By Donna V. Scaglione
You know how you feel when you don’t get enough sleep. Maybe you’re cranky with co-workers. You don’t feel “with it.” You lack the energy to get through a typical day.
A sleep deficit can lead to serious health problems like depression, diabetes, weight gain, and high blood pressure. Indeed, a study at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience published earlier this year found that insomnia may shrink decision-making parts of the brain. If you want a better night’s sleep — and perhaps a better performing brain — read on.
1. Know how much you need
The National Sleep Foundation, which does comprehensive sleep research, says adults typically need between seven and nine hours of sleep a night. How much do you personally need? The time it takes to wake up feeling refreshed without an alarm clock is the amount of sleep you need a night, says WebMD.com. If you need an alarm to awaken, set it 15 minutes earlier a night until you wake up on your own feeling rested and ready for you day.
