MIND

study says A students, who were in the top 10 percent of their class, have their performance level quickly dip when they were limited to less than seven hours of sleep per night. After only one week, their scores moved them into the lower 9 percent of their class.

During extended periods of sleep loss, you could experience increased anxiety and even depression. With complete loss of sleep, a person can drift into a psychosis and eventually die. Yes, sleep is essential to well being.

HOW MANY HOURS OF SLEEP DO YOU NEED?

An adult needs at least seven and half hours of sleep, maybe up to a full nine, with most averaging around eight hours a night. The answer depends on age, lifestyle, and how intensely you use your mind and body.

Picture this: Think of your mind and body as a bank in which you deposit sleep. It needs around eight hours deposited every day. It’s not enough to just sleep in on the weekends. One solid night of sleep, unfortunately, does not make up for five nights without good deposits. If you keep living on sleep credit, your sleep debt continues growing. As sleep debt grows, your brain functions less and less optimally. You need those hours on weekdays, too, and even more if you want to perform your best in your job or your studies. There are ways to balance your sleep account.

A wake-up test reveals your need for sleep.

The best way to determine if you are getting enough sleep is a wake-up test. Quite simply: You will wake up yourself without the need for an alarm clock if you are getting enough sleep.

Is this the case for you? If not, try to get to bed a bit earlier in the coming days.

Sleep 30 minutes more every day starting today.

Be prepared for some internal resistance. It is very tempting to watch that extra hour of television, read a little more of your book, or stay up later with friends and family. Think of this experiment as a life quality boost and a rise in your personal effectiveness. It allows you to get more out of your time awake because you are more rested, which in turn, leads to better awake time. You’ll notice you are actually in a better mood as well on days when you got that extra sleep.

Let your brain get the sleep it needs and it will reward you with sharp focus and good emotions.