What is the Best Sleep Time?
Justin McCarthy-Contreras
Published April 13, 2023
Every hour of the day is planned. The body follows a biological circadian rhythm. An individual might think, “Eight hours and 15 min. is the exact sleep time for this body to start the day energized.”
Living with the entire day fixed isn’t a wish, but getting enough rest is. Learn what the best sleep time is for your body and the steps to wake up refreshed.
Each day isn’t set with the same events. Some mornings have special time periods to drop kids off for school or prepare presentations at work.
Days are filled with unexpected actions we react to. A disciplined mind makes decisions after contemplation. The best choices are created from attentive brains.
We can’t tell every reader a set amount of time to sleep. Everyone lives different lives, and Mente Soul will provide advice to consider when scheduling the end of a day (Please read this disclaimer before following any information.)
How many hours?
The length of sleep each of us need varies past body to age and sleep debt. Children require increased sleep time to the recommended 7 – 9 hours for adults.
Sleep debt implies the number of hours shortened from a body’s usual sleep cycle. For example, someone who normally sleeps 8 hours, but only laid in bed for 6 last night has 2 hours of sleep debt.
What about fit bodies?
Children aren’t the only people who lay in bed longer than the average adult. Elite athletes such as Lebron James sleep well over 9 hours. A Stanford basketball study tested the effects of their team sleeping for at least 10 hours a day. The results indicate sleeping longer than the average 7-9 hours was beneficial to sports results.
“I want to be fit. I’ll start sleeping more.”
Longer sleep hours won’t drastically improve the body, in fact, it can be detrimental to the day overall. Not all of us are professional athletes who can afford the time and money to sleep for excessive periods of time. Many successful people make the most of their time sleeping within the 7-9 hour range or even less.
Bedtime Schedule
Once you know the number of hours to be in bed to wake up refreshed work backward. Let’s use a typical Monday at work for example. Plan to be at a desk by 8 AM. Eight hours of rest is normal to be mentally charged for 9 hours at the office. Prepare to add transit time, food preparation, etc.
Walking to the desk includes commute minutes, breakfast and showering for this example. This person’s regular commute averages 45 min., food preparation takes 30, and showering is an extra 30 min. All these add 1 hr 45 min. to the sleep schedule. Arrangement to be at the desk by 8 AM is calculated by this time minus 1 hr 45 min. and 8 hours of sleep. Mathematically, 10:15 PM Sunday night is when this person should expect to be in bed.
Sleep Tips
Consistency is best for the body to become accustomed to sleeping hours at a specific part of the day. This is characterized by a night routine, avoiding bright lights from tech displays and others. To learn more about these tips please read the 7 Tips to Sleep Better article.
Know your body’s sleep cycle and plan ahead to apply discipline once awake. Sleep troubles such as insomnia require you to seek help from a medical professional. Sleep is a critical process to our health.
Arising from bed ready to strive through the day’s mission begins with a good night’s sleep. Consider information here and on other Mente Soul articles to develop a body prepared to assist yourself and others.
Sources:
Watson NF, Badr MS, Belenky G, et al. Recommended amount of sleep for a healthy adult: A joint consensus statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society. Sleep. 2015;38(6):843-844. doi:10.5665/sleep.4716
Paruthi S, Brooks LJ, D’Ambrosio C, et al. Recommended amount of sleep for pediatric populations: A consensus statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. J Clin Sleep Med. 2016;12(6):785–786. doi:10.5664/jcsm.5866
Hirshkowitz M, Whiton K, Albert SM, et al. National Sleep Foundation’s sleep time duration recommendations: methodology and results summary. Sleep Health. 2015;1(1):40-43. doi:10.1016/j.sleh.2014.12.010
Mah CD, Mah KE, Kezirian EJ, Dement WC. The effects of sleep extension on the athletic performance of collegiate basketball players. Sleep. 2011 Jul 1;34(7):943-50. doi: 10.5665/SLEEP.1132. PMID: 21731144; PMCID: PMC3119836.