And you don’t necessarily have to go to bed earlier either.
You’re onto it: you ditch digital devices before bed; you’ve curbed your nightly Netflix binge and you even got a novel on the go, one you’re likely to get through before the months’ end.
And yet, the perfect night’s sleep still eludes us. It’s not just us: The Telegraph recently reported just 17 per cent of people in the UK feel they “sleep very well most nights,” and that figure is expected to get even worse over time.
But as it turns out, it’s not all the amount of sleep we’re getting that will leave us feeling refreshed; it’s actually going to bed at the right time that makes the difference.
That’s because your brain has a pattern of sleep and goes through “cycles” – each sleep cycle lasts about 90 minutes and we usually have around five or six a night. Sleep specialists suggest waking up in the middle of one of these cycle makes us feel tired but waking up between phases leaves us feeling more rested and like we’ve just had the best night’s sleep ever.
So how do we do this?
The Sleep Calculator, created by web-blinds.com is a simple online tool that gives you a range of bedtimes based on the time you need to get up.
For example, need to be up at 6am? Then you’d best be in bed by 10.16pm, 11.46pm or 2.46am.
However, if it’s the weekend we recommend sleeping for as long as you want… After all, why set an alarm if you don’t have to?!
