Sleep Article Nation

Sleep deprivation is a condition that effects about a quarter of all adults in the United States. These numbers continue to grow everyday. The fact is, today’s individuals find themselves continuously struggling to balance their busy lifestyles and the need to get enough sleep. A little-known fact is that the amount of sleep you get today, is about half of what the average adult got 100 years ago. Sleep deprivation, is thus a very prevalent and serious condition, and can lead to early-stage diseases and other health risks.

Back in 1910, the average person was able to get a good 9 hours of sleep every night. This changed in 1975 when the ‘official’ requirement became between 7 to 8 hours of sleep everyday. In a recent sleep study completed in 2002, it was found that the average American receives a little under 7 hours of sleep daily. The problem lies in a combination of bad lifestyle and sleeping habits, and not having the time needed to sleep until you are fully rested and relaxed.

So, how much sleep do you actually need?

Everyone has a slightly different physical and mental sleep for sleep. The majority of people get just enough sleep every night, and feel moderately OK to good afterwards. There are very, very few people who can get by on just 3-4 hours of sleep every night. For the rest of us, we need at least 8 to 9 hours of sleep every night to feel properly rested. Consider these facts:

•    Children under the age of 2 need at least 13 to 17 hours of sleep every night, due to their rapid grawing and development needs.
•    Toddlers over the age of 2 need at least 9 to 13 hours of sleep every night. Children will continue to need this amount until they are around 10 years old.
•    At the age of 10, you can get by on 10 to 11 hours of sleep a night. Teenagers also need this amount of sleep through puberty and in their final growth stages.
•    At the age of 16 and upwards, it is ‘recommended’ that you get between 6 and 9 hours of sleep per night, depending on your lifestyle and physical health.
•    People over the age of 65 only need between 6 to 8 hours of sleep daily.

Tags: sleep

~ by editor on January 6, 2008.