Sleep is one of the fundamental needs of life. Less sleep may often lead to mood swings, feeling of irritation and restlessness. We often fall in to meet our busy schedule and become a victim of sleep deprivation.

Sleep deprivation can severely affect mood, energy, and loss of energy. It is very necessary to know how many hours of sleep you need per day, according to your age.

Importance of a Good Sleep

Everyone wishes to have a good night’s sleep so that the problems in their lives can be reduced.

A good sleep will influence the mental and physical health. It will also affect the other health conditions such as maintaining emotional health, vitality, immunity system, brain, and heart health.

It can have a direct impact on the productivity of the body. Most of your health problems will go away if you get a good night’s sleep.

There are some reasons associated with the importance of getting a good sleep per day:

• Good sleep can help you reduce weight.
• It can regulate glucose metabolism and help to cure Type 2 diabetes.
• Often poor sleep is related to depression. A good night can help to cure that.
• A proper sleep plays an important role to reduce inflammation.
• Proper sleep can also cure risk of heart strokes.

 

How Many Hours Of Sleep Do You Need Per Day?

There is a massive difference between the amount of sleep one gets and the one needs. The need for sleep varies from person to person according to their needs.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, healthy adults need about 7 to 9 hours of sleep daily on an average. While the new category, older people need sleep for 7 to 8 hours. Older people face trouble sleeping for this long during night time. Hence, all the gap is filled by daytime naps.

 

As per the list prepared by National Sleep Foundation, the average sleep that the person needs per day according to the age is as follows:-

• New-borns (0-3 months) – Earlier, the range of sleep for this group was 12-18 hours which has now been extended to 14-17 hours.

 

• Infants (4-11 months) – Previously, the sleep range was 14-15 hours which is now extended to 12-15 hours.

 

• Toddlers (1-2 years) – The sleep range for this group is 11-14 hours whereas earlier it was 12-14 hours.

 

• Pre-schoolers (3-5 years) – Pre-schoolers need 10-13 hours of daily. However, the early studies showed that they needed 11-13 hours of sleep.

 

• School children (6-13 years) – This group needs about 9-11 hours for a proper sleep whereas earlier it was only 10-11.

 

• Teenagers (14-17) – Teenagers too need approximately 8-10 hours of average sleep which earlier was 8.5-9.5.

 

• Younger adults (18-25) – A healthy adult needs about 7-9 hours of sleep on an average. This is the newly added age category.

 

• Adults – For adults too, the sleep range does not change and remains the same of 7-9 hours on an average.

 

• Older adults or Elderly People (65+) – This group too is the newly added age category who need at least 7-8 hours of sleep.

 

However, the sleep requirements may change in case of certain conditions such as pregnancy and aging.

In case of sleep deprivation, the need for sleep increases. Also, the quality of sleep has a significant effect on how many hours of sleep you need on a daily basis.

 

Negative Effects of Sleep Deprivation

Though getting less sleep may seem to be a typical issue, but sleep deprivation can have a negative impact on the health. Sleep deprivation on a body can be as toxic as being drunk.

Negative effects of sleep deprivation are as follows:

• Sleep deprivation can make you quick-tempered and moody.
• Lack of sleep can also cause weak immunity system.
• Problems in sleeping can cause low sex drive.
• It will also increase the risk of diabetes and heart diseases.
• It increases the risk of stroke.
• Fatigue and lethargy can also be caused due to sleep deprivation.
• It may also lead brain failure and premature skin aging.
• One may even experience hallucinations and delirium due to deprived sleep.
• It can also lead to frequent cold and cough and even weight gain.
• It even reduces the productivity.

 

How to get the sleep that is required?

People often find it tough coping up with their problems related to sleep deprivation. Hence, then often look up for ways to solve the sleep-related problems.

If you want to become more productive and mentally sharp, you can practice certain measures. This will, in turn, help you get the required amount of sleep. Therefore, the following tips will help you attain the required amount of sleep for your body

 

1) Add regular exercise to your daily routine: Regular exercise can help to cure a lot of sleep-related diseases. Hence, you should exercise for at least 30 minutes on a regular basis, to improve your sleep-related issues. However, exercise is beneficial during the daytime only.

 

2) Follow a regular schedule for going to bed: A regular schedule for sleeping has a vital role in resolving your sleep problems. This will help to manage your inner clock. An irregular schedule often leads to sleep deprivation.

 

3) Create a comfortable bedroom: Environment also influences your sleep quality. If the environment of your room is pleasant enough, then your sleep quality can be improved which will in turn help to increase your productivity.

 

4) Become active and productive: It has often been found that sleep quality is poor for the inactive people. Hence, being active during the daytime can resolve such issues.

 

5) Be careful with your foods and drinks: Cut down the intake of caffeine, alcohol and sugary foods. Eating or drinking heavy things near to your bedtime can cause sleep problems.

 

6) Reduce the use of electronics: Excessive use of cell phones and other electronic devices can cause some sleep-related issues. Bright lights during the bedtime can have an adverse effect on your sleep quality.

 

7) Do meditation: It can help you to improve sleep quality.

 

Conclusion

Apart from nutrition and exercise, a good sleep too helps to improve the health conditions. You can never achieve your goal of a fit body if you don’t get the proper amount of sleep per day.

Too little as well as too much of sleep can be unhealthy. Hence it is necessary to get the required amount of sleep every day according to the age and health conditions.

Now, you may know how many hours of sleep you need per day according to your age. So, are you getting enough sleep per day?