Did you ever wonder if you sleep more than most or if you aren’t getting as much as you should? It’s not a subject we tend to discuss with others, weirdly, but it is something we do for as much as a third of our lives. So what is the correct answer to the question? How much sleep do we need, and does the amount change as we grow older?
The study of sleep may well be a scientific endeavor, but as individuals and societally, we don’t pay much attention to the importance of sleep and how it shapes our waking lives. If you want to dig deeper into how to sleep better, popular online casino Betway commissioned a very thorough study into that aspect, but in our article, we’ll talk specifically about the optimum amount of sleep you should be getting every night.
We all know that infants, babies, children, and even teens, need more sleep than adults but did you know that over the age of 18 and up to an elderly age, you should be looking to sleep between seven and nine hours a night?
Now, there are going to be some who read this and think that sounds about right, and perhaps these individuals sit firmly in this band, then there will be others who will be wondering about all the precious sleep they’ve been missing out on.
Obviously, we are not all programmed the same way. Most physicians and medical professionals in this area will tell you that some people can make do with as little as six hours, and others might need as much as ten.
Some say that you can train yourself to survive on less than the optimum amount of sleep, but that doesn’t negate the potential health issues you might suffer as a result.
By all accounts, daytime naps aren’t great for you, but clearly, if you didn’t get enough sleep overnight, then it’s something you may need to do to replenish yourself. Daytime naps are common in the US, and in some European countries, the idea of a “siesta” is almost culturally ingrained.
Sleep deprivation can be very bad for you, leading to all manner of health issues and mental stresses that could lead to potentially life-threatening side effects and interestingly, most research states that sleeping too much is far better than not enough, albeit there are individual factors to take into account.
Then there is the importance of quality sleep. Sleep cycles occur in 90-minute stretches, during which you’ll experience light sleep, deep sleep, and then the all-important REM stage, so in simple terms, it would be better to experience 5 hours of high-quality sleep than nine hours of light or intermittent sleep.
So how do you make sure you get enough sleep? Well, if you are having a hard time falling asleep, then consider being more active during the day and also putting your mobile device away at least an hour before you retire to bed.
Clearly, there are other mitigating factors that can contribute to less sleep, such as new parents or those who work long, unsocial hours. In this case, the discussion about securing more rest may feel a bit like slow torture because you may simply not have enough hours in the day in order to get that magical seven to nine hours of sleep.
The critical lesson to take away is the need to stick to routines that work and not take a good night’s sleep for granted.
