You’ve probably heard of the age-old saying “TIME IS MONEY”, haven’t you? In the causeless rhythm of modern life, time has become more precious than any time has passed, so finding a balance between sleep and wakefulness is essential to perfectly manage your time.
In this article, we are going to explore the unexplored and we are going to provide information based on the latest research and studies about when is the best time to sleep and when is the best time to wake up.
What’s the Best sleeping hours?
Do you identify as a “night owl” or an “early bird”? Does it matter? And when is the best time to go to sleep?
The perfect time to go to sleep can vary depending on many factors like your lifestyle, age, and physical activity.
But for the majority of people the quality of sleep, you should consider sleeping at night and waking up early in the morning, because that is what matches our internal biological clock (Circadian Rhythm).
How Does Circadian Rhythm Work?
The Circadian Rhythm is a natural, internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle and repeats roughly every 24 hours. It helps control your everyday schedule for sleep and wakefulness. Most creatures have one.
Circadian rhythm is triggered by light and dark. In the morning, exposure to natural light suppresses the production of Melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone, while when the light diminishes, Melatonin production is increased.
Trying to sleep while there is still natural light or being exposed to artificial light, especially blue light exposure may affect your sleep pattern, therefore it will affect your Circadian Rhythm.
How much sleep do we need?
Sleep time is different from one individual to another depending on many factors like age, physical activity, brain activity, and job.
In general, people need about 7 or more hours of sleep daily, some will need more, and some can do a little bit less if they get a very high quality of sleep
For example: people who work in programming will need more hours of sleep than others, also adults need 7 or more while kids need way more hours of sleep than that.
How much sleep do you need by age?
The table below shows the recommended amount of sleep for each age group:
| Category | Age | Recommended amount of sleep |
| babies | 0–3 months | 14–17 hours per 24 hours (including naps) |
| Infant | 4–12 months | 12–16 hours per 24 hours (including naps) |
| Toddler | 1–2 years | 11–14 hours per 24 hours (including naps) |
| Preschool | 3–5 years | 10–13 hours per 24 hours (including naps) |
| School Age | 6–12 years | 9–12 hours per 24 hours |
| Teenager | 13–18 years | 8–10 hours per 24 hours |
| Adult | 18–60 years | 7 or more hours per night |
| Old People | 61–64 years | 7–9 hours |
| Older people | 65 years and older | 7–8 hours |
Sleep Cycle Stages
One of the most important topics lately about sleep is the Sleep cycle stages, you definitely noticed before that you hear real life things while you are still sleeping right?
If yes, don’t worry, you are not alone, it’s a common thing because when you are asleep you’re not always at the same brain activity along the cycle (One cycle normally takes about 90-120 min), so let’s talk about these stages:
Stage 1 – NREM 1 (light sleep): When a person first falls asleep it’s the lightest period of sleep and it takes about 1-7 minutes.
During this stage the body is not fully relaxed, the body starts to slow down brain activities, and it’s easy to wake up a person during this stage
Stage 2 – NREM 2 (deeper sleep): This is a slightly deeper stage of sleep than stage N1, During this stage, the body which takes around 10-25 minutes.
It is characterized by the presence of sleep spindles, K-complexes, or both the body continues to relax so heart rate and body temperature decrease.
This stage is relatively still light but it becomes harder to wake up the person during this stage.
Stage 3 – NREM 3 (Deepest sleep): in this stage, the body enters the deepest level of relaxation; it is the most restorative stage physically and mentally wise, you spend the most time at this stage 20-40 minutes.
It’s the hardest to wake up the person during this stage, in fact, it’s dangerous. waking someone during this stage may lead to grogginess and disorientation.
Stage 4 – REM Sleep: it’s called REM because of how the eye moves behind your eyelids while you’re dreaming, all dreams and nightmares happen in this stage.
During this stage your brain activity is very close to your brain activity while you are awake, under normal circumstances, you don’t go into the REM sleep stage till you have been asleep for about 80 minutes.
Further reading:
The importance of quality and deep sleep
As shown above, deep sleep is one of the sleep stages where your body gets fully relaxed, in this stage, the longer the night goes while you are sleeping the more you spend in this deep sleep stage, which means more relaxation, also good restoration mentally and physically
Side effects of getting too much or too little sleep
Sleep is like any other thing in this world, Getting too much sleep or too little of it may affect you negatively.
Here are some of the side effects of both oversleeping and sleep deprivation:
- Daytime sleepiness and tiredness.
- Weight Gain.
- Impaired Cognitive Function.
- Mood changes.
- Sleep disorders.
- Mental disorders.
What is the Best Time to Wake Up?
The best time to wake up from one individual to another can vary due to many reasons, age, physical activity, mental activity, and quality of sleep.
But for the majority of people it’s recommended to sleep early therefore wake up early in the morning and start your active life.
3 Tips to help you wake up at the best times
Speaking of waking up early there should be tips on how to do that, here are the top 3 tips for how to wake up early:
- Be consistent with your sleeping schedule: Going to bed every day same time will surely shift your Circadian Rhythm. Therefore, it will become easy for you to wake up at the same time every day.
- Adjust your wake-up timing: It’s as simple as that if you go to bed 2 hours late you will need to adjust your bedtime to 15-20 min each day meaning that you will need 9-12 days to adjust your bedtime perfectly.
- Avoid eating 2-3 hours before bedtime: eating before sleep may disrupt your time to fall asleep and won’t make you as comfortable as when you go to sleep light.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the best time to sleep and wake up is a highly individualized matter. However, Prioritizing consistency and aiming for 7-9 hours of quality sleep fosters better physical and mental health.
In the end, the best time to sleep and wake up is a personal choice. Whether you are an early bird or night owl it’s you who’s going to face the consequences whether it’s good or bad!
References
- https://sleep.sante-group.com/the-importance-of-deep-sleep/
- https://www.betterup.com/blog/best-time-to-sleep-and-wake-up