How to sleep 8 hours in 4 hours? Everyone who worked hard deserves to have his 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. We know that getting the best sleeping experience can sometimes be a challenge for some, but getting the right amount of hours of dozing off helps us regain our energy and vitality that would allow us to continue the hard grind the next day.
Some people fall asleep direct. It seems like they fall asleep when their head touches their pillow. They can close their eyes and wake up the next day feeling as if nothing had happened. Some would reach the farther end of their beds and count many sheep but still couldn’t get some sleep.
Is there a secret to this? How to sleep 8 hours in 4 hours? Is this even possible? Nobody wants to gaze at the ceiling for hours and count from 1 to “how many” but still find themselves wide awake. We hope we can help you shed light on this because some are having trouble finding some sleep.
How to sleep 8 hours in 4 hours?
So, how to sleep 8 hours in 4 hours? The place seems quiet, and you only hear from time to time the wind gently whistling on the leaves as it gently sways from side to side. This appears to be the perfect time to doze off and wake after a few moments in dreamland. But sadly, you are looking endlessly at your ceiling while counting the minutes become hours, and you are still wide awake.
What could be wrong? You have taken a nice warm bath, drank a glass of warm milk, got your favorite jammies, and fell on your back on your warm, soft, and comfortable bed, but still, you are as active as a kid. What could be wrong? Is this going to end up bad? Like you would stay awake all night only to find out you haven’t slept for hours?
A whole night’s sleep makes you feel good, as it improves your mental and physical performance the next day. It also helps you boost your overall health. Health experts recommend 7 hours of sleep for an active adult, and children and teens would need more than that to help them support their ongoing development.
You may feel okay with a few hours of sleep, but eventually, when it catches up with you, a noticeable decrease in both physical and mental performance will happen. You feel irritable and can hardly focus on the tasks at hand. And you realize that not getting enough sleep sucks, and it sucks big time.
I can still go even if I don’t have 8 hours of sleep every night
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Yes, you seem to be okay having less than 8 hours of sleep every night, but the question is, until when? How long can you go by not getting enough sleep time every night? Four hours of sleep would make you feel staggered and groggy, and less mentally alert.
Is it good, maybe for a little while, but it is not sustainable for long. At one point, you’ll meet your breaking point, and that is where you come to realize that you are not doing well. A 2018 study revealed that those getting only 4 hours of sleep every night are adding eight years of aging to their brains.
And not getting 8 hours of sleep every night can lead to the following conditions:
- depression
- obesity
- hypertension
- anxiety
- diabetes
- obstructive sleep apnea
- stroke
- psychosis
- cardio vascular diseases
How can you sleep easily?
You do some activities before sleep time that contribute to why you are having difficulty finding a good night’s sleep. We want to advise that you need to remove or at least try to lessen these activities because these would contribute to why you have less sleep every night.
- Get rid of gadgets an hour before going to bed – The blue light emitted by gadgets interferes your body’s circadian rhythm and its natural melatonin production. When you are so engulfed with your tab or your phone, you are making yourself more awake. Sometimes you are excited about something that you are following on your phone and most of the time, this what causes you not to feel sleepy.
- Remove anything that distracts you when you are going to sleep – it includes phone, tap, laptop and other potential distraction from your room. Put that next day memo on your briefcase and put the briefcase somewhere hidden.
- Your room must be dark – it is hard to doze off when your room is as bright as day. A dark area helps your body produce more melatonin that helps you feel sleepy. Put off the light, cover your window with curtains that block the lights outside and it will help you doze off in no time.
- Limit your coffee and sweets before bedtime – You must refrain from ingesting any stimulants before going to bed. As simple as it may seem, there are those who love to munch on chocolates or drink a few cups of coffee. You know exactly what you are getting into when you take a bite of this. You’ll end up wide awake all night long.
- A light exercise a few hours before bedtime will help you fell asleep during bedtime. If you normally sleep at about 10 pm, getting a light exercise around 6-7 pm can help you doze off. A few stretching and some light cardio can get you sleepy when the time comes.
- Get a healthy diet – Fruits, vegetables, fish and other healthy foods can help you fall asleep better. Avoid eating boxes of pizza or drink a gallon of carbonated drink before dozing off. You’ll find yourself wide awake and unable to sleep. If possible, limit your food intake during early evening up to 8 pm tops.
- Don’t drink alcohol – Alcohol can actually let you feel drowsy but not asleep. Alcohol acts like a sedative, which makes you less mobile but not sleepy. Getting intoxicated messes up with your normal sleeping pattern and makes you wake up prematurely all throughout the night.
- Try limiting your water and other liquid intake a few hours before going to bed – When you have less frequent time going to the bathroom, chances are it won’t interfere with your sleeping pattern. Too much liquid intake would make you go to the bathroom more and the more you get off the bed, the fewer chances you’ll catch your sleep.
- Try napping within the day, but not sleep all day long, as it will cause you not to fall asleep when the night comes. A 20-30 minutes’ long nap can help you recharge. Avoid deep and long sleep during the day as it will interfere with your normal sleeping pattern during the night.
- Spend time under the sun – As simple as it may seem, but it is quite good when you expose yourself under the sun. Sunlight helps you produce serotonin, a sleeping-inducing hormone.
How does sleep cycle works?
Your body experiences sleep cycles throughout the night, and a process takes you about 90 minutes. During the sleep cycle, your body experiences a sleep cycle four to six times in which there are a low point, a high point, and a break-even point. If you imagine it, it works like an oscillator where you’ll see movement throughout the night.
- N1 Stage– This is the state where your body has not yet on that “deep” sleep state. This usually lasts 1 to 5 minutes. This is where your breathing, your heart rate and muscle relax and slowdown.
- N2 Stage – This stage will last about 30 to 60 minutes and this is where your breathing and heart rate decline rapidly further. Your body temp also drops.
- N3 Stage – This stage is what they call the “deep sleep” stage. This last 20 to 40 minutes and this is where your body repairs your damaged tissues and cells.
- Rapid Eye Movement (REM) – This stage is where dreams happen. The first REM cycle usually last around 10 minutes and your last REM cycle would last up to an hour.
There are peaks, plateaus, low points, and high points when you sleep, as you can see. And that cycle continues to move as you go along your sleep during a particular night. To keep fast asleep fast, you need to remove anything that distracts you and anything that keeps you awake.
Four hours is such a long time for you to fall asleep soundly. When you are going to follow those things we have highlighted. You don’t need 4 hours, or 3 hours, or even an hour. It would only take you minutes before you find yourself in the place where unicorns are coming to life, and everything seems full of color.
Remember this, getting a sound sleep every night is a choice. You can make that choice if you want to. Stop ordering late-night pizzas or binge eating while drinking lots of soda before going to bed. You can choose to eat healthy during the day. You can choose not to bring all your screens inside your room,
It all depends on what you choose to get a good night’s sleep every single time. You don’t want to rely on pills to sleep. Remember, rest is just for free, and it is pretty easy if you choose the right choices.