words Al Woods

Sleep is becoming a commodity, but it shouldn’t be that way. But how many hours of sleep do you actually need?

Eight hours of sleep is a necessary part of proper mental and physical health. Getting less than your body’s circadian rhythms dictate is costly on your body.

 

So why do we need sleep to survive? The brain needs sleep so that the body can clean out the toxins that have accumulated throughout the day. If the body hasn’t cleaned out these toxins, you can feel as though you haven’t slept enough at the very least. Your cognitive function can decline enough so that you’re not aware of your actions until you catch yourself making mistakes.

Sometimes the effects of a lack of sleep are subtle, but sometimes it’s obvious when you fight to stay awake throughout the day. We often do several activities during the day to function that are detrimental to our sleep cycle. You may drink too much caffeine later in the day to get through the remaining two hours at work, answer emails for work after leaving your office for the day, or spend too much time spent in front of the TV and computer.

You probably do most or all of these activities throughout the day without realizing that you’re stimulating your body and causing it to stay alert instead of winding down. Moderate these activities and get to sleep sooner rather than later. Learn more about the nature of sleep in the infographic below to find out what you can do, such as keeping your HVAC system clean, to help you get the sleep you need.