Ways to determine if you had a good sleep.

It’s all too easy to see the signs of not getting enough sleep. Feeling constantly irritable, snappy, and zoned out are telltale signs of insufficient sleep. But how do you know if you have been getting good sleep? It’s one thing to be well-rested, but actually sleeping well is another thing.

Here are a few ways to tell if you’ve been getting all the sleep your mind and body need.

It’s good if you don’t remember your dreams.

During sleep, we work our way through several stages of non-REM sleep, which is followed by a stage of REM sleep. This stage is when you dream and your body processes memories. The body’s blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing rate also increase. Eye movements can be tracked darting all over. It is said that the more time you spend in REM sleep, the less time you spend in your sleep's most restful stages. This shows why the less you remember your dreams, the better your sleep is most likely to be.

Falling asleep quickly

It is obvious that tossing and turning too much before sleeping does not result in a good night’s sleep. Here are the guidelines published by The National Sleep Foundation based on what constitutes a good night’s sleep.

• You should be able to drift off to sleep in 30 minutes or less.
• In case you wake up in the middle of the night, it should not take you longer than 20 minutes to fall back asleep.
• You should not wake up for more than five minutes more than once in a night.
• 85% of the total time you spend in bed should be spent sleeping.

Clear and glowing skin

Lack of sleep is connected to stress and acne. Clinical experts claim that adding stress to your body by losing hours of sleep can increase glucocorticoid production and lead to breakouts. Needing your “beauty sleep” is definitely not a myth.

Better functioning during the day

A good night’s sleep can make your day just as good, if not better. After waking up refreshed, you might lose more weight and have a reduced appetite during the day. It might also take you 10-30% longer than usual to become physically exhausted after exercising. People have also reported feeling less anxious and depressed after a good night’s sleep.

Reduced cravings for junk food

The hormones in our body work to regulate hunger and cravings. But ultimately, the quality of your sleep does have an influence over your diet. People are more likely to crave carbohydrates and sugar to give themselves mild energy boosts during the day if they did not get good sleep at night. However, if someone has gotten their due amount of sleep, they are less likely to crave these empty calories.

Conclusion:
It is evident by now how good sleep is a very important factor when it comes to how our body functions on a day to day basis. If you have had good sleep, feeling refreshed from the moment you wake up to feeling charged up throughout the day will be evident to you. A good amount of sleep for any person is 7-9 hours, and it is equally important to balance that sleep and not overdo or underdo it. It’s time for you to start tracking your sleep habits to achieve the most refreshing start to your mornings from now on!