Four hours of sleep could be the magic number for some to function at their best, while nothing short of eight hours of snoozing could be enough for others.
Each body is unique, with its very own sleep preferences and requirements. Sometimes, however, we underestimate the amount of sleep our body needs, leaving it grasping for more hours with your head on the pillow.
But constant yawning and drowsiness are not the only signs that your body needs a little more rest! Here are other, lesser known indicators to look out for:
Are you constantly snacking, always feeling peckish, and always have food on your mind? If you’re not skipping meals or dieting but still feeling this sudden increase in appetite, then what you’re missing may actually be sleep and not nutrients.
A study done in 2010 by the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior found a connection between lack of sleep with an increase in ghrelin, the hormone that triggers the feeling of hunger.
Next time you feel like reaching for those carb-heavy, calorific snacks in the middle of the day, remind yourself to go to bed an hour earlier instead!
Actively abstaining for medical or other reasons is one thing, but constantly feeling like getting down to business is a chore is a whole other thing.
If neither stress nor health complications are the issues, then you may want to consider sleeping more to sleep less.
According to WebMD, getting too little sleep is one of the main reasons you may be feeling a noticeable decrease in your sex drive. Try getting more shuteye for a week or two, and track how your sex drive, and your level of stress, change drastically.
You may be blaming hormones or bad moods for something that is actually the result of too little sleep!
If you find yourself getting more worked up, upset, or emotional over mundane things like seeing a puppy or watching your favorite TV show, then there’s a chance you’re not getting enough sleep.
A study reported by USA Today proved that not giving your brain the amount of sleep it needs to rejuvenate every night actually makes you 60% more receptive to negative emotions. That’s because your brain ends up going into undeveloped activity patterns that do not process emotions the way modern day man does.
If you want to stop the emotional wreckage and overthinking patterns, just get to sleep!
The only thing you should be blaming for your inability to focus as well as you did before is your lack of sleep. While, sure, stress and old age are also culprits of the issue, your number one reason for lack of focus is not getting enough sleep!
If you’re having trouble keeping up with details, staying focused, or forgetting a lot more often, then why not try giving your body and brain a little more rest at night?
Getting rid of the common cold feels impossible, you seem to always be sneezing or sniffling, and your headaches are extra persistent. Sound familiar?
Spoiler alert, it’s not the weather that’s making you sick, it’s your lack of sleep. Not catching enough Zs makes you three times more susceptible to catching a cold, according to a study reported by the LA Times.
You may be naturally clumsy, regularly bumping into chairs and dropping pens and pencils, or you may just be giving your body way too little sleep.
If you feel like your clumsiness is leaving “endearing” territory and getting closer and closer to “endangering” territories, then you need to get yourself to bed for a little longer every night.
According to a study done by Stanford University Center for Human Sleep, not getting enough sleep makes your reflexes slower, your sense of balance and perception of depth inaccurate, and your focus a little murky.
On average, an adult man or woman needs at least 7 hours of sleep to function properly. Are you getting yours?
