Here’s why you need more sleep

Whether you’re a night owl or a morning owl, there’s no denying the fact that getting enough zzz plays an integral role in wellbeing. While Margaret Thatcher famously ran the country on just four hours of sleep a night, less isn’t more for the majority of us.

Adequate snooze time is not a luxury, but in fact a daily necessity and most of us should be getting far more time in the hay in order to feel refreshed and ready for the day ahead. Sleep deprivation can have a massive impact on our health – ageing us prematurely, diminishing brain health and even triggering chronic disease. ‘Unfortunately, most of us don’t value sleep because we’re blissfully ignorant of what can happen when we don’t get enough of it. Many people regard sleep as a luxury, a waste of time, and even a weakness of character,’ believes Dr James Maas, author of /Sleep for Success/ and one of the top sleep researchers in the US.

We couldn’t be more wrong! Believing we can accomplish more by sleeping less is a complete myth. Although we may have more waking hours, we are prone to grogginess, mistakes and lack of energy, creativity and critical decision-making skills. ‘Chronically sleepy people are the worst judges of their condition. They’re often unaware of how significantly the lack of sleep affects mood, performance, relationships, health, and even longevity,’ says Dr Maas.

No sleep shaming

Envious of your bright eyed colleague who’s already ran 10K, whipped up a healthy homemade breakfast and ticked off half the day’s to-do list all before you’ve even made it out of bed? Well there’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to the number of hours of kip we need, and needing the odd lie-in is nothing to feel ashamed about. Some people are just naturally morning people, and genetics means that some of us actually need more rest than others. ‘If both of your parents are short sleepers and wide awake all day long, you might be one of the lucky very few who can get by with less than 7.5-9 hours nightly. You can condition yourself to wake up early, but you can’t change your need to sleep an adequate amount,’ explains Dr Maas.

Get help!

It’s a good idea to keep track of your sleep with gadgets and apps that measure quality and quantity of slumber time. We love Beddit Smart, a hi-tech sleep tracker that uses a sensor connected to your mobile phone to monitor your nightly sleep cycle in order to help improve time under the sheets.