How Much Sleep Do I Need

How much sleep any one person needs really depends on age and state of health. For most people, how restful you feel after a night’s sleep defines how your demeanor will be for the following day. Everybody's sleep patterns are different, so one person may need eight to ten hours of continuous sleep to feel rested while another might only need about six hours. The quality of sleep is what really counts and although you may say that you get eight to ten hours of sleep a night, quantity does not account for much if the quality of sleep is not so good.

Babies and toddlers need a lot of sleep and tend to sleep for up to half of a day including night time and naps. The sleep requirement lessens as we get older with the term “Enough sleep” translating into the amount of sleep you need so as not to feel drowsy the next day. It is estimated that more than half the world’s population experiences some type of sleep disorder at least once a week.

Newborn babies need the most sleep, which is why they spend the majority of their days swaddled up in dreamland. Typically, newborns will sleep for about four hours, and then wake for a feeding. They will then go right back to sleep for another few hours, then awake for another feed or to get changed or maybe to play. After that, it is back to sleep again. Overall, during any 24-hour period, newborn babies will spend between fourteen and sixteen hours sleeping. Once an infant gets to be between three and six months old, most can make it through an entire night without waking. Infants will still spend a good part of their days asleep, sleeping between ten and fourteen hours.

Unbelievably, children and teenagers really should also be getting the same amount of sleep as well. After taking into consideration a child or teenager’s school day and other activities, a solid ten hours of sleep is sufficient for most. Interestingly, what has often been perceived as laziness in teenagers is turning out to be something physiological with studies showing that more sleep seems to be necessary because of all the growth and hormonal changes taking place in a teenager’s body.

Adults need the least amount of sleep, and should feel lucky as well as refreshed, if they can get around seven to eight hours of sleep each night. In some cultures, people will reduce the number of hours they sleep during the night time by an hour or so and make up the difference by taking a midday nap or afternoon siesta. Either way, the total still equals around eight hours for adults.

Older adults need about the same amount of sleep each day as adults. Pregnant women should increase the amount of sleep they get by about three hours.

If you are not waking up feeling refreshed and ready to start your day, it may be time to take a good look at your sleeping habits. You may well be getting the quantity of sleep that you need, but the quality is what is missing. Ask your spouse or significant other that shares a bedroom with you about your sleep habits. Chances are that they could tell you if you snore, talk in your sleep, sleepwalk or have restless legs syndrome or some other related condition.

Sleep deprivation can have serious consequences. If you are driving, your reflexes may be slower, your eyes may stay closed longer when you blink and your chances of becoming involved in an accident increase. Consuming alcohol while sleep deprived is not advisable since alcohol compounds these problems. Judgment, impulses, reaction times, hand-eye coordination and attention spans can all become impaired when you are sleep deprived. Serious sleep deprivation can result in hallucinations.