How Much Sleep Do You Really Need?
If you were to ask any random person on the street how many hours a person should sleep each night, their answer would most likely be eight hours. But where did this gold standard come from? And is it true ? Is more or less of that bad for you? Here’s what we know.
How much sleep does the CDC recommend?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that once you’re past adolescence, you really need “7 or more” hours of sleep per night, with the exact amount varying from person to person. As soon as you reach 61, they change their recommendation to 7-9 hours, and from 65 to 7-8 hours.
The CDC is careful to note that this is not a universal recommendation for everyone. According to their recommendations, you should measure your sleep not only by the duration of sleep, but also by its quality. They warn that signs of poor sleep quality include frequent waking during the night and snoring/gasping. All of these could be signs that you are suffering from a sleep disorder.
Short of a sleep disorder, you may just have poor sleep hygiene. To improve your sleep habits, the CDC recommends the following guidelines :
- Be consistent. Go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time every morning, including on weekends.
- Make sure your bedroom is quiet, dark, relaxing and at a comfortable temperature.
- Remove electronic devices from the bedroom, such as televisions, computers, and smartphones.
- Avoid large meals, caffeine, and alcohol before bed.
- Get some exercise. Physical activity during the day can help you fall asleep more easily at night.
The benefits of good sleep
A well-structured sleep schedule bodes well for a person who takes care of other aspects of his physical health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , those who get the recommended amount of sleep are less likely to get sick, easier to maintain a healthy weight, experience less stress and improve their mood, and think more clearly (thus they are better at work and school). ). As Dr. Merrill Mitler of the National Institutes of Health explains , “Sleep serves every aspect of our body in one way or another: molecular, energy balance, as well as intellectual function, alertness, and mood.”
The harm of poor sleep
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a third of the US adult population does not get the recommended amount of daily sleep . This is important because lack of sleep can have serious consequences. Sleep deprivation has been linked to type 2 diabetes, obesity, depression, and heart disease (the latter of which is the leading cause of death among Americans ).
In addition, the CDC warns that sleep deprivation increases the risk of accidental traffic accidents, which killed nearly 40,000 people in 2019 . Dr. Michael Tweri of the National Institutes of Health highlights the importance of sleep, explaining that “sleep affects almost every tissue in our body. It affects growth and stress hormones, our immune system, appetite, respiration, blood pressure, and cardiovascular health.”