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For anyone interested in how to be their healthiest self, good sleep is absolutely one of the things you cannot skip and expect good results.
There is some conflicting advice on how much sleep is necessary, though.
The advice varies depending on age, gender, and other health needs. For instance, teenagers need more sleep than adults, due to their physical development.
Once you’re over the age of eighteen, experts say the average person needs seven hours of sleep every 24 hours. This is because research shows that getting less than that on a regular basis is associated with poor health outcomes like obesity, depression, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.
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These are guidelines, though, not hard and fast rules, because every person and every situation is different. Circumstances change, and if we’re, say, severely ill or pregnant, then more sleep and recovery are needed during the course of a day.
The Sleep Foundation has a questionnaire you can fill out if you’re looking to understand your specific sleep needs. Some of the questions include how you feel after getting seven hours of sleep, whether or not you feel like you need caffeine to get through your day, and whether or not your job requires physical strength.
It’s also worth it to consider the quality of your sleep over the quantity. If you’re “asleep” for eight hours but are waking up due to needing to pee, kids coming in and out, the dog needing to go outside, then you’re not reaping the benefits of those eight hours.
Poor sleep quality has been linked to cardiovascular issues, obesity, and diabetes, as well as dementia in old age. Good quality sleep helps us heal and repair, fight off infection, and prevent glucose-related issues.
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If you wake up feeling rested and happy, and aren’t bleary-eyed and reaching for coffee in order to start the day, then you’re probably doing just fine.
Focus on that.
And don’t stress, because that can affect the quality and quantity of your sleep.
No pressure.
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