If you love sleeping, you may also love being awake a little bit more. The old cliche, “there’s not enough hours in the day,” is true if you sleep from ten at night to eight in the morning and still don’t feel rested.
Many people want to actually decrease the number of hours they sleep. This is not only possible but in many cases, it fixes a lot of sleeping issues and gives you more energy to boot.
Here are a few tips for getting more energy from six hours of sleep or less.
1. Sunlight. Your body produces a substance called melatonin that can lead to lethargy and a lack of energy (and possibly even depression and worse diseases) in excessive amounts. It’s part of what makes you tired at night, and its growth is inhibited by sunlight. The more natural sunlight you get, the less sleep you’ll really need, up to a logical point. You’ll also feel better for the hours that you are awake. Ditch the sunglasses except for at high noon, and open a window or two. Try to be outside for at least an hour or two every day.
2. Deep sleep. Your body really needs deep sleep sometimes, which is why you’ll often feel more tired after sleeping for short amounts of time. You throw off your body’s ability to get into a deep sleep quickly if you go to bed nervous, tense, or full of energy, so try doing deep breathing exercises and tensing and relaxing the muscles of your body to coax yourself into sleep a little bit easier.
3. Exercise. You get a ton of energy from daily exercise, so get into the habit. After all, it won’t be worth being awake if you’re in an unhealthy body, so diet and exercise will do more than anything else to give you a ton of energy and get the most out of a few hours of sleep. It’s best if you can get exercise in the early morning or late at night since it’ll add some sunlight to your diet as in tip #1.
4. Stay consistent. Don’t vary your sleep schedule if you can avoid it. Throwing off your sleep on a weekend or after a late night of work will make it harder for your body to use sleep because you won’t be getting as much deep sleep. Avoid caffeine, nicotine, and exercise within an hour or two of hitting the hay, and you’ll be able to get to sleep faster and get to the deep sleep that you need to keep your energy levels up.
Do you have any other tips for getting more energy from less sleep? Post in our comments section below.