What Your Bad Sleeping Habits Could Be Doing to You

We have all been there. The alarm starts going off early in the morning to wake you up. Yet, you barely got 5 hours of sleep, you feel super tired, so you press the snooze button two or three times before you actually get out of bed. You might not realize it, but these bad sleeping habits are going to negatively effect the rest of your day and overtime for the rest of your life if the habits persist.
 
When your alarm goes off, you are pulled out of your REM stage of sleep, which is the most restorative stage. If you press the snooze button and shut your eyes again, you go into another phase of REM and your brain ends up in that phase for long after you wake up. This results in you being tired and groggy all day leading to unproductivity and a negative mood. Sleep specialist Michael Breus, Ph.D has studied this multiple times, and says it is so important to swear off the snooze button. Make sure your alarm is far away from your bed forcing you to get on your feet to turn it off. Another option is setting an alarm for a time where you must get up or you’ll definitely be late by hitting snooze.
 
However, the best method for stopping the snooze button is getting enough sleep. Yet, there are so many people who are consistent with not sleeping for enough hours during the night. The National Sleep Foundation recommends adults get 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. If you don’t, it could cost you. Research has showed lack of sleep directly correlates with lack of alertness, impaired memory, stress on relationships, and lower quality of life because a sleepy person is less likely to participate in the things they enjoy to do. More importantly, if not getting a lot of sleep is part of your normal routine, it could lead to adverse health effects such as high blood pressure, obesity, heart failure, or stroke. At Fitness Inspired, we encourage channeling your childhood self and setting a bedtime. Go 7 hours back from your wake up time and set that as the time you hit the pillow every night. Make it a routine, because the Circadian Rhythms, or internal clocks our body follows relies on consistency. If your good sleep habits become a part of your normal schedule, you will feel better, perform better, and your body will thank you.