How Much Sleep Do Adults Need? – Almost everything written about sleep says we need 8 hours. Many studies have been published on the dangers of sleep deprivation to our overall health and well-being. We now understand that sleep can play an important role in clearing toxins from the brain.
So how long should we shut our eyes each night? The new guidelines have been revised to recommend that 7 hours may be adequate for most adults. The guide (see image on the left) highlights
How Much Sleep Do Adults Need?
When you need sleep. For some, 6 hours is enough, for others – up to 9 or even 10 hours.
Study Reveals How Much Sleep Adults Need To Get Each Night
It’s helpful to think of sleep needs in the same way as height or shoe size, because there’s a big difference between what’s “normal” and what’s healthy.
Adults found that those who lived the longest slept between six and seven hours a day. To increase your chances of improving your sleep, it helps to dispel any preconceived notions about your sleep needs.
The National Sleep Foundation recommends that most adults get between 6 and 10 hours of sleep, but 7 hours is ultimately determined to be the magic number most people need.
There are exceptions, some people can have as many as 4 drinks a night – Margaret Thatcher is famously in that 2%. an example.
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There is also evidence that women need more sleep than men because they use their brains more (e.g. multitasking) when they are.
Your body struggles to sleep more than it needs, night after night, because it reduces the “pressure” of sleep before bed, resulting in longer sleep times and irregular sleep throughout the night. Additionally, there is evidence that getting seven hours of sleep per night is associated with longer life expectancy.
Total sleep time decreases throughout life, and children need more sleep than adults. The National Sleep Foundation’s latest guidelines expand the recommended amount of sleep time per night to meet the sleep needs of different children. For example, the new guidelines recommend 9-11 hours per night for elementary school children (previously 10-11).
Looking at the chart above, look at the recommended sleep time and the “probably good” range. The range is quite wide, indicating that each person’s sleep needs can vary greatly.
Sleep: The Wake-up Call You Need. If You’re Someone Who Sleeps Less Than…
Less than 6 hours may not be enough, but 8 hours may not be necessary. What you do during the day will help determine whether sleep is right for you. If you are worried about your sleep, talk to your GP or contact us.
Sleep Matters is a group of health professionals dedicated to helping people get better sleep, energy and health. You can find out about our services here. If you think you suffer from the most common sleep disorder, insomnia, click here to take our 1-minute insomnia quiz.
If you are referred by your GP under a mental health care plan, you can get a discount for up to 10 clinical psychology sessions per calendar year. Most of our patients are referred in this way (sleep problems including insomnia fall under this scheme).
Discount amounts are $126.50 per session for clinical psychologists and $86.15 for clinical psychologists.
Science Explains How Much Sleep You Need Depending On Your Age
If you are not covered by a mental health care plan, you may be able to take advantage of the Private Health Fund Support discount. Ryan Fiorenzi, BS, Certified Sleep Science Coach – Reviewed by Devin Burke Updated 2023 February 22
When you think of a healthy lifestyle, the first things that come to mind are diet and exercise, but what about getting enough sleep? Some researchers believe that sleep deprivation is approaching epidemic proportions among many people.
The National Sleep Foundation published a study of 18 sleep scientists and researchers in the journal Sleep Health that shows how many hours of sleep are needed by all age groups, divided into nine age groups. They are listed as ranges because gender, lifestyle, and health conditions all play a role.
Newborns do not have a set circadian rhythm; This is determined only when they are 2-3 months old. Babies sleep throughout the day in different stages (polyphasic), lasting from 2.5 to 4 hours. Around 12 months, babies start to sleep more at night. At this time, they begin to sleep like adults, because during REM sleep, when people dream, the body does not move. Before 12 months, babies move during REM sleep.
How Much Sleep Do We Really Need?
Recognizing when school-aged children are sleep-deprived can be difficult because tired children tend to speed up rather than slow down. Their behavior can be similar to ADHD symptoms. This includes refusing to sleep at night, even if they are tired. Student grades and attendance can be good indicators of whether your child has a sleep problem.
Children with ADHD may experience sleep disturbances and other problems, such as sleep apnea (when people stop breathing throughout the night). It used to be thought that sleep apnea only occurred in adults, but now the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children be screened for sleep apnea.
According to the Sleep Foundation, post-puberty changes in circadian rhythms make teenagers want to go to bed after 11pm and wake up later. Teenagers often start school, for example, waking up at 5am and arriving at school at 7am, making it difficult for teenagers to get enough sleep. A study found that only 15% of teenagers sleep 8.5 hours a night.
Because teenagers don’t get enough sleep during the week, they sleep more on the weekends, which can make the problem worse. One of the best tips from sleep experts is to go to bed and get up at the same time every day.
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A problem many teenagers and adults face is using lighted devices late at night, which can affect sleep quality.
The highest rate of depression is among college-aged young adults (ages 18-25), the age group with serious suicidal thoughts, at 7.4 percent. Depression often accompanies life changes, and this time of life is often full of change. Depressed patients often suffer from insomnia, and the relationship between sleep and depression is complex. People with depression can have trouble falling asleep and staying awake, so they can feel depressed when they don’t get enough sleep, creating a vicious cycle.
Anxiety is another condition that can prevent restful sleep. Anxiety rates are highest among middle-aged adults (ages 36-55), and anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, affecting more than 40 million people or 18.1% of the population each year. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (AADA), more than 50% of adults report that anxiety affects their ability to sleep. As with depression, lack of sleep can lead to anxiety, and anxiety can lead to lack of sleep.
Many adults 65 and older sleep during the day because they don’t get enough quality sleep at night. One of the reasons they sleep poorly is restless legs syndrome (RLS). An estimated 10-35% of older adults suffer from RLS, which causes discomfort in the legs and an overwhelming urge to move. Symptoms occur at night, usually during sleep. About 80 percent of people with RLS also have periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD), and one study found that about 45 percent of older adults have at least mild PLMD.
How Much Sleep Do You Need? Our Helpful And Easy Sleep Infographic
Another common problem for older people is that they take longer to fall asleep, with one survey showing that 13% of men and 36% of women over 65 take longer than 30 minutes to fall asleep.
According to the Sleep Foundation, older adults have trouble falling asleep for a variety of reasons. One is changes in sleep phases, where many older people spend more time in the lighter stages of sleep and less time in the deeper, more restorative stages of sleep.
Sleep disturbances (awakening at night) are also common, greatly reducing the ability to rest well upon waking.
Women need an average of 20 minutes more sleep per night than men, although some women need more. One theory is that women multitask more than men and have busy schedules, so their brains use more energy and therefore need more recovery. If this theory is correct, men in complex jobs that require a lot of decision-making and lateral thinking would also need more than the average man. Another possible cause is the menstrual cycle of hormones that occur during menstruation.
Sleep In The United States
According to biomedical and social science research, women sleep more than men. However, there are a few things that can make it difficult for women to get enough quality sleep:
Pregnant women need more sleep, especially in the first trimester, which can lead to daytime sleepiness. This is due to the increase in progesterone and the metabolic changes that the body goes through.
They are also more likely to suffer from parasomnias, which
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