geneticly dependent. DEC2 gene changes make it possible for some people to survive and develop normally despite sleeping less than average. The fact that people change the DEC2 gene forces the body to sleep a lot can lead to stress.
Should you sleep early for good health?
We don’t have to sleep early. This answer can surprise many people quite a bit. Since from a young age we are always reminded to sleep early to have a sane spirit tomorrow. But you will have to admit that there are days when you are determined to sleep early from 9pm but wake up in the morning in a sluggish, tired spirit. Meanwhile, the nights you sleep at 2:00 and wake up at 7 a.m. and your mind is extremely awake.
Each person’s biological clock has the same 24-hour cycle. But the activity and definition of time are completely different. In addition, the quality of sleep does not have to be assessed by the duration of sleep or the start time, but the quality of the new sleep cycle is important.
What is the sleep cycle?
The sleep of the brain is not calculated by the hour but in cycles. If you sleep enough cycles of the brain, you will have a strong, energetic body. Even though you only sleep 5 hours, quality sleep can ensure health, making you not tired and lost focus the next day.
The sleep cycle consists of the stages:
- Stage 1: Lull: This is the first stage when entering sleep. Namely, the period between staying awake and sleeping. The body gradually relaxes. This average time in humans is 5 minutes.
- Phase 2: Shallow sleep: The beginning of this period from the moment you know nothing about your surroundings anymore. Your body temperature drops slightly, your body temperature returns to 37 degrees, your breathing rate and heart rate become regular. The next 10-25 minutes.
- Stage 3: Deep sleep: This is the stage of deep sleep and the stage that helps the body recover the most energy, during this time you breathe slowly, reduce blood pressure, relax muscles, hormones are released, your body is re-energy. Accounts for 20-30% of the total duration of sleep.
- Stage 4: Very deep sleep: This is the last stage in the sleep cycle. It accounts for about 25 percent of your sleep cycle. This is when your brain is most active and dreams happen. During this period, your eyes move back and back quickly under your eyelids, body temperature, heart rate, breathing rate and blood pressure all increase. Hand and leg muscles are temporarily inactive. REM sleep helps increase your mental and physical performance when you wake up. If you are awakened at this stage, you often feel stunned and dissyed.
The sleep cycle can last 90–110 minutes. To wake up healthy and mentally wise, you need to monitor and accurately calculate your own sleep cycle. example:
- If you want to get up at 6am, you should get into bed at 8.46am, 10.16pm, 11.46am or 1.16am.
- You must wake up at 7:00 am, you should sleep at 9:46, 11:16, 12:46 or 2:16.
- Until 8:00 am to wake up, you can stay up until 10:46, 12:16, 1:46 or 3:16.
Improve sleep quality
To improve the quality of sleep, you should seriously plan like any other important thing. Remind yourself of bedtime and set a wake-up time alarm.
Build a scientific diet and practice sports regularly. You should also prepare the ideal bedroom space. The bedroom must ensure a stable temperature, lighting, comfortable mattresses and pillows. At the same time, it is advisable to avoid stimulants such as coffee, alcohol, tobacco near bedtime.
Along with that, a habit that you should give up is to place electronic devices too close to the sleeping place. You must place them at least 2 meters away from the bed to reduce radiation, which can directly affect brain waves, making it difficult to sleep.
