Not Getting Enough Sleep at Night? Optimize Your Resting

August 11, 2007 By Matthew Paulson

The human body needs about seven or eight hours of sleep every night, and most people get it all in one stretch that lasts from about 11 at night to 7 in the morning. They sleep at this time because it’s their down time, and that’s when everyone else is sleeping. For many people there may be a way that one can sleep the same amount of time, but have more energy throughout the day. Instead of sleeping for one eight hour period, try splitting up your sleep periods throughout the day. You may find yourself with much more energy and focus to accomplish your daily tasks than you ever have had before.

This might be somewhat hard to manage if you work a standard 8-5 work day, but if you’re a stay at home mom, are self-employed, have flex time, or own a business, you can easily shift your work day to re-arrange your sleep schedule. Consider sleeping from 11 PM to 5 AM for your primary sleeping time, taking an hour nap around noon, and another hour nap later in the day. You’ll find yourself rested and relaxed after each rest and have more energy throughout the day. You’ll want to play with the hours you sleep to optimize them for your body and where you have to be at throughout the day, but it can be a great way to have more energy and focus without sleeping any extra hours.

If you have a day job, chances by 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon, you’ll get a bit groggy, tired, and become relatively unproductive. If you take a nap during the noon hour, that period of tiredness and grogginess will disappear until well into the evening. You can pre-empt that second period of grogginess by taking a short nap after work. Without these periods of being tired, you’ll have an incredible amount of focus throughout the day and be much more productive in general. You’ll find yourself getting a lot more work done and not be tired at the end of the work day.

This isn’t going to be an option for people who have somewhat rigid work schedules, but sleeping a bit here and there throughout the day is a much better option than trying to cram all of your sleep into one eight hour period. Having multiple sleep times will ensure that your energy level never gets too low, and you’re always rested enough to be productive if need be.