- Recognizing the feeling of a restful, rejuvenating sleep
- Dealing with the challenges of life and sleep deficits
Primary Topic: Fluidity of Sleep Needs
- Understanding that sleep needs change over time
- Seasonal impact on sleep patterns (winter hibernation, summer energy)
- Aligning with the body's natural sleep rhythms
- Effects of sleep deficit on work and productivity
Primary Topic: Managing Sleep for Overall Well-being
- Dangers of relying on stimulants to counteract sleep deficit
- Importance of sustaining healthy sleep patterns
- Advocating for discovering and maintaining one's ideal sleep number
- Committing to achieving optimal sleep 90% of the time
These primary topics address the importance of sleep, the individual nature of sleep needs, and the impact of sleep patterns on overall well-being. This podcast episode provides actionable advice for recognizing and managing one's ideal sleep number for better health and productivity.
Transcripts
Janice Chaka [:
Hello, and welcome to the Traveling Introvert. And today, I wanna talk about sleep numbers. There's an advert I've seen that says, what's your sleep number? And it's about the hardness or softness of your bed. That's not what I'm gonna be talking about today. Today, I want to talk about your sleep number. How many hours of sleep do you need to be a functional human being? And we all know that sleep is fundamental for your body and your brain. It's fundamental for your body to sort of rest, relax, recharge, repair while you are asleep. And for your brain, it is fundamental because then it gets to sort of defrag and figure out stuff in the background and and all that good stuff because it's not concentrating on you staring at multiple screens all day.
Janice Chaka [:
But having said that, we are all different, and we all need different amounts of sleep to feel good the next morning. I have a client, for example, that they currently sleep on average 4 hours a night. And so my question was like, okay. Well, you know, if that works for you, does it work for you? Do you wake up feeling refreshed? Do you wake up, you know, ready to to take on whatever task? Do you experience brain fog? Do you experience insert other things here? And they said yes, but or yes, and. And so everyone is different, but how do you know where that sweet spot is for how much sleep you need? And some people don't need sleep all in a row. I definitely know that some people need sort of 4 hour sleep, then they're up for maybe 1 or 2 hours and then like 3 or 4 hours sleep again. That's just the way their body cycles through, and it didn't always used to be like that. It sort of came on with different things in The life and, sometimes it's medications.
Janice Chaka [:
Sometimes it's children. Sometimes it's age. Sometimes it's illness. And so think back to when the last time was you had, in your opinion, a full night's restful, rejuvenating sleep where that sleep was sweet and good, and you woke up naturally and felt good about it. Not because your alarm went off, but because you naturally opened your eyes. Maybe the sun was peeking through your curtains and you were like, yeah, I could get up now. Most people, when I ask them that question, they find it very hard to answer because we have life. You know, there's that work thing that we do or there's people we have to take care of or chores or the house or whatever it might be.
Janice Chaka [:
But you can't work on a deficit for long periods of time. And so even if, for example, oh, okay. Well, I did a week where I did I pulled all nighters or whatever it is. You're gonna pay for it the next week. So thinking about your sleep number and be aware your sleep number might not stay the same for the duration of your life. So you might find that certain periods of time in the winter, you might actually find your sleep number goes up because your body naturally wants to hibernate more naturally because of the lack of sunlight depending on which hemisphere you're in. Like, you generally want to sleep more. Maybe in the summer, you want to sleep less or in the summer you like the afternoon naps because of the sunlight and the and the heat and the warmth.
Janice Chaka [:
But how often do you actually get to go with that flow of what your body wants and what your body is Traveling? And how does that affect how you work the next day or how you don't work the next day? If you're constantly at a deficit and taking something to keep you awake, coffee, tea, Red Bull, or anything else, energy drinks here, what is that doing to your brain, and what is that doing to your body? Because one thing is doing it now and then, but doing it so it's sustainable. Can you sustainably drink 2 red balls a day and 5 coffees a day and not be have detrimental things happen to your body, your brain function, and all of those sorts of things? So, dear listeners, I would love for you to spend the time to figure out what your ideal sweet spot sleep number is and then do everything in your power to make sure that you hit that at least 90% of the time over a month period and see what a difference that makes to your well-being overall. Thank you for listening. This is Janice at The Career Introvert helping you build your brand and get hired. Have a great rest of your week.
