How Much Sleep Do You Need For Good Health?

If you have a busy lifestyle, (and these days, who doesn’t?), cutting back on sleep might seem like the only way to meet the countless demands of your day. As adults, we work. Maybe we exercise or take a class at the gym, shop for groceries, manage a business. Or perhaps you go to school and then attend game practice. After that you still have to make time to prepare a meal, study, and maybe enjoy  a little entertainment. Yes, most of us these days have so many things to do. So we sacrifice our sleep time in order to get as much as we can out of each day.

However, just like eating and exercising, adequate rest is vital for good health. Not getting enough sleep will have a negative effect on your productivity, mental sharpness, energy levels, emotional balance, workout performance, and even weight. Here we’re going to take a detailed look at sleep. We’ll also answer the question of exactly how much sleep you need for good health.

Average Sleep Duration Recommendation

According to the Mayo Clinic, healthy adults need 6 to 8 hours of sleep each night. Growing teens and children need even more sleep to support their rapid mental and physical development. Infants and toddlers require between 9 and 10 hours of sleep at night along with 2 to 3 more hours of nap time during the day. School aged children should get  8 to 10 hours of sleep every night.

Factors Affecting The Required Amount Of Sleep

Despite the average sleep recommendations above, there is no “one-size fits all” formula when it comes to sleeping durations. Some people simply need more sleep than others. Others require less than average to maintain optimal health.

Factors that can affect how many hours of sleep you need include genetics, gender, the amount of sleep you’ve had on previous days, and your overall health condition. Pregnancy can also affect a woman’s sleep cycles with many pregnant women having an increased requirement for sleep. (Isn’t that interesting? When I was pregnant I slept more but my hours were very strange. I was dead tired and crashed for several hours every evening. Then I would lie awake for hours in the middle of the night watching movie after movie.)

The Importance Of Sleep Quality

Getting adequate rest is not just about the number of hours you spend in bed. It’s the quality of your sleep that’s really important. Some factors that may affect the quality of your sleep include:

• Awakening due to environmental factors such as noise or too much light when sleeping
• Pain or an underlying illness
• Prescription medications and substances that interfere with sleep urges such as caffeine, nicotine, antidepressants, and beta-blockers
• Sleeping at the wrong time of day
• Stress and anxiety

Finding Out How Much Sleep You Need

Did you know that losing even an hour of sleep affects your ability to think properly and respond quickly? Since sleep requirements vary from person to person, you may be suffering from sleep deprivation and not even know it. The good news is that you can find out how much sleep you need by focusing on how you feel after waking up, and your level of alertness during the day after getting varying amounts of sleep on different days. Remember to control your environment so that your quality of sleep is not affected. Take notes each day keeping a record of how you felt, how long you slept, etc.

When getting enough sleep, you should feel refreshed upon waking up, and then energetic and alert all day. If you experience frequent daytime drowsiness, or need coffee to get you through the day, even after increasing the amount of “quality sleep”, consult your doctor. Your physician may identify any underlying medical problems that may be interfering with your sleep quality and help you make some lifestyle changes.

The Bottom Line

Waking up feeling refreshed and knowing you’ve had a perfect night’s sleep will make you feel great. I hope this information helps you discover how much sleep you need, and leads to your feeling much fresher and more alert every single day.