When it comes to sleep, it’s quality not quantity that matters

If you went to bed early last night, you may be wondering why you are feeling tired today.

While you may think you are doing your body a favour going to bed early, you are actually doing it harm – kind of.

Your body works on a consistent sleep system and prefers if you go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning.

You need about eight hours of sleep each night, although this can vary from person to person.

However, if you go to bed early one night you may actually wake up feeling tired, even though you caught the extra hour in bed, than you would have if you went at the same time as the night before.

This is down to the fact that a sleep cycle lasts about 90 minutes, so if you are going to bed extra early your cycle will be disrupted, leaving you with less quality sleep.

To get the best sleep, count back hours from the time you have to get up and this should be your bedtime.

When it comes to sleep, quantity does not compensate for quality.