by The older I get, the more I love my bed. It’s not uncommon to find myself leaning against my pillows at 8:30 pm, ready to decompress and snuggle all night. My late mother’s words echo in my head: “You’ll be desperate to get into bed someday!” She was right. Am.
So I was nothing short of intrigued when I recently read that actress Dakota Johnson likes to sleep up to 14 hours a night. She says sleep is her number one priority and gives her greater clarity in life. She also participates in transcendental meditation and enjoys a bath at any time of the day; This woman knows a thing or two about keeping things cold.
And I have always been amazed by my own teenagers’ ability to stay in bed for excessive periods of time. It baffles me that they can remain in a coma while dogs bark, mailmen ring the doorbell, my husband screams that he has lost his keys, and a fire truck drives by his window, sirens wailing.
Like many of us, I have a complicated relationship with sleep. While I love to get in In bed, I wouldn’t say I always take a full nap, so when I decided to experiment with staying horizontal for longer than my usual sleep period, I immediately felt the pressure of the challenge, which – guess what – kept me awake. I can usually clock in eight to nine hours, with some intermission to urinate, but sleeping more seemed almost impossible.
Professor of circadian neuroscience at the University of Oxford, Russell Foster, says: “The National Sleep Foundation states that the healthy sleep range is between six and 10.5 hours per night; seven to eight hours is the average but One size does not fit all. Humans are variable creatures and, therefore, it is up to the individual to decide how much he needs to function well.
“Some indicators that something is wrong could be if you need an alarm clock to wake up, or if you oversleep a lot on days off, or you crave caffeinated drinks, or you feel tired and ragged all day, or you find yourself doing impulsive things…then you probably need to rest more. But if you do well with a below-average amount, that’s absolutely fine.”
Foster also points out that there is a big difference between drowsiness and fatigue. “Drowsiness is cured by getting enough sleep,” he says. “Fatigue is when a person feels overwhelming tiredness, lack of motivation and even depression. This may suggest an underlying health problem; the classic these days is long Covid. If you suddenly notice that you are sleeping a lot more, it is worth getting a medical check-up.”
in his book why we sleepNeuroscientist Matthew Walker informs us that adolescents experience a significant change in their circadian rhythm, meaning that the increase in melatonin (the hormone that helps us sleep) carries over to many hours later.
“Therefore, the 16-year-old is usually not interested in sleeping at 9 p.m.,” he explains. “On the other hand, peak wakefulness is usually present at that time. When parents get tired, their circadian rhythms slow, and the release of melatonin tells them to sleep (perhaps around 10 or 11 p.m.), their teen may still be wide awake.”
So it’s not that teenagers have the ability to sleep forever, they’re more likely to be night owls and finally throw in the towel when I’ve already gone to bed long before. News at ten.
No wonder they have the ability to stay asleep until lunchtime. However, Foster adds that some adults can also sleep for very long periods. This is how they are connected.
“Sleep is triggered by the brain’s exposure to the molecule adenosine. If a person has receptors sensitive to adenosine, they are likely to sleep longer.
“Unfortunately, it is not possible to train yourself to sleep more than usual because there are two main factors that influence this: your own biological clock and your intuitive approach to sleeping, which basically means that the longer you have been awake, the greater the need. about sleeping”.
Age also has some relevance. Again, while everyone has their own patterns, older adults are more likely to experience fragmented quality and quantity of sleep. Medications and illnesses play a role, but for most of us, a weakened bladder is the culprit. I can identify with that. The best thing I did was install a private bathroom in my house.
Walker says sleep changes with advancing age are affected by circadian rhythm: “Unlike teenagers, older people often experience a regression in sleep rhythm, leading to going to bed earlier and earlier. The cause is an earlier release in the night and a peak in melatonin as we age, indicating an earlier onset time for sleep.”
That’s fine unless, like me, you want to go to the movies or a concert and fall asleep before the halfway point. And God forbid if I have more than one glass of wine with dinner. I’m sleeping on the couch or, more alarmingly, in the bathtub. My husband has been known to often slam the bathroom door loudly while he yells, “Are you waking up in there?!”
Foster confirms that “sleep anxiety” is a recognized condition, and millions of people worry about whether they are getting enough sleep. His sound advice is to stop worrying.
Waking up in the night is perfectly normal, but the key is to help yourself get back to sleep, so a relaxing environment and tools like mindfulness are helpful.
Foster adds: “Light exposure and exercise, especially in the morning, are beneficial for better sleep, and there is some interesting data to suggest that dog owners have better quality sleep. It has to do with the company that dogs provide us and being outdoors with them every day.”
So if I really want to sleep like Dakota Johnson, or even like a teenager, maybe I need to walk my dogs more, take a lot of baths (but never nap in them), meditate, don’t drink anything after 6 pm so I don’t sleep . pee at 2am, avoid being anxious or sick and maybe play Obligations on the Xbox late at night, so I snore until noon. It all sounds suitably exhausting.
