It’s a worryingly common issue that British people aren’t getting enough rest. According to the NHS, the recommended amount of sleep is 7-9 hours per night, however this varies on an individual basis. The most important thing is finding the right amount of sleep for you personally, and achieving it.

Lack of rest has a number of well known effects: feeling grumpy, being unable to concentrate to full capacity, making silly mistakes etc. There are also a number of more serious, long term effects related to sleep deprivation, like heart disease and diabetes. It’s therefore imperative that you are getting the right amount of rest, for a number of reasons:

Happiness

When you’ve not had enough sleep, the chances are you’ll feel grumpy. This, in turn can have a detrimental effect on workplace relationships. Getting the right amount of rest will allow you to turn up to work feeling refreshed and ready for the day ahead.

Fitness

It’s proven that getting more sleep will help improve all aspects of fitness, from building muscle to burning fat. When you’re asleep, your body is repairing cells that have been damaged throughout the day.

Concentration

Not getting enough sleep means that your brain has not had time to rest, much like with building muscles. It’s proven that concentration capacity and learning ability is improved with a good night’s rest, whereas not getting enough sleep makes it difficult to focus. In a working environment, this will mean that your ability to complete tasks will be impaired.

Productivity

As a result of being happier, feeling fitter, and being able to concentrate to the best of your ability, productivity will be improved. Whether this be the ability to churn that long awaited report out, or simply processing more information, getting enough sleep will allow you to focus on the task in hand.

Knowing the benefits of getting enough rest is all well and good, but for some people, sleeping is a difficult task in itself. In a world with so much going on, so many deadlines to hit, so many screens to look at, it can be difficult to switch off. Here’s a couple of tips on how to get that much needed sleep:

Find the right bed

An average person will spend a third of their life in bed. That equates to 25 years, or 9,125 days (based on a person living to 75 years and sleeping for 8 hours per night) in bed.

It’s therefore important to find the right bed, and the right sleeping position.
Adjustamatic Adjustable Beds have produced a useful video which looks at all the different sleeping positions and how they affect your sleep.

Wind down

Taking work home is sometimes a requirement of the job. This doesn’t mean staying up working until the early hours of the morning is good for you though. Finding time to relax and let your mind and body wind down before going to bed will ensure a good night’s sleep. Try to limit screen time before bed as this can make falling asleep much more difficult.

Make your bedroom sleep friendly

The environment in which you sleep has a huge impact on the quality of sleep. Ensuring that your bedroom is free from distractions, such as electronic interference and lights will help you get a better night’s rest. If you are easily disturbed by noise and light, try using earplugs and a mask.