Eight hours of sleep may be enough for most people to function throughout the day, but that’s definitely not the case for actress Dakota Johnson. Best known for her role in “Fifty Shades of Grey” all its dramatic sequels, Johnson revealed that when she’s able, she will sleep as long as possible.
The actress explained that she struggles to function without her essential 10 hours of sleep — and when she has time to sneak in a couple naps, she will sometimes reach 14 hours of rest on days when her schedule isn’t as busy.
“I don’t have a regular [wake-up] time. It depends on what’s happening in my life,” she said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. “If I’m not working, if I have a day off on a Monday, then I will sleep as long as I can. Sleep is my number one priority in life.” (1)
When she’s not worried about a call time, Johnson also likes to rely on her internal clock rather than using an alarm clock. She simply listens to her body — easier said than done for most of us!
And when Johnson isn’t sleeping in, she prioritizes acts of self care throughout the day, like meditating and the occasional spontaneous midday bath.
“I meditate every day, twice a day,” she said. “I do transcendental meditation. I’ve been really into breathwork recently, and that’s been helping me a lot with anxiety. I will get in a bathtub at any moment, any time of the day.”
Can 14 hours of sleep and a nice soak in the bathtub whenever the urge strikes really solve all our problems? We spoke with some experts to learn about the pros and cons of Johnson’s self-care and snooze-centric routine, plus how self care acts that are practiced throughout the day can help us sleep better at night.
Is Johnson’s Sleep Schedule A Realistic One?
Even though getting 14 hours of sleep might sound like the ultimate dream come true, it may be an indication that something is amiss, according to sleep expert Dr. Chelsie Rohrscheib. She explained that adults usually sleep anywhere from 7-9 hours a night, and if someone needs more sleep than that, it may be worth speaking to your healthcare provider. (2)
“[Underlying causes] can range from a sleep disorder, other medical conditions, and poor sleep habits,” she said to Sleepopolis. “There is clinical evidence that oversleeping is just as bad for health as under sleeping,” she adds.
Skipping The Alarm Clock and Leaning Into Self Care
Even though oversleeping may be cause for concern, waking up without an alarm clock might be a sleep tip we can borrow from Johnson. Rohrscheib said that our brain can better regulate how much sleep our body actually needs when there is no alarm clock to disturb us. Without relying on an alarm clock, Rohrscheib said you may actually feel less groggy throughout the day.
And we might be able to learn from Johnson’s self-care philosophy, too. Her dedicated relationship with sleep may be aided by her utilization of meditation and other habits that center around relaxation.
Through meditation, Rohrscheib said that the parasympathetic system becomes activated, which causes the body to enter a state of relaxation — this means meditation before sleep can help the brain get ready for rest.
You may also want to add more baths into your routine, as Rohrscheib says they can actually promote better sleep. This is because your body cools off after you exit the bath, which sends a signal to your brain to feel sleepy.
Fourteen hours of sleep might not be advisable, but Johnson’s routine may be a friendly reminder to start taking care of ourselves during the day so we can be relaxed and ready to sleep come bedtime.