Hi everyone! I hope you are sleeping well. In the previous post, we looked at why it is important to sleep for 8-10 hours. When we sleep, our brain organises the received inputs and develop a pattern. As and when a situation arises, it pulls out the data to respond to a challenge. Though sleeping hours play a crucial role, there is one more factor we should consider while evaluating our sleeping habits. The other parameter is “Quality of sleep”. This post will explain the role of quality sleeping and lists out the profiles of people who lack quality sleeping.
As I write the post, I feel sleepy. Though I slept for 8 hours yesterday, still I feel drowsy with frequent yawns. This is because my sleep quality is not adequate. As soon as I felt sleepy, I went to bed around 11 pm yesterday. I should have slept immediately but I did not. Instead, I opened a music app and listened to a few songs. Later, I opened YouTube to see one song visually as I liked the song very much. Then, I got a video recommendation from YouTube suggesting an interview with my favourite director; I spent another 30 minutes watching the interview. In total, I delayed my sleeping time by an hour. As a result, I was past my sleep period and could not sleep immediately. Though I slept at midnight, at least for the next 2 hours I was awake but my eyes closed. Morning, I woke up at 8 am. If you calculate my sleeping hours mathematically, it will show 8 hours; however, I know that I have slept less than 6 hours yesterday.
In the above example, my sleeping quality is disturbed; Though I laid down for 8 hours with my eyes closed, I was still conscious for some time signalling my mind to not take rest. As a consequence, my brain had limited to organise the available inputs, and thus, my body showed fatigue signs in the morning. In other words, my brain needs some more sleeping time to intake new data. So, if you sleep just for the sake of lying in the bed, it will not be counted; it will result in yawning. Let us now look at various reasons which may affect your sleeping quality:
- Staying late past your bedtime (most sleepy time).
This is a favourite checklist to do before weekends for many people. For example, you know that you should sleep by 10 pm on Saturday. But, you would like to start a movie at 10 pm as tomorrow is a holiday. After all, everyone deserves a well-deserved break from routine! If you think so, I am sorry as you will end your precious Sunday on a dull note.
2. No or a little physical activity (body is not tired).
This is a problem for many home-makers. As taking care of the home involves many chores, those who take care of the activities think that it is more than enough for them. As a result, they wonder why they are unable to sleep as soon as they lie down in bed after a day-long work. Maybe, they miss the point that exercise should be commensurate with their body requirements. So, one size does not fit all!
3. No or a little mental exercise (eyes are not tired).
At one end, we have software people who work their brain out like Arnold Schwarzenegger. On the other hand, we have people who hardly take any efforts to solve even a simple issue at home. Idle brain costs us the quality of sleep. If you are a person who just watches TV and Netflix the whole day, your brain will be in a lukewarm mode.
4. Attacked by mosquitoes or pests.
Still many regions in the world experience mosquito bites. If you don’t take precautionary measure like mosquito nets, you will spend the whole night thrashing mosquitoes. If you don’t spend time taking care of your sleeping atmosphere, you will be in trouble!
5. Extended pee breaks during sleeping time.
I wanna pee at 3 am in morning. After the pee break, let me look at smartphone notifications for a minute. Oh, I missed the recent Instagram photos of my school friend. I should spare some time to see it and share my comments. Buddy, your social media updates can wait but your sleeping hours will not.
6. Frequent pee breaks during sleeping time.
I was thirsty and I had no water in the evening. Let me drink all I can just before sleep. Oh god! this is the 3rd time, I am getting up from the bed to pee. Well, if you drink water too much water before sleep, you might want to use a diaper!
7. Watching screen (mobile/TV) just before sleep.
I settled in my bed. Before I close my eyes, let me see the highlights of today’s match. After some time, I want to sleep now but I feel fresh. What just happened? If you too think like this in bed, maybe you should figure out some activity to do because you will not be tired to sleep.
8. Frequent changes in sleeping time.
This is the favourite hobby of many college students. Each day, I will sleep at different hours. Some days, I will just be awake and sleep the next day morning. To those of you, have fun but these stunts may increase your body weight!
In summary, you must sleep as soon as you close your eyes in the bed. The quality of sleeping is as important as the sleeping hours. Let’s make sure we avoid the traps which could lead us to be awake during the night.
Thank you for reading the full article. I wish you to have a good quality sleep every day. In the next post, I will explain how to change the habits that spoil our quality of sleep. Please share your thoughts in the comment section!
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