How much Sleep is Sufficient?

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Sleep is an essential part of our lives. Our body tends to become lazy and collapse with fatigue unless we sleep enough hours every day. Some people sleep a little and can manage their day with this amount of sleep. But there are many people who just cannot sleep little, but rather need a proper sleep. Most of the people do not know exactly how much sleep is sufficient for their body. According to our age, our sleep patterns change.

How much Sleep is Sufficient?

The necessity of sleep is similar to thirst or hunger. The sleep requirements vary depending on various factors. It depends on lifestyle, age, genetic makeup, general state of health and quality of sleep and few other small factors.

The figures below show the age group and the average sleep needed:

  • A New Born Baby: 18 hours a day
  • 1 to 12 Months of Age: 14 to 18 hours a day
  • 1 to 3 Years of Age: 12 to 15 hours a day
  • 3 to 5 Years of Age: 11 to 13 hours a day
  • 5 to 12 Years of Age: 9 to 11 hours
  • Teenagers: 9 to 10 hours a day
  • Adults: 7 to 8+hours
  • Pregnant Women: 8 hours a day

Description of Sleep Required

Children

In humans, a newborn sleeps around 17 to 18 hours a day and spends half of the time in REM sleep. The NREM and REM sleep decreases with age. Children need 12 to 14 hours of sleep in 24 hours. Young children spend most of their time in sleeping. This is important for their mental and physical development. During NREM sleep, tissue growth and repair occurs. More amount of blood supply to muscles and hormones are released for growth and development. It isn’t uncommon for children to sleep during day as the sleep need might exceed the sleep received due to various circumstances like social activities, school, etc.

Teens

Teen years are the most essential years with regards to sleep. As most of us know when teens enter puberty, there are various changes that occur. Most of the hormones are secreted during sleep, mostly during the early part of the sleep cycle. These hormones are essential for their proper body growth. The sleep requirement of teens does not vary much from that of younger children. They require nine hours of sleep per night. This is the essential sleep needed for teens.

Adults

An average adult needs about 8 hours of sleep per night. There are few people who take 6 to 7 hours of sleep at night without feeling significant effects while other take 9 hours to feel rested. Our sleep declines as we age. An adult should have enough sleep to stay fit and fine for the whole day. Your whole day’s performance will depend on the amount of sleep you had taken at night.

Improper sleep may result into number of chronic conditions and diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression and obesity. So it is essential to take proper sleep in order to stay away from all these diseases. Sleeping Hygiene

  • Go to bed at the same time every night and rise at the same time every morning. Sleep in a quiet, dark and relaxing environment which has a balanced temperature. Balanced temperature means which is not too hot and not too cold, a pleasant temperature is required to sleep peacefully.
  • Remove computers, TV and other gadgets from your bedroom. Avoid any type of physical activity within few hours of bedtime.
  • Avoid large meals before bedtime

This is the answer for people who do not know how much sleep is sufficient. Take proper sleep to avoid any mental instability during your daily work.