Another important reason why small extensions to sleep periods are so influential lies in the concept of a keystone habit. The difference between such a small change and big changes in your lifestyle is the lack of large time investments and costs that come along with big improvements in sleeping habits. As noted by behavioral psychologists, good sleep improves your productivity during daytime, thus, creating positive effects.
If you do not feel tired all the time, it will become easier for you to remain productive, choose healthy food options, and cope with stress instead of using cigarettes and alcohol. In addition, sleep becomes an important element from which the rest of the healthy habits will emerge. As stated by Emmanuel Stamatakis, who works at the University of Sydney, it is vital to think about useful and user-friendly strategies.
The second lesson learned from this research relates to the importance of making gradual changes. For instance, when someone feels less tired because they got enough sleep after an extended period, they tend to follow through. As suggested by the research, this results in a good loop when one behavior promotes another.
Nevertheless, although such conclusions are optimistic, specialists highlight the importance of realizing that sleep is not the only factor contributing to a person’s well-being. Although gaining several additional minutes of sleep per day contributes to good cardiac functioning, this change needs to be regarded within the context of a more comprehensive lifestyle choice.
The study does a remarkable job of arguing its point: your body doesn’t require a full-scale revolution to be able to heal itself; what it requires is just a bit of extra space to breathe. When you think of wellness as an either/or kind of situation, the hurdle to cross seems to be enormous. You are convinced that if you cannot dedicate one hour of your time to the gym and achieve the perfect eight-hour sleep, there is no point in trying at all. But this data disproves this belief known as the “perfectionist’s trap.”
As it turns out, even 11 extra minutes of sleep, combined with tiny improvements in your nutrition and physical activity can lower your heart disease risks by as much as 10%.
In the end, however, the results provide hope to those who feel like they need a break. While you cannot alter your genetics, nor can you leave a stressful work environment, what you can do is take 11 minutes for yourself. With today’s constant need to achieve, knowing that something as simple as being marginally better can lead to living longer and living healthier is indeed liberating. Healthier does not mean perfection, or becoming a “health saint”—it simply means you should strive to be a bit more well-rested than before.
