As the New Year progresses and the days get colder, it can be more and more difficult to get out of bed in the morning. Fortunately, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Sleeping more is natural in winter, according to the National Sleep Foundation. The normal range is 1.75 to 2.5 additional hours per night.
The production of the sleep hormone melatonin is largely governed by photoreceptor cells in the eye. Dasgupta strongly recommends having a fixed time for sleeping and getting up if you really want to feel rested and enjoy the benefits of sleep. We all know the impact of a bad night's sleep, so I've devised a personalized 6-day sleep plan to help you overcome your sleep problems, providing you with the knowledge and tools to sleep better at night. Turns out this may be a common sentiment that people in snowy states seem to sleep a little longer during the winter months than in sunnier states, according to a recent analysis of data from a popular sleep tracking app.
But should people sleep more during the winter if they feel they need more rest? Hasler said that, in general, it's a good idea to adapt to the need for sleep. This change in sleep habits is mainly due to reduced daylight hours in the winter, which affects people's internal circadian clocks and makes them want to sleep more, he said. When these special cells detect a decrease in sunlight, they transmit a message to the part of the brain that monitors the sleep-wake cycle, the superchiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Potentially, they can refer you to a sleep expert or suggest effective strategies, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, the gold standard for helping you sleep better.
This disparity can create a problem with the sleeping environment, since the temperature often fluctuates between two extremes. If you need help falling asleep, consider trying a low-dose melatonin, which is available as an over-the-counter supplement. There, temperatures averaged 70 Fahrenheit (21-26 degrees Celsius), and those who used the app slept around seven hours. So as the days get shorter, with too much darkness at both ends of the day, our bodies seem to want more sleep.
