Choose 8 Hours

I woke up at 5:00 AM Wednesday. I could have fallen back to sleep after my daughter woke up for an early breakfast, but would that extra hour have made that much of a difference?

Granted, it would have turned into more like an hour and a half after hitting the snooze on my phone about 3 times. My vote is yes, it does make a difference. Every hour/minute/second of sleep at night counts.

It is the one time during the day that our body has a chance to recharge. When we sleep we give our body a fighting chance to survive the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives.

But why 8 hours? Why not 2, 3, 4, 6, 12? Aww 12 hours of sleep. I will never see that again as long as I have kids! Most studies show anywhere between 7 and 9 hours of sleep is what is most beneficial for the brain and body.

There are loads of benefits to 8 hours of sleep: more energy, healthier heart, decreased brain fog, decreased inflammation, less wrinkles, increased bone health, decreased fatigue, and the list goes on.

Homework: Try to get a full 8 hours for a week and pay attention to how you feel. It will be difficult and take some discipline, but if you are sitting on the couch falling asleep to your favorite show every night at 9:30 anyway don’t you think maybe your body is giving you a signal?