The good news: You put away your phone an hour before bedtime, slipped into a pair of infrared PJs (a la Tom Brady), and treated your zzz’s like a HIIT workout—and woke up feeling super rested. But what, exactly, helped you get such awesome sleep?
According to new research published in Sleep Health, there are certain factors that determine whether or not you’re truly reaping the benefits of full, quality snoozing.
“With this initiative, we are now on a better course towards defining sleep health.”
“In the past, we defined sleep by its negative outcomes including sleep dissatisfaction,” said Maurice Ohayon, the director of Stanford Sleep Epidemiology Research Center, in a statement. “Clearly this is not the whole story. With this initiative, we are now on a better course towards defining sleep health.”
In other words, these sleep specialists focused not on what was keeping you awake, but on the factors that gave you ultra-refreshing rest. Ohayon and other pros looked at over 200 studies to see find the common thread.
These are the 4 factors that contribute to stellar sleepytime vibes:
1. It takes a half hour or less to fall asleep.
2. You wake up no more than once per night.
3. If you do wake up in the middle of the night, you fall back asleep in 20 minutes or less.
4. You’re asleep for at least 85 percent of the time you’re in bed.
The good news: There may be an art to good rest—but you get the chance to practice it every evening. Consider these the rules to sleep by.
For more help getting sleep, maybe try a beer shower a la Margot Robbie. Or you can eat these eight superfoods for better zzz’s.
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