Travel Blog

Most healthy adults need from 7.5 to 9.0 hours of sleep every night on average. Not only do they get enough sleep, but their stages of sleep are not out of sync and also make sure that they are getting good quality of sleep. The graph at the left shows the typical pattern of healthy stages of sleep which contribute to better health, alertness at work and in personal life. Someone who is not getting enough sleep will not be alert on the job, less productive on the job, possibly even dangerous to themselves and others when operating equipment as well as grumpy or difficult to get along with. All of these things can affect your health, even your career at work as well.

Humans tend to sleep lightly for a period of time and then go into deep sleep known as REM sleep. The longer you stay in REM, the better your going to feel the next day in addition to sleeping for 9 hours. You will cycle in and out of REM during the night which is part of the bodies natural rhythm.

Stages of Sleep – Myths

Loosing One Hour of Sleep – even for on day will leave you less alert and active. you may turn to energy food such as coffee and high sugar items which contributes to weight gain.

Adjusting Quickly to Schedule Changes – it can take up to a week to adjust to different time zones after traveling or a shift change. We all get though it but we are clearing a lot less effective and will fall asleep at odd times.

Quality of Sleep is Important – Someone with low REM sleep, tossing and turning or a health problem like sleep apnea is going to have poor quality of sleep. They seldom get into REM and they wake up tired even though they have been in bed for even 9 hours.

Sleeping More on the Weekend – helps to catch up with lost sleep but not all of it. In addition, your sleep cycle is thrown out of kilter which contributes to poor sleep the following week.

Focus on quality of sleep so that you go through the proper stages of sleep. Go to sleep at the same time every day, wake up at the same time, get at least 7.5 hours to 9 hours of sleep every day and practice good sleep preparation to ensure that you sleep well.

For more health related topics, click here.

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