We’ve all grown up with the knowledge that eight hours of sleep is very important for our bodies in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. But taking a nap, or wanting to sleep in the middle of the day is also completely normal.
Sleep experts have claimed that our bodies are programmed to doze off at various times of the day making it okay to take a short nap when you feel like it.
According to a UK-based sleep physician, Dr David Cunnington, the idea of getting eight hours of sleep comes from the Labour moment in the UK in the early 19th century. The slogan, ‘Eight hours’ labour, eight hours’ recreation, eight hours’ rest’, coined by labour rights activist Robert Owen in 1817 became the goal in western society.
This rule however, limits people to only sleep for eight hours at night.
“We criticise millennials for being lazy but many of them are moving toward that freelancer way of living rather than salary working,” Dr Cunnington said, adding “And that means they can allocate time across their day for work, play and sleep and therefore be more productive in whatever role they have.”
While there are some places in Southern Europe where they sleep twice a day, most industries and countries follow the eight-hour margin.
We are designed to sleep in cycles of 60 minutes to 120 minutes before coming up to surface. As you age, the amount of sleep you actually require decreases. Working adults should be sleeping an average of 7-9 hours.
