What Can An Extra 46 Minutes Of Sleep Really Do For Your Health? 

If you’re anything like me, it’s easy to notice the impacts of getting too little sleep. I’m tired, cranky, hungry, and my overall outlook suffers. So today I’m digging into exactly how many minutes of sleep it might take to turn a bad day around. And, as always, I’ll leave you with a fascinating sleep fact to share at your next dinner party.

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What can an extra 46 minutes really do?

A recent study explored what happens when adults extend their nightly sleep by less than an hour. It’s exciting to see that a little time can have big payoffs:

• Even a modest increase—just 46 extra minutes per night—led to notable improvements in gratitude, resilience, life satisfaction, and prosocial behaviors.
• Conversely, losing just 37 minutes a night had the opposite effect, with declines in mood and overall well-being.
• The researchers found these benefits weren’t simply due to a better mood, but rather a broader influence of sleep on how we see ourselves and relate to others.

So if you’re looking for a boost in gratitude, mood, and an overall better day, you may want to strive for 46 more minutes of sleep. I know that’s easier said than done, so try going to bed just 15 minutes earlier and build up from there.

+Mind the time

• One big brain benefit of getting more sleep
• Cardiologists want you to get this much sleep
• And how sleep impacts your weight

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A better brain

• What common sleep aids do to your brain
• This popular diet supports cognitive health
• A habit to delay dementia by 5 years
• A 5-step plan to reduce dementia risk

+Bonus: The ultimate list of 80+ free ways to boost your self-care routine

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Sleep facts

Did you know that, on average, adults spend about two hours per night dreaming, mostly during REM sleep? REM (rapid eye movement) makes up 20–25% of total sleep in healthy adults, and it’s during this stage that our brains are most active—consolidating memories, processing emotions, and even problem-solving.

+Dream on