Home LivingWellnessSleepA sleep calculator told me I’ve been going to bed at the wrong time for yearsWhat time should you go to bed at night? This sleep calculator works it out for youWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Home LivingWellnessSleepA sleep calculator told me I’ve been going to bed at the wrong time for yearsWhat time should you go to bed at night? This sleep calculator works it out for youWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
What time should you go to bed at night? This sleep calculator works it out for you
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Anthony Tran / Unsplash)
(Image credit: Anthony Tran / Unsplash)
It goes without saying that getting the right amount of quality sleep is extremely important to your physical and mental health. However, research has suggested over 50% of adults believe they don’t get enough sleep at night, which not only results in you feeling groggy, irritable and tired, but can lead to bigger problems, like insomnia, high blood pressure and depression.
As a self-proclaimed sleep expert, I’m always on the lookout for ways to better my sleep. From testing out thebest mattressesto tryingviral TikTok sleep hacks, I’ll try almost anything to make sure I’m getting a good night’s sleep every night. To find out more about how I can improve my sleeping habits, I spoke to experts atMake My Blindswho pointed me in the direction of its new Sleep Calculator.
TheMake My Blinds Sleep Calculatoris a simple test that works out how many hours of sleep you need a night and what time you should be going to bed to achieve this. I decided to give it a go, and it turns out I’ve been going to bed at the wrong time for years!
Sleep calculator: how it works and the results
When asked to provide my typical wake up time, I realised that I was probably not doing the best for my sleep as my wake up time varies. Even though one of therules of good sleep hygieneis to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day, I tend to wake up at different times on weekdays and weekend days. Typically, I wake up between 7am and 9am, so I went bang in the middle with 8am.
Other questions I was asked included my diet (meat eater), when I have my biggest meal (dinner), when I prefer to workout (evening), my ideal bedroom temperature (15.6-20°), what I regularly consume (caffeine and alcohol), activities before bed (reading and phone), what wakes me up in the night (sound), how I limit light in my bedroom (blackout blinds) and my sleep position (side). Other questions also looked into if I had any sleep or health conditions.
(Image credit: Make My Blinds)
(Image credit: Make My Blinds)
Once answering these questions, the Sleep Calculator said that my suggested bedtime was 10:25pm so I can get 9:15 hours of sleep and six sleep cycles. The reasoning behind this is it’s recommended for adults to get 7-9 hours of sleep and 4-6 sleep cycles a night. The calculator went on to explain that women need 20 minutes more sleep than men, so if I start to fall asleep at around 10:25pm, I should be able to wake up feeling refreshed at 8am the next morning.
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I tend to get into bed around 10 but I postpone turning off the lights and trying to get to sleep for 30 minutes to an hour. After seeing my results, I realised that I typically fall asleep closer to 11pm, which limits the amount of sleep I’m getting, especially if I’m waking up closer to 7am in the morning.
To find out how else I can improve my sleep, Make My Blinds experts explained that the environment we sleep in can influence how good or bad our sleep patterns are. They explained that “as lighter mornings approach, the amount of natural light entering your bedroom can disrupt your sleep quality, so it’s important to make the room as dark as possible for as long as possible.”
For more sleep tips, try these5 Scandinavian sleep hacksfor the best night’s sleep the Nordic way.
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