Do you feel like you get enough sleep at night?
Do you feel like people talk about sleep a lot in conversation with native English speakers?
This is one of those things that people like to talk about and in the United States they like to brag if they didn’t get enough sleep.
We’re going to look at why you need to make sleep a priority, and how to talk about it in everyday English conversations.
You might be surprised at just how often it comes up, and so knowing how to talk about it can be quite helpful.
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Is Too Little Sleep A Bad Thing?
Apparently, some very successful people get very little sleep.
There was an article about this which is so interesting. The article is called: Waking Up at 4 A.M. Every Day Is the Key to Success. Or to Getting a Cold.
It was written by Adam Popescu on June 5, 2019.
Apparently, many successful people, particularly entrepreneurs, say they get very little sleep.
The article talks about people like Michelle Obama, Tim Cook, Steve Harvey, and even Donald Trump!
These people have been reported to wake up at 4:15 or 4:30 am and therefore get very little sleep.
This may sound crazy, seeing as most Americans average less than 7 hours of sleep a night.
You will often hear most health experts say that 8 hours of sleep a night is ideal, though few adults may actually get that.
Is This A Bragging Point?
You might almost feel as though some people who talk about how little sleep they get are bragging!
This may be along the same lines as how busy people say that they are, and almost use this as a bragging point.
It’s like a badge of honor for some people in a weird way.
Some people may go to bed early in order to get up so early the next day.
It’s all about when you are the most productive and how you can make the best use of your day.
Everyone is different, and while some are “night owls” others do quite well as “early birds” getting a lot done in the morning.
Is This A Positive Thing?
So is getting very little sleep a good idea?
This is ultimately what it comes down to and it can be viewed in a number of different ways.
The article talks about the dangers.
For example, less sleep can make your blood pressure rise, cause you to feel more stress, and make it easier for you to get sick.
You may become more forgetful and have trouble when you need to decide upon something.
You can’t function as well mentally, and that makes it really hard.
The article mentions how if you get less than 4 hours of sleep, this “is the equivalent of the mental impairment of being up for 24 hours.”
The article mentions that you can’t just decide to wake up at 4am even if you go to sleep early because everyone has a different body clock.
MOST people can’t function well on little sleep.
Sleep Really Does Matter
It is so important to get sleep for your health, even if it’s just for your mood or your mental health.
Sometimes you feel like you’re crashing when you are too tired, and that’s never a good thing!
So what does this mean for us?
You have to ultimately look at society and realize that people are generally under a lot of pressure.
There are only 24 hours in a day so it’s hard to accept sometimes that you need the sleep.
Many of us want to accomplish more, and we may feel as if there isn’t enough time in the day to get it all done!
But the truth is that you will be more productive with less time in the day than with more time being exhausted.
You have likely gone through a day exhausted to feel this firsthand for yourself.
Talking About Sleep
You may find that people tend to talk about sleep a fair amount in conversation.
You want to know how to talk about it, particularly if you are going to or need sleep.
So how can you say you are going to sleep?
- I’m gonna get some rest
- I’m gonna hit the hay
- I’m gonna catch some zzz’s
All of these work well when talking about getting sleep, and can be a great part of everyday English conversation.
Takeaway
It’s important to get sleep, and that’s a fact.
You have to follow your body clock and it’s very important not to feel pressured to be awake.
Sleep will make you more successful–don’t listen to the people who brag about not getting enough of it!
Maybe they aren’t as refreshed as they act or maybe they are just used to it–but don’t feel this has to be you!
Listen to your body and know when sleep needs to be a priority, and then give yourself what you really need.
If you have any questions, please post them below in the comments section.
We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.