Can you survive with only 4 hours of sleep every night? How much sleep should you get?

In today’s world, we are encouraged to be continually moving, progressing, improving, and achieving. Remote working, email, and zoom calls mean that we are working way more hours each day. And getting a good night's sleep is being increasingly ignored as people struggle to fill in all their tasks into the available hours of the day and the night.

Is it healthy to Sleep Four Hours each night?

Getting only a few hours of sleep a night has become a curious point of pride for people who congratulate themselves on their hyper-productivity and a Superman approach to life. Dwayne Johnson made headlines a few years ago after sharing his strict sleep schedule which only allows him to sleep four hours each night.

What happens if you don’t sleep?

It may be okay for a minority to sleep four hours each day (the long-term effects of this type of sleep schedule are hotly debated). But for most of us mortals, sleep is essential to ensure we are operating at our very best throughout the day. Below we look at What happens if you don’t sleep? And The Top 5 Benefits that a good night's sleep will give you.

Top 5 benefits of getting a good night’s sleep

Why is it important to sleep?

Getting a good night’s sleep has a wide variety of benefits for both your physical and mental health. Your concentration will improve, your mental health will benefit, your memory will recover, your metabolism will increase, and your social life will pick up.

• Improve Your Concentration and Productivity

What happens if you don’t sleep? Do you feel chipper and on the ball the next day? Or is your thinking sluggish, your concentration hazy, and your people skills almost non-existent?

A good night’s sleep is an essential part of making sure your brain’s cognitive functions are operating well. If your brain has not had time to rest, recover and process the previous day’s activity during the night, it will function slower during the day.

If your job requires you to make quick decisions, use logic and reasoning and keep organized – a good night’s sleep will be essential so that you can fulfill your tasks successfully.

Children and teenagers in particular also need a good night’s sleep to ensure that they can learn and work well in school. Their brains are still developing, and a lack of sleep can have particularly negative effects on their ability to make it through the school day engaging with their work and retaining what they are learning.

• Your Memory Will Be Better

Why is it important to sleep? If you don’t get enough sleep, you will find that it is more difficult to keep track of bits of information, remember what you are supposed to do, and recall important info like pins and logins.

This is because the nerve endings that allow us to form memories are connected and strengthened during the sleep process. If you don’t allow this to occur during the nighttime your memory will naturally suffer. When we sleep everything that we have experienced throughout the day is embedded into our short-term memories.

Your lack of concentration and sluggish thoughts will also make retaining information during the daytime much more difficult. You will find it harder to register new information being communicated to you, much less remember it!

So, if you find yourself constantly searching for where you’ve placed your phone throughout the day or finding that important tasks have completely slipped your mind, you should consider adding some more hours to your sleep schedule.

• Improved Mental Health

Lack of sleep and disturbed sleep has been connected to increased anxiety, depression, and stress as well as bipolar and other mental health disorders.

Getting a good night’s sleep will help you to feel more relaxed, well-rested, and ready to face the day. If you haven’t been able to get a good number of hours, you are more likely to feel stressed, anxious, bad-tempered, and have a low mood.

Why is it important to sleep?

When you sleep there are several different cycles your brain goes through. Each cycle is an important part of maintaining the health and functioning of your brain. During REM sleep your brain works to process emotional information and consolidate your memories and experiences throughout the day. If your brain is not allowed to do this during sleep, it could influence your emotional state during the daytime.

Lack of sleep has also been linked to increased severities of mental disorders and lowering of mood.

• Improve Your Metabolism and Lose Weight

Research has shown that those who regularly suffer from lack of sleep are also more likely to be overweight. Although it may be surmised that this may be indicative of lifestyle choices, there is also evidence that sleep plays an important part in your overall weight regulation.

Studies have shown that not enough sleep can lead to an increase in the levels of ghrelin (a hormone that spurs your appetite) and a decrease in the levels of leptin (a hormone that makes your hunger feel sated.) These hormonal changes can contribute to an increased appetite and associated weight gain.

Also, if you are suffering from a sleep-deprived lack of energy, you may find that you find yourself reaching for sugary, fatty foods with high calories to compensate and get yourself through the day.

A terrible night’s sleep is also likely to negatively affect your exercise regime, as you will be much more likely to head to the gym, go on a run or take part in other activities, if you are already feeling exhausted before you begin.

• Sleeping Well Can Enhance Your Social Life

When you don’t sleep well your social interactions and friendships can suffer. You will find yourself to be more short-tempered, less likely to concentrate on stories your friends are telling you, and will make for a much less energetic, and fun companion overall.

If you are feeling exhausted you are also far more likely to cancel your plans with your friends, not show up to social events and begin to isolate yourself from your friendship group.

You may also find yourself struggling to feel empathy, read social cues and react to humor, as your foggy brain takes longer to register and organize the information it is receiving.

If you are struggling with feeling lonely, anti-social, and having bad-tempered responses during interactions with friends, you should look at your sleep schedule.

What happens if you don’t sleep?

If you don’t sleep you will suffer in your physical and mental health. Your mood, stress, and anxiety levels will increase, your memory suffer and you may experience weight gain and other related issues.

A consistent sleep schedule will contribute to a healthier lifestyle overall. Do not fall for the trap of relegating sleep to an unimportant afterthought. To enjoy the best that your life can offer you, you should commit to improving your sleep schedule and going to bed earlier, starting tonight!

How many hours of sleep should you get each night?

Now that we know how important sleep is to our overall physical and mental health. Exactly how many hours of sleep a night should you aim for to maintain a healthy lifestyle? The consensus is that you should be aiming for between seven and nine hours a night.

You will be able to pinpoint the exact amount which is prime for your functioning by adjusting your sleep schedule according to whether you wake up feeling tired or energized. Children and teenagers will need longer sleep times ranging from nine to thirteen hours as their bodies and brains are still developing.

How can you improve your night’s sleep?

For tips and hints on how to improve your night’s sleep, you can check our other blog pages for handy, practical, and actionable ways to help you to get to sleep faster, easier, and with much less difficulty.

What should you do if you are worried about your lack of sleep?

If you try to improve your sleep schedule and find it difficult to adjust or suffer from insomnia, then you should consider getting in touch with a medical professional or sleep expert. Lack of sleep is not something to be disregarded and you need to make sure you explore all avenues to improve this very important part of your health and lifestyle.

Summary - The Top 5 Benefits of Getting a Good Night Sleep

Why is it important to sleep?

As you can see, sleep is an essential part of a healthy, high-functioning lifestyle, and factoring in a good night’s rest should be a priority when you are planning your schedule. Lack of sleep can lead to negative effects on your mood, mental health, concentration, social life, and physical health.

When you wake up well-rested and energized from a good night’s sleep, in which all the important sleep cycles have been allowed to progress undisturbed, you will be in a much better place emotionally and physically to start your day. You will find it easier to complete your work tasks, enjoy social interactions, make healthy food choices, and remember where you left your keys!

To improve all aspects of your life you need to commit to a regular sleep schedule. Lack of sleep could be contributing to a lot of negative areas which will see a marked improvement when you start to feel more energized and relaxed each morning.