Of course we all are aware that sleep is not just important in refreshing our mind, but is critical to our body to rejuvenate itself as well. Therefore, the latest survey (titled ‘Sleep In America’) from the National Sleep Foundation may cause you to be amazed.
The yearly poll calculates Americans get, on average, just 6.7 hours of sleep per night during weekdays. Also, over the last decade, an ever increasing number of Americans are getting under 6 hours sleep a night. Those who get at least 8 hours a night is going down too.
Living in our non-stop, open all hours world, it’s not really surprising that we’re sleeping almost an hour and a half less a night than our ancestors did just over a hundred years ago.
There are plenty of distractions that no generation have had before. So, it’s clear why sleep has gotten pushed aside. The ready accessibility of the internet, cell phones and other gadgets make it possible to be connected to the world at all hours, and to do things at any time, anywhere.
In another survey, the American Psychological Association, reported that just over half of 7,000 respondents were losing sleep at night as a result of stress.
Of course not getting enough sleep results in the majority of us feeling irritable and drained, as well as leading to poor performance at work, lackluster thought processes and questionable judgment.
Nearly anyone can better the quality of their sleep though, by getting into a a regular sleeping routine. Get yourself to bed and get up at a similar time every day- even on the weekend, vacations and holidays.
You should keep the place where you sleep is restful, peacful and at a comfortable temperature. Do these things and you’ve a higher likelihood of achieving the 8 hours of sleep that you need.
