There are many things in life that we need to survive and to thrive, leading us to become the best that we could be. One of these needs is sleep. While people know they do need sleep as it gives them time for rest and preparation for the next set of challenges for the next day, this is ironically the most forgotten out of all the other needs such as food and water. This is because of the sleep schedules that vary just as much as people normally would. Thankfully, there are sleep calculators that exist such as the sleep time calculator by Puffy. In short, these give you a time for you to rest and a time for you to wake up that would fit different factors of your life.
Nevertheless, what is it in a sleep calculator that makes it so great?
What Is A Sleep Calculator?
From its name, you would say that a sleep calculator would calculate the best time for sleep and the best time to wake up. However, some also factor in the sleep factors that are involved and the amount completed within your sleeping schedule. This also helps you find out what stage you are in the sleep schedule when you wake up. This is especially helpful when you want to know why you feel so groggy every morning and many other feelings and conditions after waking up.
However, the best sleep calculators not only help improve your sleep routine, but these help you find one that best fits your unique lifestyle.
The Sleep Cycle
Another important part of sleep is knowing about the sleep cycle. This cycle helps in explaining why you either feel so energized, groggy, or even confused. There are two main categories of sleep, and these are non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM). The first describes the early stages of sleep while the last focuses on the “dreamy” stage of sleep.
The categories can be divided into five stages of sleep, and each normally lasts for about 90 minutes. They are:
- Stage 1
The first stage of sleep is when you can easily be awoken. The body begins to relax, and your breathing seems to slow down. Heart rates also reduce in pace.
- Stage 2
Aside from breathing and heart rates that continue to slow down, one interesting aspect of this stage is that sleep spindles occur. These spindles are responsible for consolidating all information that the brain gathers during the day which is another reason why sleep is so important.
- Stage 3 & 4
These two stages are when the mind and body prepare for the REM sleep stage, and the heart rate slows down rapidly as well. The stage also involves no muscle or eye movement.
- REM
The most interesting part of the sleeping process is the rapid eye movement stage, and there are several reasons for it. This is where you enter into the “dream world.” Despite your body practically entering paralysis, brain activity, and internal functions seem to be quite high. Interestingly, heart rate and breathing shoot up from slowing down during the earlier stages.
Waking Up
Most individuals can complete up to six of these cycles per night, assuming that they get at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep. Another interesting thing about this is that you also wake up in one of these stages, and these directly influence the feeling we have when waking up.
When you wake up feeling scared or confused, fresh from a nightmare or a dream, you were most definitely in the stages of REM. Waking up light, energized, and ready for any challenges means that you woke up during the earlier stages of sleep. This also means that waking up during these stages is the best time to wake up. Thankfully, the sleep calculator allows you to strategize your sleeping schedule based on your age, health, and current lifestyle. Those new to this and those who have been using this calculator for quite some time will declare its effectiveness in optimal sleep.
Number of Hours
As you can imagine, several other factors require several sleeping hours. The most common of these would lie in how old you are. Newborn babies should be given 14 to 17 hours of sleep, and these are reduced as they get older. Toddlers need 10 to 14 hours of sleep, but children may begin to sleep for 9 to 12 hours for overall body wellness.
Once your children turn into teenage boys or girls, they should find themselves sleeping for only 8 to 10 hours. As for adults, they should follow the regular sleeping hours of 7 to 9.
However, some find themselves sleeping for only 6 hours as an adult. Strangely, these people seem to find themselves energetic for the next day. This is perfectly fine as the stages of sleep cycles vary in length. What is most important is that you find yourself achieving five cycles per night. As stated before, the sleep calculator greatly helps in adjusting your sleeping hours based on your current conditions.
While sleep needs differ slightly from individual to individual, most healthy individuals require seven to nine hours of sleep every night in order to operate well. Even more, is required for children and teenagers. Despite the popular belief that our sleep requirements diminish as we get older, most elderly adults still require at least seven hours of sleep. Morning naps might help fill in the gaps for older folks who have problems sleeping this long at night.
Sleep is an essential part of any human life, and one should be entitled to not only having this but having the best version of this. A fantastic mattress with multiple sets of pillows or a dark, warm-looking bedroom could aid in this endeavor. However, the one sleeping accessory that will give the most help is the sleep calculator. The sleep calculator is one accessory that will help the most in giving you the best sleep experience, and this is one you should not neglect.
