How Much Sleep Do You Really Need? Facts You Should Know

Have you heard of labs around the world that pay you to sleep? Making money while sleeping does sound like a fabulous, zero-effort idea right? But did you also know that many of us tend to take our sleep schedule and its importance for granted. Sleeping well is always a good sign- as it helps you feel energised and pumped for the next day. Your mood is NOT in the toilet and you can get things done when you put your mind to it. Let us learn more about how much you need to sleep and try to understand why sleep deprivation is bad for you.

Recommended Hours Of Sleep By Age Group-

The number of hours you sleep generally decreases from the time you are a baby, till you are in your late teen years and then becomes pretty constant once you are in your early 20s. For some people, it may be slightly earlier but that is okay. The general thumb rule is that children will sleep the longest and adults the least.

• Newborns need almost 18 hours of sleep everyday.
• Babies tend to sleep for 12-17 hours a day in general.
• Toddlers sleep for an hour or two less, so 11-15 hours is a good number. 
• Preschoolers sleep about the same, maybe slightly lower or higher.
• Children going to school need at least 10-12 hours of sleep per day.
• Teens tend to be rebellious but sleeping about 10 hours a day is good for them.
• Adults need to sleep for 8-10 hours a day.

Effects Of Sleep Deprivation On Daily Performance-

People who tend to sleep less than others do not notice any prominent changes overnight, but there are subtle signs that they may be performing at a lower level than usual. This is mostly observed with respect to mood, hampered cognitive ability, not being able to focus on tasks which require a lot of accuracy and also may be more tired and annoyed than usual. Your immune system relies heavily on sleep for its restorative property, while you may also be at an increased risk of suffering from chronic medical issues. People who feel fine with lower amounts of sleep either have genes that allow them to be that or they may be overcompensating in some other way. But we can never be sure of what is actually happening.

Sleep Quality vs. Sleep Quantity: What’s More Important-

Many people think if they sleep for 8-10 hours a day, then they should be just fine. But some people tend to function better with less sleep. This means that ‘quality’ trumps ‘quantity’. Plus, sleep itself comprises 4 different stages, each of which last about an hour and a half. The ‘deep sleep’ stage is the third one and is shorter than the last one (REM) which is where you dream.

The different stages help you to recover physically while also helping improve learning and memory related brain function. Plus, many of us hate the concept of ‘naps’. But remember that mammals are polyphasic by nature, which means they are designed to sleep for small amounts all through the day.

Conclusion

The quality of sleep matters a lot and not just how long you manage to sleep for. Sleep deprivation has been shown to be bad for you and the longest anyone has gone without sleep is for 11 days. Longer records have not been observed because the Guinness World Records understood the potential medical issues associated with its loss and hence banned such attempts. Sleeping just the right amounts is also important- sleeping too much or too less can be bad for you too. Now that you have seen the benefits of getting adequate sleep each night, we hope you can maintain a schedule and insist on sticking to ‘sleep hygiene’ related rules.