26 Apr 2014

Are You Getting Enough Sleep?

When I was in college, it wasn’t unusual for me to get only 5 hours of sleep a night. Yes, that number seems very low and maybe to some – a little dangerous, but believe it or not – 5 hours was all I needed to feel like I could properly function. I had my Starbucks. I was busy running off to things, and every part of my day was pretty much planned until the evenings. It was enough for me back then. These days, five hours a sleep isn’t an option. If there is someone or something getting in the way of that, you can expect me to get a little bit cranky. This week was more than a little hectic and I found myself falling asleep at 9:45 PM last night. It was Friday! I think as a college kid, I always vowed to never be that kind of adult.

Right before falling asleep on my couch, I watched this video below to determine if I was getting enough sleep or not. After seeing my results, I think I realized it was time to pass out right then and there. Bear in mind that there are quite a few ways you can increase your sleep and reduce your issues with sleeping, and some of them can be due to what you eat and drink. As I mentioned before I used to go to Starbucks as that would give me my caffeine pick up for the day, but if you jerk in your sleep and it wakes you up or makes you irritable when all you want to do is get to sleep, then you may not know that you can reduce hypnic jerks by drinking less caffeine throughout the day so it doesn’t become a serious issue with you. Did you know that caffeine has a part to play in that? Obviously, we know that drinking any caffeine too late can keep us up, but it will still affect you no matter when you drink it, especially if you are a consistent and high drinker of that beverage. It may be hard at first, but reducing your caffeinated drink each day can help you get back into a healthier sleeping pattern as 5 hours certainly does not cut it anymore.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/7YtD86bio5U]

[Source]

Posted on April 26, in Life