In our last +1, we took a (very) quick look at our Top 10 Sleep Kryptonites. You Optimize one last night? (High fives!)
I want to revisit the wisdom gem I shared from Matthew Walker. He tells us: “Two thirds of adults throughout all developed nations fail to obtain the recommended eight hours of nightly sleep. I doubt you’re surprised by this fact, but you may be surprised by the consequences. Routinely sleeping less than six or seven hours a night demolishes your immune system, more than doubling your risk of cancer.”
Quick recap.
The recommended number of hours of sleep? EIGHT.
Two thirds of adults in developed nations don’t hit that target.
Do you?
(Note1: Two thirds of adults in developed nations are ALSO overweight. Ahem. Private question time… Are you? 😲)
(btw, on that Note: Some say that the best diet is an extra hour of sleep. 🤓)
And…
If we routinely get less than 6 or 7 hours of sleep?
We DOUBLE our risk of cancer. 😲
Sobering stats, eh?
But that’s not quite the point of Today’s +1.
Today I want to shine a (night) light on Sleep Efficiency.
Sleep efficiency is the percentage of time you’re actually asleep while in bed. Handy dandy little sleep measuring gadgets can help us at least approximate our sleep efficiency score by taking the amount of time we’re asleep and dividing that by the total time spent in bed.
85% is considered healthy-normal.
90%+ is very good.
(Paradoxically, 100% is a sign you’re probably not spending enough time in bed.)
(I just checked out my Oura stats. My scores for the 5 months I’ve had my ring? 88% 88% 90% 87% 88%.)
Why is this relevant?
Well… If you think you’re getting 8 hours of sleep because you go to bed at 10 and get up at 6, you’re wrong.
And… If you think you’re getting at least 7 hours of sleep by going to bed at 11 and getting up at 6, then you’re not only wrong but you’re also falling into the wrong bucket regarding those cancer statistics.
You know… The one that says that if you routinely get less than 6 or 7 hours of sleep you DOUBLE (!!!) your chances of getting cancer.
Tonight’s +1.
How much sleep are you ACTUALLY getting?
+1. +1. +1!!!
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