Do we really need eight hours sleep?

It could be argued that competitiveness is ingrained into our physiology. Our culture thrives due to the high number of creative and driven individuals and groups that strive to push the envelope when it comes to human development. Our minds are the tools of the trade and our bodies the outlet for any task we wish to complete. So why would we choose to limit its potential in the most basic ways? In a world where fitness fads, dodgy supplements and other suspect products exist as a quick fix, why would we choose to favour them instead of the most simple solutions for wellness? The most simple and easily accessible of these, arguably, is sleep. Research shows that poor sleep has a negative effect on your hormones and brain function. That it can cause weight gain and poor food choices, it can increase disease risk including a recently documented link to Alzheimer’s and dementia. Good sleep in contrast can help manage the opposite of these occurrences, it can regulate hormones so the body can adapt and recover from stimulus effectively, your immune system becomes more efficient at dealing with illness and sickness. A better rested individual also makes better choices when it comes to food and are often reported to be better at making decisions, vitally important if you happen to be driving a lot at night as early signs of sleep deprivation can cause our reactions to slow to that of a driver travelling at well over the blood-alcohol limit. The concept of getting eight hours sleep originates from studies as far back as the 1950’s, are mostly questionnaire based and focus on longevity, eight hours sleep has been shown to increase our life expectancy, therefore the recommendation exists. So how do we get a good night’s sleep? A good place to start is to get to bed on time with a view to aiming for seven to nine hours sleep before you’re required to wake in the morning. Getting into bed allows the mind to associate your bed with sleep, this means do not read in bed or more importantly expose yourself to any blue light stimulation such as that from a phone or tablet. Keeping your bedtime and wake time consistent will also provide a benefit as your body craves routine. Caffeine is initially effective over the course of 12 hours but has been found to not actually leave your body until up to 36 hours after consumption, Converting  to decaffeinated drinks will also allow you to switch off quicker allowing for an optimal environment for sleep. Natural light should be limited as much as possible during the sleep period and then you should aim to expose yourself to as much daylight as possible throughout the day as this will reinforce your bodies natural circadian rhythms, responsible for the bodies natural physiological sleep/wake cycle. By all means push yourself. Your body is capable of so much more than you believe it is, but when it comes to recovery and regulation of your wellbeing, nothing has as big an impact as your sleep quality.