Sleep is absolutely pivotal for so many things in life. Our energy levels, success in work and relationships plus general wellbeing rely on it. In order to have the motivation to do all the things we love in life, we need to recharge, reboot and go again. We all know what it’s like to be super tired and feel drained, and it’s never nice. Without adequate rest and sleep we will never reach our full potential, so you need to be mindful of how your body is operating and the best ways to alleviate any issues as and when they arise.

So often we can slip into autopilot and not even notice if things aren’t going as well as they should be. It can be hard to keep track of everything, given how hectic our lives are these days and the added stresses that have come with the events surrounding the pandemic and all the trials and tribulations that has brought us all. If you are starting to wonder if you’re sleeping enough and want to calculate the best time to wake, then you are definitely asking yourself the right type of questions. Maybe you are extra tired lately and are exploring ways to feel more energized or perhaps you are just feeling generally curious, either way if you can make some positive changes to this important aspect of your life then it will pay dividends across the board.

So What Are Some Easy Tricks I Can Learn To Help Measure My Sleep?

Maybe this is a topic of conversation that isn’t widely discussed enough, but if you ask any sleep specialist they will tell you there should be way more emphasis on tracking our sleep and making those all-important changes when we are struggling.

General Energy Levels

It may sound obvious but one of the easiest ways to figure out if you are sleeping enough is to track your energy levels. Life can so often pass us by and we forget to check in on ourselves or take the time to really understand why our mood levels aren’t quite where we want them to be. If you need to sit down and try properly tracking it, ask yourself:

• Are my current energy levels where I want them to be? 
• Why do I think they are lower than they should be?
• Are they lower when I feel like I am not sleeping enough?
• Have I tried getting more sleep each night and did this affect my energy and mood the next day?

Sometimes looking internally at our own actions and routines is the best way to make incremental changes that have the biggest positive impact.

Ask Your Partner To Help

If you have a partner in your life then speaking to them about the potential ways to measure your sleep could be a great shout. Do they think you are sleeping enough? Are you being restless during the night? Are you getting up to use the toilet and is this having a negative effect on your sleep? Your partner could be the best person to help measure your sleep by noticing the small and often unhealthy things you do which make your sleeping pattern worsen.

Be Mindful Of The Time

Unless you have a strict routine when it comes to going to bed, then you might be doing yourself more harm than good. Given the pressures and responsibilities that come with life in 2021 it can be hard to stick to a solid schedule, but being mindful of the time and going to bed and waking up at the same time could provide some consistency that your body has been craving. The recommended amount of sleep each night is roughly seven hours, so you might not even be getting enough sleep without knowing it. Have a go at:

• Finishing up for the day and going to sleep the same time every night
• Setting an alarm for the morning, waking up at the same time each morning and measuring how you feel. Maybe you find yourself too tired and can try increasing your sleep period

Download An App

These days there are apps for just about everything, including ones that help you measure the length and quality of your sleep. Have a look around and do some research to see which ones might be best suited for you. Quite often you can tailor the app to track certain parts of your sleep including snoring, sleep talking and the periods where you are in a deeper sleep. All these things affect the quality of your sleep and are great ways to measure if you are sleeping enough or if there are things that can be improved.

Upgrade Your Mattress 

You might be in a situation where you are not sleeping to the best of your ability because of the physical aspects involved such as your duvet or mattress. In these situations, small changes can have big benefits so looking at upgrading your mattress is a wise thing to do. We all like to be comfy and when we are not, we struggle to switch off. At the end of a long hard day you want to be able to retreat to a super comfy mattress and if you currently aren’t, this may be why you have been unable to effectively measure your sleep. 

Write Down Your Sleeping Times

If we are talking about simple and easy tricks which you can learn to measure your sleep, writing down the times you go to bed at night and wake up in the morning is probably the easiest thing you can do. If you keep a notepad and pen beside your bed, jot down when you turn the lights off and then immediately write what time it is when you wake up in the morning.

It cannot be overestimated how important sleep is so measuring it and monitoring the situation is only a positive thing. You may well find that by studying your sleeping pattern it triggers you to improve it which in turn will filter positivity into all areas of your life as you will be refreshed and energized.