How much sleep does an adult need per day?

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Home Health from A to Z Useful information Daytime naps for adults: pros and cons

Date of publication: November 29, 2017

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The benefits and harms of daytime sleep

If you're sleep-deprived or just looking for a way to relax, you might be thinking about taking a nap during the day. Meanwhile, sleeping at the wrong time of day or taking too much nap during the day can have the opposite effect. Let's figure out what the pros and cons of daytime sleep are and how to organize it correctly.

Why is sleep so important?

While we sleep, our body recovers.
We spend approximately a third of our lives sleeping. To understand why sleep is important, think of your body as a factory that performs a number of vital functions. When you fall asleep, your body begins the “night shift”:

restoration of damaged cells that have been exposed to ultraviolet rays, stress, etc.;
restoration of muscle tissue injuries;
increasing immunity;
recovery after daytime activity;
preparing the heart and cardiovascular system for the next day.

When you don't get enough sleep, you gradually become more vulnerable. Lack of sleep harms the body, both in the short and long term. The wakefulness pattern becomes disrupted, concentration decreases, and memory deteriorates. You feel tired, productivity drops, and depression gradually develops. Scientists from the Japanese Waseda University and the Kao Corporation believe that excess weight, obesity, and diabetes are the consequences of regular lack of sleep. Earlier this phenomenon was noted by Swedish scientists.

The dangers of lack of sleep

When a person is forced to deviate from the norm constantly and sleep 2-4 hours a day, then he experiences:

Is it harmful to sleep without a pillow?

decreased performance;
weakened immunity;
decline in mental activity, concentration;
failure in hormone production;
rapid weight gain.

If you don't get enough sleep, your head starts to hurt and you feel depressed. Failure of biorhythms from prolonged sleep disturbance leads to serious pathologies. Only specialists can treat them. Constant lack of sleep contributes to the development of hypertension, diabetes, and obesity.

Weight gain in those who don't get enough sleep is due to the body's inability to cope with the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates. Lack of sleep affects the nervous system. Resistance to stress decreases, which contributes to constant irritability.

Deep sleep concept

There are two main stages of sleep:

slow wave sleep (napping, light sleep, deep sleep);
REM sleep (activation of all processes in the body before waking up).

Deep sleep is most important because it is during this phase that the body recovers and stores energy.

Deep dream

- the phase of sleep in which the heartbeat and breathing slow down. Your body completely relaxes, and you hardly move. This is the most important sleep cycle. If you find that you wake up groggy even after spending seven or eight hours in bed, your sleep may not be deep enough.

The duration of deep sleep varies throughout life. Babies and toddlers need much more sleep than older children. By age 5, most children have typical adult sleep patterns.

Sleep as a protective function of the body

The need for sleep arises as a result of complex psychophysiological processes. Sleep cycles - slow and fast, or paradoxical, complement one another. Plunging into deep sleep, the brain forms cause-and-effect relationships of events and analyzes the information received during the day. The cerebral cortex sweeps away everything superfluous and unnecessary. People in the REM sleep phase form a response to problems that arise during the day.

It is imperative that an adult sleep fully so that he:

the myelin sheaths of nerve fibers were restored;
cognitive processes improved;
the functions of the heart and blood vessels were normalized;
decreased insulin production;
regulation of digestion and metabolic processes occurred;
skin turgor and elasticity were maintained at normal levels;
the psyche has stabilized.

The advantage of normal sleep over lack of sleep is that it is easier for those who have enough sleep to endure illnesses, resist them, as well as stress. If you sleep little, 2-4 hours a day, then the body begins to malfunction. The nervous system and psyche cannot withstand emotional stress. This is how depression occurs. A person needs to get enough sleep to live long and successfully.

How much sleep does an adult need to get enough sleep?

It is impossible to clearly answer what the norm of sleep is for an adult. All people are different, and everyone’s need for hours of sleep depends on many factors: age, body characteristics, frequency of physical activity, lifestyle, etc.

For some, six hours of sleep is enough to feel well-rested and alert. And for some, vigor comes only after 10 hours of sleep.

You've probably heard the phrase “geniuses sleep little.” It is usually supported by facts from history. For example, it is believed that the Roman politician and commander Gaius Julius Caesar allocated only three hours a day to sleep. The artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci slept 15-20 minutes every four hours, which means he only needed 2 hours of sleep per day.

But they say about the legendary physicist Albert Einstein that he could sleep for 10–12 hours, believing that full, deep sleep is the key to a clear mind and genius.

You can’t just go without sleep and become a genius.

So how much sleep does an adult need per day? Below are the average values of the required amount of sleep for each age. Scientists at the National Sleep Foundation, in a two-year study, calculated the average number of hours of sleep needed at different ages.

Age	Average number of hours of sleep
Newborns (0–3 months)	14–17 hours
Infants (4–11 months)	12–15 hours
Toddlers (1–2 years)	11–14 o'clock
Preschool children (3–5 years old)	10–13 hours
Schoolchildren (6–13)	9–11 a.m.
Teenagers (14–17 years old)	8–10 hours
Young people (18–25 years old)	7–9 hours
Adults (26–64 years old)	7–8 hours
Elderly (65+)	6–8 hours

How much sleep does a woman need?

There is an opinion that women should sleep an odd number of hours, and men an even number. For women, sleep duration is important. They need to sleep a little more than men, at least 20 minutes. This fact is explained by the ability of women to simultaneously focus on several tasks at once.

How much sleep does a man need?

It is believed that for a man, quality of sleep comes first. Maternal instinct makes it easier for women to wake up in the middle of the night to soothe their crying baby. As a rule, the daily sleep requirement for men is 6–8 hours, but subject to sound sleep without sudden awakenings.

Myths and facts about sleep

Content:

Myths and facts about sleep
How many hours should you sleep
Signs of lack of sleep
Consequences of lack of rest
What to do to get enough sleep
What you need to know about sleep stages
How to calculate the most comfortable time to wake up

Myth: Sleeping an hour less will not affect your activity during the day.

Fact: a person may not feel very sleepy, but a lack of nightly rest, even 1 hour, can affect the adequacy of thinking and the speed of reaction. Plus, even this seemingly minor lack of sleep can compromise your cardiovascular health, energy levels, and ability to fend off infections.

Myth: The human body quickly adapts to different sleep schedules.

Fact: in fact, the body is capable of “rebuilding” its biological clock by a maximum of 1-2 hours a day without consequences. This means that after moving to a different time zone or after switching to a night shift, the body may need at least a week to adjust to the new schedule of life.

Myth: Getting more sleep at night can relieve excessive daytime fatigue.

Fact: It is important to understand that the quantity and quality of sleep are two different things. Some people can sleep for 9-10 hours, but do not feel rested after waking up just because the quality of their rest wants to be better.

Myth: On the weekend you can sleep off the entire week.

Fact: It is impossible to completely compensate for the lack of sleep accumulated during the work week. This practice can only negatively affect the rest-wake cycle, due to which a person may remain active late into the night on Sunday, but will have a very difficult time waking up on Monday morning.

Rules for healthy sleep

We have already found out approximately how many hours normal sleep should last for a person. But for it to really bring benefits and become a source of good health and vigor for you throughout the day, you should organize your principles or rituals of healthy sleep.

There are several common principles for quality sleep:

get up and go to bed at the same time every day;
do not lie in bed after waking up - it is better to try to get up the first time and start your day;
at least an hour before bedtime, organize a calm environment around yourself without fuss, loud sounds and bright light;
Don't fall asleep watching TV. If you already have such a habit, then try to unlearn it. Try to fall asleep not to the sound and glow of the TV, turn on soft music in the style of light jazz or “relaxation”;
do not eat at least 2-3 hours before bedtime;
physical activity during the day promotes quality sleep;
Before going to bed, you should give up alcohol, coffee and cigarettes;
Before going to bed, you should ventilate the room. Fresh air will help you fall asleep faster.

It is not always possible to open a window to ventilate the room. Noise from the street and foreign odors can disturb your sleep. The compact breather ventilation device will ventilate your bedroom with the windows closed and clean the indoor air from dust, harmful gases and allergens. No noise or stuffiness. Only sound and healthy sleep.

Expert advice

A person should sleep the same amount of time every day. Then the body gets used to a certain regime, and falling asleep will pass quickly. Before going to bed you should:

turn off gadgets, computer, TV;
eliminate the consumption of coffee, energy drinks, alcohol;
go to bed and get up at the same time;
prepare a room, a comfortable bed;
ventilate the room;
switch the lights off.

Water treatments, massage, meditation are good ways to relax before bed. Posture plays a big role in normalizing sleep. It is better to sleep on your side, with your head facing north. Only under these conditions will falling asleep be successful and a person can get enough sleep. And it doesn’t matter how many hours you sleep, as long as you feel vigorous and able to work.

What helps you fall asleep quickly

One of the best calming effects is this technique: 30 minutes before the time of falling asleep, go to bed, relax, fixing your gaze on a shiny object in the bedroom. Fixing on a fading source of electric light in a darkened room will help. So slowly and smoothly they fall asleep.

Melatonin production is helped by foods containing this substance. It is enough to eat barley, rice or oatmeal porridge cooked in water, potatoes baked in their skins, and tomato salad. Eat food 2 hours before falling asleep.

We can talk a lot about how much sleep you need to get enough sleep. Everyone has their own opinion on this matter. There is no arguing about this, just like about tastes. For one, a minimum of hours of rest is enough, for another – more than the norm. It all depends on the individual qualities and properties of the body. It is necessary to adhere to the norm in cases where insomnia is caused by pathological abnormalities in the functioning of the body.

What time should you go to bed?

The physiological and biochemical processes of the body are subject to circadian rhythms. Simply put, with the arrival of dawn, our brain wakes up, the work of all senses begins and is maintained until sunset. This is the concept of circadian rhythms. Therefore, it is better to go to bed before midnight, since from 12 o’clock at night to 5 o’clock in the morning our body temperature drops, activity decreases, and the body needs rest. Even if you work at night, your biological clock operates as usual.

Is it good to sleep during the day?

Everyone who went to kindergarten remembers how they wanted to jump, run, play - do anything but not sleep after lunch. However, the teachers categorically insisted and sent all the children to bed. Nowadays, taking a nap in the afternoon is the dream of many adults.

Let's look at how daytime sleep affects the body. It may turn out that the formidable teachers from our memories were right.

Experts in the field of studying the benefits of sleep have proven that an afternoon siesta has a positive effect on our body in psychological and physical aspects. NASA pilots acted as test subjects. The results of the study showed that a 26-minute siesta in pilots improved productivity by 34% and alertness by 54%.

Daytime sleep duration:

from 2 to 5 minutes - micro-nap. Effectively combats drowsiness;
from 5 to 20 minutes - mini-nap. Increases alertness, endurance, productivity;
20 minutes is a real good sleep. Has the benefits of micro- and mini-naps, improves muscle memory and “cleanses” the brain of unnecessary information;

It is believed that a midday nap for 20 minutes is optimal and beneficial for a healthy person, as it serves as a good prevention of physical and mental fatigue.

A siesta lasting more than 40 minutes can do more harm than help in overcoming drowsiness. A team of doctors from the American College of Cardiology found that if you sleep more than 40 minutes during the day, metabolic disorders (metabolic syndrome) may occur.

For people suffering from insomnia and who are deeply depressed, it is best to give up daytime sleep: in this state it will be more difficult to control yourself and you may sleep for several hours.

How to learn to wake up early?

It is believed that a person has high performance in the early morning, provided that he goes through all phases of sleep during the night. Some people spend their mornings exercising or performing difficult tasks at work.

Here are some tips to help you wake up faster:

you should go to bed on time and spend the required amount of time sleeping;
it is easier to wake up in a room with an optimal air temperature - no more than 23 °C;
The alarm clock should not be at hand. Keep him a few steps away from you;
after you get up to turn off the alarm, go to the shower;
turn on your favorite music;
drink your favorite invigorating drink;
Wake up every day at the same time.

By following these rules, you can develop the habit of waking up early in two weeks.

Is it true that the most beneficial sleep for the body is before midnight?

Actually this is not true. People who belong to the “lark” chronotype are indeed more comfortable going to bed early, at about nine or ten o’clock in the evening. However, this mode is not suitable for night owls: they will not be able to fall asleep if they find themselves in bed early.

Therefore, it is not so important what time a person goes to bed: he can do it in accordance with his personal needs and lifestyle. The most important thing is to give your body enough time to rest and try to maintain a consistent sleep schedule.

Too much sleep is bad for your health

Lack of sleep can be the starting point for the development of many serious diseases: diabetes, stroke, oncology, etc.

Excess sleep also has its negative consequences. It is dangerous to health, as is lack of sleep. Most likely, you will not feel alert and clear-headed if you sleep more than 10 hours. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Excessive sleep can become chronic - hypersomnia. With hypersomnia, a person constantly experiences drowsiness and delayed (long) awakening.

One of the common cases of excess sleep is metabolic syndrome. Most often it is characterized by metabolic disorders in the body. Excess weight, deposition of fat in the abdominal area, diabetes mellitus, and the development of cardiovascular diseases are quite good motivators for establishing a proper daily routine, taking into account healthy sleep.

Consequences of lack of rest

It may seem that lack of sleep is not such a serious problem, and all the consequences of lack of sleep come down solely to daytime lethargy. In fact, as scientific experiments show, lack of night rest affects a person in much the same way as alcohol abuse.

Lack of sleep is:

fatigue, lethargy, lack of motivation;
bad mood, irritability, increased risk of depression;
impaired brain activity, problems with memory, learning and concentration;
decreased creativity and ability to quickly solve problems, difficulty making decisions;
inability to cope with stress and manage emotions;
impaired motor skills, increased risk of accidents;
weakened immune system, tendency to frequent colds and infectious diseases;
hallucinations and delusions are possible;
increased risk of stroke, diabetes, hypertension, Alzheimer's disease, and some types of cancer;
decreased sex drive;
premature skin aging.

In addition, scientists have found a direct link between lack of sleep and weight gain. The bodies of people suffering from lack of sleep produce increased amounts of cortisol, a hormone that increases appetite.

Causes of insomnia

All processes in our body are under the strict control of the central nervous system (CNS). If any deviations from the norm occur, sleep is one of the first to suffer.

Many people experience insomnia before exams, important events or serious experiences. A person with a high level of anxiety is also a rare guest in the kingdom of Morpheus. Along with psychosocial stress, insomnia (insomnia) can occur due to:

changes in climate zones,
late dinner,
diseases of various types,
hormonal imbalances,
neuralgia,
alcoholism and smoking,
physical discomfort (pain),
age-related changes.

To determine the cause of insomnia and its treatment, consultation with a specialist is recommended.

Doctors believe that a person needs to sleep at least 5 hours per night. If you sleep less than this minimum for 3 days in a row, the body will experience the same effect as from one sleepless night. A team of scientists from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles suggested that one night without sleep can cause health damage comparable to that of eating fast food for six months. At least this fact has been proven in dogs.

10th city clinic

“The habit of going to bed early and rising early makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” Ben Franklin

A high pace of life is an integral feature of the modern world. To get everything done, many sacrifice their sleep. It would seem that invigorating coffee in the morning can eliminate the feeling of lack of sleep, but lack of sleep tends to accumulate. Subsequently, shortening sleep time may result in loss of concentration, nervous tension, chronic fatigue syndrome and many other health problems.

To avoid diseases, it is necessary to follow the rules of proper sleep.

The undoubted benefit of sleep lies in the ability to effectively restore strength and draw the necessary reserves for daytime activities. Calm, high-quality sleep allows you to restore cells of the central nervous system, is a powerful prevention of many diseases, and strengthens the immune system.

Sleep is also of particular importance for a person’s mental health. In particular, it is during sleep that our brain integrates memories, linking them with facts and skills acquired through learning. All of these cognitive processes significantly improve memory, which suggests that the night before an important presentation or exam you really should get enough sleep—the opposite can be counterproductive.

Rules for healthy sleep.

There are a number of rules that, if followed, will make sleep extremely beneficial for your health. These rules help the body correctly perform its functions during sleep, which certainly has a beneficial effect on well-being and mood during the waking period.

Stick to a routine.

Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time, regardless of the day of the week. Even on the weekend, when you might spend a few extra hours in bed, get up according to your daily schedule.

The daily routine should include the whole day, from waking up to going to bed. If you see that some things were not completed by the allotted bedtime, then put them aside. Over time, everything will fall into the right rhythm, and all unnecessary things will be eliminated by themselves;

Create comfortable sleeping conditions (light, fresh air, temperature).

It is better to fall asleep in complete darkness. However, curtain the windows so that in the morning, when it begins to get light, our senses can catch the light and perceive it as a signal that we will get up soon. When light hits the retina of the eyes, the production of melatonin in the body decreases and the blood begins to release the hormone of vigor - cortisol, which helps to cheer up and recover from sleep faster;

Fresh air in the bedroom is the key to healthy and sound sleep. During sleep, the brain continues to work, process information, and restore performance. Therefore, before going to bed, it is necessary to ventilate the room (optimal temperature 18-21C);

Try to use your sleeping area only for sleeping and relaxing. Avoid turning your sleeping area into a “study”;
Put away your gadgets until the morning. Putting your phone down 30-60 minutes before bed will help you fall asleep easier. The fact is that when you play, watch videos, communicate on social networks, you stimulate your brain. You become engrossed in the process, which can make it difficult to put down your phone and go to bed. Watching TV won't help you sleep either. Avoid any devices with a screen in the last half hour to an hour before bed;
Avoid taking stimulating drinks (coffee, strong tea or other tonic drinks) five to six hours before bedtime;
How much sleep do you need?

For proper rest and restoration of the body, an adult needs at least 8 hours of sleep.

Sleep is a cyclical process, where each cycle consists of alternating phases of rapid and slow sleep (the duration of one cycle is 1.5 hours). If you wake up in the middle of your cycle, you will still feel tired and sleep-deprived, even if you slept for about 6 hours. The best time to start sleeping is from 10 pm to 2 am. With the onset of darkness, the human body produces melatonin, the sleep hormone.

Deficiency of the hormone melatonin leads to premature aging of the body.

It has been proven that melatonin , in addition to regulating the rhythms of the body, has ... This is due to its ability to easily penetrate cell membranes and neutralize the destructive effects of free radicals.

Experts say that you can increase your melatonin content with foods containing the amino acid tryptophan . Nuts, legumes, rice, oats, barley, cherries, banana, dairy products. Vitamins B3 and B6 increase the presence of melatonin.

Strong coffee, tea, nicotine and alcohol increase melatonin deficiency. Protein foods, due to the presence of a large number of amino acids, act as a competitor to tryptophan, reducing its production.

For high-quality production of natural melatonin, it is recommended to go to bed no later than 22 hours. The room for sleeping should exclude light, you need to sleep in absolute darkness, you can use a special eye mask. If you have to stay awake at night, it is advisable to use dim lights.

Interestingly, a long sleep of 10 hours or more is no longer as beneficial as a standard one. Scientists have found that such sleep increases the risks associated with the cardiovascular system, impairs concentration and provokes inflammatory processes in the body.

Maintaining a daily routine is a leading factor in good metabolism, energy and human health.

The correct position during sleep affects your well-being and quality.

When you go to bed, make a conscious effort to follow these guidelines until they become a habit:

The most correct sleeping position is on your back. It is in this position that all muscles relax, blood flows freely to the brain, and there is an even load on the heart. Doctors advise people with scoliosis to sleep on their backs: this is how the mattress supports the spine. Your face does not touch the pillow throughout the night, which will prevent the appearance of unnecessary facial wrinkles. However, sleeping on your back is not recommended for those who have breathing problems or snoring, or for pregnant women. And for those who like to sleep on their back, it is not advisable to use a pillow that is too high, as it makes breathing difficult;
Side sleeping also works for most people. When we lie on our side, the spine maintains its natural curve and the back relaxes. Nevertheless, you should pay attention to which side you sleep on: sleeping on the right side can provoke heartburn, and on the left it can put additional stress on the heart in hypertensive patients. It is not recommended to place your arms under the pillow, as this impairs blood circulation;
Sleeping on your stomach is considered the most harmful. By lying on our stomach, we violate the correct position of the head during sleep - we turn it to one side, which disrupts the blood supply to the brain. The load on the joints and muscles, and especially on the chest, increases, which makes breathing difficult. Lying on your stomach straightens the natural curve of the spine, and this can lead to back pain. If you are a fan of this pose, place a small pillow under your hips and lower abdomen. This way you can restore the position of the spine.
The mattress must be replaced every 7-8 years. The thing is that over time, mattresses become deformed.

Proper nutrition is the key to health and, accordingly, another rule of good sleep:

Have dinner no later than 3-4 hours before bedtime. Eating late—especially large—meals increases blood flow to your digestive tract, causing your stomach to secrete more stomach acid and your pancreas and intestinal muscles to work harder, so your body can't get enough rest overnight.

What to eat before bed?

Give preference to low-calorie foods: turkey, eggs, legumes, bananas, yogurt or low-fat cottage cheese, kefir, a handful of walnuts, almonds.

Avoid drinking alcohol before bed as a sleep aid. Due to dehydration and ethanol breakdown, sleep quality will be low, sleep will be interrupted and the brain will not be able to rest during this time.

It is better to drink a mug of warm milk with honey (provided you are not allergic). Milk contains tryptophan, protein and calcium. This drink has a warming and calming effect.

A great option for physical activity is walking before bed.

How to wake up early and in a good mood?

After a period of adaptation to early rises, your well-being and mood improve significantly. Life becomes calmer, more measured, the stress associated with the fact that there is always not enough time for important things disappears.

Getting up in the morning will help you concentrate faster; it is at an early time that the brain absorbs information better, and it is easier for people to concentrate

The morning should be pleasant: take a shower, do exercises, a delicious breakfast, your favorite coffee or tea, an interesting book will help you get ready for the new day.

Consequences of lack of sleep.

Deterioration of cognitive functions (memory, attention, thinking), coordination, speech, orientation, control and others. This often leads to accidents at work and on the road. According to statistics, every fifth accident occurs because the driver fell asleep at the wheel;
Vulnerability of the immune system. Research shows that lack of sleep increases your risk of getting sick by three times. During sleep, the immune system synthesizes cytokine proteins. The more infections there are, the more of them are required;
Overeating and excess weight. Lack of sleep stimulates the production of ghrelin, the hunger hormone. As a result, the person overeats;
Decrease in productivity;
Lack of sleep is a serious obstacle to the formation of healthy habits. But it is an excellent catalyst for harmful ones: when there is a lack of sleep, a person seeks external stimulants (nicotine, caffeine, etc.).

Remember that healthy and high-quality sleep is the kind of sleep from which a person wakes up feeling rested and ready for good physical and mental functioning.