Weekly Advice: The 90 Minute Sleep Rule

We all know how important it is to get a proper amount of sleep at night and by doing so, can provide many health benefits, such as metabolic and energy regulation, improved memory, weight loss, and decreased stress. However, what many people do not know is that the point in time at which you awaken from your sleep, is as important as how many hours you've been asleep for.

You've probably noticed at least one time where you've managed to get a sufficient amount of sleep over the course of the night, yet upon waking up, you still feel extremely sluggish and tired. This may be due to waking up at the wrong point in your sleep. During the time your body is asleep for, your brain moves through several cycles of sleep. Starting with light sleep, deep sleep, dream sleep, and then back into light sleep, where one of these cycles lasts approximately 90 mins. So in order to have the best chances of feeling refreshed when awaken, is to wake up during the end of a cycle, where your body is naturally closest to its normal waking state.

So how do you time this properly? Take the time at what point you'd like to wake up, and count backwards in 90 minute intervals until you reach a time at which you'd like to fall asleep, or visa versa. This will increase the chance of you waking up each morning feeling energetic, and ready to take on the day. Try it out!

90 Minute Rule