The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society recommend that adults should sleep 7 hours or more each night to promote optimal health and well-being. However, the majority of adults require about 8 hours of quality sleep, per night, to function effectively and many pro athletes sleep even more.
Although it’s important to get enough sleep, more isn’t always explicitly more when it comes to sleep. What matters equally as much as quantity is the quality of sleep: we need continuous, uninterrupted sleep to feel rested.
But, how do you know you’re sleeping not only enough, but also well enough?
The best way to know if you’re getting enough quality sleep and how that affects your recovery (and fitness results) is to track your sleep (along with your training and recovery) and analyse that data and how you feel in the morning and during the day. Moreover, assessing how you feel is a telling indicator of sleep quality.
3 Signs That You’re Sleeping (Well) Enough
1.You feel rested in the morning and during the day. (Possible fatigue during the day can be caused by lack of sleep, but also excessive sleep.)
2. You wake up spontaneously without an alarm (provided you’re not suffering from insomnia or other sleep disorders).
3. You sleep the same amount on most nights without the need for catch-up sleep.
As is often the case, a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work so it’s important to learn what works best for you.
As a guideline, waking up tired and wishing for an opportunity to sleep during the day are warning signs that you’re probably not getting enough quality sleep. If that’s the case and you want to change that, take a look at these tips on how to sleep better .