“There is a reason why we spend approximately 1/3 of our lives sleeping. Being well-rested is critical to one’s health and well-being, both physically and mentally,” says Dr. Akinyemi O. Ajayi, MD, sleep specialist and medical director of the Florida Pediatric Research Institute. “How we function during the day is often related to the amount and quality of the sleep we get at night.” As the National Institutes for Health (NIH) has recognized, without adequate sleep, there is a greater risk of health complications, including, but not limited to, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure and depression. “Most of us know that we don’t function as well without adequate sleep—it can affect our judgment, our ability to interact socially and professionally and our reaction times. Consider that 20% of serious car crash injuries in the general population are associated with the driver being sleepy,” adds Dr. Ajayi. Essentially, everything is at risk if you don’t get the right amount of high quality sleep. “From the top down, inadequate sleep is diminishing our cognitive abilities, fraying our mood and emotional resilience, lessening our concentration and focus, impairing our memory, weakening our immune system, straining our cardiovascular system, increasing impulsivity and bad decision making, altering hormone secretion, gumming up digestion, and making us physically less capable and able to recover from exercise and injury,” says W. Christopher Winter, MD, sleep specialist and author of The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep Is Broke and How to Fix It. “In other words, it’s like a car at the beach … the salt is slowly rusting every part of your automobile.”
How manyhours of sleep does the average adult need?
The National Sleep Foundation advises that healthy adult need between seven and nine hours of sleep each night, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults have at least seven hours of sleep per night. “Sleep is important for a number of reasons. While we sleep, we heal the wear and tear of the muscles,” says Dr. Ajayi. “Also while we sleep, our thoughts from the prior day are organized, catalogued and filed away, thus resulting in optimized memory function.” However, if you do struggle with getting at least seven hours of sleep, it may be comforting to know that as long as the amount you sleep each week is average, you will be okay. “I think that a novel way one could look at sleep need is by week rather than by day. I think it’s probably a more realistic way to think about, it because life happens,” says Dr. Winter. “In one study, as long as you averaged your sleep target over a week, you live just as long as the person who hits the mark daily. In other words, you have a sleep ‘credit card’ that is no-interest for one week. Pay off your 56 hours every week (which is eight hours on average per day) and there’s no health penalty. So if tonight is bad, sleep well tomorrow, grab a nap, and you’re probably good to go.”
Do some people need more sleep than others?
Sleep requirements do vary among different people, especially babies and kids. “Typically infants sleep up to 18 hours a day, children between the ages of one and three sleep between 15- and 17 hours in a 24-hour period made up of one long sleep interval and two naps,” says Dr. Ajayi. “Children between the ages of three and five typically sleep between 13 and 15 hours, and this is made up of a long sleep interval and one nap. By five years of age, most children stop napping but still require about 13 hours of sleep. For children between the ages of seven and 10, they usually sleep about 11 hours. Between 11 and 16, that goes down to eight to en hours. Above the age of 16, most people will sleep between seven and nine hours.” You may have heard that older adults need more sleep, but this is a myth, according to Dr. Winter. “Sleep need, on average, diminishes over time,” he says. “But it’s true that as. we get older and get less deep sleep, our sleep can feel more fragmented, light, and unrefreshing,” he says.
Can anyone function well on little sleep?
Of course, there are the rare people who say they can function on very little sleep. Although they may feel okay sleeping less than seven hours, it’s definitely not ideal. “There are rare individuals who can function well on less than seven hours of sleep; however, the emphasis should be that this is rare,” says Dr. Ajayi. “Our society emphasizes productivity over restful sleep, and this is to the detriment of the general population.” Even if this is you, you should still aim to get at least 7 hours. “The overwhelming evidence is that most of us do require seven hours or more of sleep,” says Dr. Ajayi. " While there are people identified as short sleepers, it is uncertain whether this type of sleep schedule has an impact on general health, even as the patient may not feel tired." And while the amount of sleep an individual receives is important, just as important is the quality of one’s sleep. According to the American Sleep Association, 50-70 million adults in the U.S. are affected by a sleep disorder. “While insomnia is the most common, other sleep disorders include narcolepsy and sleep apnea—all of which can impact one’s ability to receive an adequate amount of restful sleep,” says Dr. Ajayi. “If you have trouble falling sleep, staying asleep or feeling rested, you should speak with a licensed healthcare professional or sleep specialist.” Next up: What Is Insomnia? Here’s What You Need to Know
Sources
Dr. Akinyemi O. Ajayi, MD, sleep specialist and medical director of the Florida Pediatric Research InstituteW. Christopher Winter, MD, sleep specialist and author of The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep Is Broke and How to Fix It
