How much sleep do you get a night? Some people are proud of the fact that they get only 4 hours a night, while others sleep half the day away. Nevertheless, getting too much or too little sleep can have a major impact on your health.
How much sleep do I need?:
It’s not really possible to give an exact number of hours that you need to sleep a night because individuals vary in terms of their sleep needs. A small portion of the population, for example, has a genetic mutation that allows them to need only 6 hours of sleep a night. Given that, the National Sleep Foundation sets ranges for recommended sleep needs. To determine the recommended number of hours, a panel of scientists reviewed more than 300 studies and determined that the average adult needs between between 7 and 9 hours of sleep a night. Here’s the breakdown by age:
How can I get the best nights sleep?:
There are so many ways you can get the best nights sleep. One of the key ways to do this is by purchasing a good quality mattress. I would strongly recommend you look around at different review sites such as leesa vs casper mattress before doing this to get an understanding of which mattress would be perfect for you. If you’re invested in finding the right mattress for you reading about the incredible deep-sleep provider – Luxtex could give you more points of reference in your hunt for a good night’s sleep. I would also recommend refreshing your bed sheets regularly to keep them fresh. You will be surprised just how much difference this makes to your sleep!
Another way to ensure you get the best possible sleep every night is by ensuring your house’s security. To do this, you might want to consider installing something like a home security camera so that you can monitor the activity around your home and deter any criminals.
Why Does It Matter?
Getting too much or too little sleep has been associated with an increased risk of mortality, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, respiratory disorders, and obesity. Getting too little sleep has also been shown to cause a steady decline cognitive function. Even more concerning, you become less tired with prolonged sleep deprivation, while your cognitive impairment continues to decline over time.
A new poll by Gallup also found that happiness levels closely tracked the above recommendations:
Conclusion
According to a recent survey, 42% of Americans get less than 7 hours of sleep a night. 6% get more than 9 hours a night. So just 52% of Americans fall within the recommended number of hours of sleep a night, with most getting too little sleep. So make sleep a priority and try to get yourself within the recommended range on most nights!
Citations:
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Cappuccio, Francesco P., et al. “Quantity and Quality of Sleep and Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes A systematic review and meta-analysis.” Diabetes care33.2 (2010): 414-420.
Cappuccio, Francesco P., et al. “Sleep duration and all-cause mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies.” Sleep 33.5 (2010): 585.
Ferrie, Jane E., et al. “A prospective study of change in sleep duration: associations with mortality in the Whitehall II cohort.” Sleep 30.12 (2007): 1659.
Gangwisch JE, Heymsfield SB, Boden-Albala B, et al. Short sleep duration as a risk factor for hypertension: analyses of the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Hypertension.2006;47:833–9.
Hirshkowitz, Max, et al. “National Sleep Foundation’s sleep time duration recommendations: methodology and results summary.” Sleep Health 1.1 (2015): 40-43.
Ikehara, Satoyo, et al. “Association of sleep duration with mortality from cardiovascular disease and other causes for Japanese men and women: the JACC study.” Sleep 32.3 (2009): 295.
Moon, H. S. “Sleep-Related Respiratory Disturbances.” Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology 2.1 (1995): 55-64.
Van Dongen, Hans, Naomi L. Rogers, and David F. Dinges. “Sleep debt: theoretical and empirical issues*.” Sleep and Biological Rhythms 1.1 (2003): 5-13.