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How much sleep do people of different ages need? This is how much sleep an adult needs per day

Sleep is an important component of life. Thanks to him human brain at rest, it processes the information accumulated during the day and restores strength.

The common phrase: “you can sleep like this for the rest of your life” is misleading to many. And we begin to think: how much sleep does a person need?

Main criterion to determine sleep duration

And so far no one has been able to give an exact answer to this question: neither psychologists, nor doctors, nor researchers. The whole secret is that every person needs a certain number of hours to sleep. Only self-observation will allow you to calculate the duration of sleep sufficient to restore strength, normalize mental activity, and mental abilities.

Sleep duration and age

And yet, over the centuries, science has made it possible to determine how much sleep a person needs. The approximate duration of sleep is even named for each age period. Newborns sleep about 80% of the time of the day. Up to the age of 7, children sleep 10-11 hours, with an hour of them during the day (it’s not for nothing that kindergartens provide sleep-hours). From 8 years old and up adolescence- 8-10 hours. When a person enters adolescence, 6 hours is enough.

Average, maximum and minimum sleep duration

But the average duration of sleep is still equated to 8 hours. Where does this figure come from? Interesting fact revealed research by American scientists. Those people who sleep more than 8 hours live less than those who sleep 7 hours every night. If a person does not get enough sleep for a long time (from 2 weeks to months), i.e. sleeps less than a restorative 7 hours, may appear chronic fatigue, symptoms of lack of sleep, weakening of all body functions.

There are, however, individuals for whom 6 hours is enough: this time is enough for them to regain strength, feel well-rested and invigorated every day. For many, on the contrary, 8 hours is not enough. If they sleep less, they feel overwhelmed and cannot respond adequately to circumstances.

How much sleep does a person need if the average does not suit him? Of course, you should not rely on average data; each person is unique and many “fall out” of the statistics, including in relation to sleep duration. And yet, scientists have identified a minimum limit of 5 hours of sleep every night (identified based on data on sleep cycles and phases).

Consequences of chronic “lack of sleep” or what happens if you don’t sleep enough?

Lack of sleep affects the ability to think, respond adequately to circumstances, other people, and the ability to navigate a situation. Not to mention physiological manifestations lack of sleep: weakness, drowsiness, yawning, voice changes, movements become sluggish, gait is uneven. Years of sleep deprivation lead to rapid aging of the body, say sleep physiology researchers.

Majority modern people work from 8 o'clock in the morning. An hour of preparation and some time on the road. I have to get up at 6.30. What time do you need to go to bed to get up at this time depends on individual duration sleep. A person is able to adapt to different conditions. At the specified time, by 7 am, the human body is ready to exit the sleep state. This explains why many people continue to wake up early even on weekends. holidays and during vacation.

And another one important detail

Scientists who have been studying the physiology of sleep for many decades have come to the conclusion that an even number of hours does not give desired effect. If, for example, a person slept for 8 hours and was woken up by an alarm clock (or someone), he will feel exhausted, and not because he did not get enough sleep, but because he woke up at the wrong time. Scientists named different durations sleep depending on phases and cycles, suitable for all people with unique sleep needs: 4.5 hours, 6 hours, 7.5 hours, 9 hours - i.e. with a difference of 1.5 hours. Again, these are average figures; for some, sleep phases last longer - up to 2 hours.

So, the features of human sleep as a unique mental and physiological state organism were considered by scientists from various angles and the facts they established will help everyone determine how much sleep a person needs, compile individual mode day.

Are you sleeping correctly? How much rest do you get during sleep? What happens in the body when we sleep? These questions are natural, because a person spends about 24 years of his life in sleep! Agree, we need to learn from this maximum benefit- Well, you can’t spend 24 years of your life somehow. Scientists conduct numerous sleep studies, doctors use them in their work healing sleep, even traditional healers They say that sleep is health. But speculation is speculation, and in studying a topic one can and should rely only on scientific facts.

Oversleep or undersleep – which is better?

How much sleep do you need to get enough sleep? Almost everyone knows that night sleep should last at least 8 hours – that’s what doctors tell us. Indeed, many of us will agree that only after 8 hours of sleep do we feel rested. Better yet, sleep 9-10 hours... But psychiatrist, Professor Daniel Kripke specifically conducted research on sleep duration and came to an interesting conclusion:

People who sleep 6.5 to 7.5 hours a night live longer. They are more productive and happier. And excessive sleep can even be harmful to health. And you may feel worse after sleeping for 8.5 hours than if you slept for 5.

Try to conduct an experiment on yourself and sleep not 8 hours, but only 7.5 - just listen carefully to your internal state, to well-being. Kripke claims that with this sleep pattern the body feels more energetic, the person is ready to literally “move mountains,” and the mood will be excellent.
Are you more often content with 4 hours of sleep a night and consider yourself a hero? You are wrong! Lack of sleep is just as bad as oversleeping. Moreover, it is not known for certain what will have a more negative impact on health. It's like choosing the size of underwear - every person needs individual approach. Therefore, you should gently and unobtrusively experiment with your own body - if you sleep 8 or more hours every night, then safely reduce this time by half an hour. Do you feel that 7.5 hours is enough to rest? Try reducing the duration of rest by another half hour. Important:less than 6 hours of sleep a night is harmful. Therefore, when experimenting, do not overdo it - you need to find a “golden mean”. An interesting fact is that a person who has slept for 4 hours will be quite adequate and even so attentive that he can compare with a person who has slept for 7.5 hours. And even tests/exercises performed on these two people will give the same results. What's the catch? The fact is that even with complete sleep, the human brain periodically loses focus on the task. And this is where the difference between the two people that was mentioned at the beginning appears - with a full amount of sleep, the brain returns attention, but if there is a lack of sleep, then there will be no refocusing. In order not to put pressure on you, the readers, with scientific terms, but to convey the idea, we can formulate this:

The brain of a sleep-deprived person works normally, but from time to time something similar to a power failure in an electrical appliance happens to it.

The quote belongs to Clifford Saper: a Harvard professor who, together with a team of other scientists, studies sleep. Just look at the table below:
As soon as a person loses focus, activation processes automatically begin in the brain - they are indicated in the figure yellow. If a person has not slept enough, then such activity is manifested very weakly or completely absent. But the so-called “center of fear” begins its work (amygdalas - they are highlighted in red on the table) and the brain works in a specific mode - as if the person is in danger from all sides. Physiologically, this is manifested by sweating of the palms, rapid breathing, rumbling and colic in the abdomen, tension separate groups muscles. Important:The danger of sleep deprivation is that a person loses attention and focus without realizing it. He believes that he reacts adequately to the current circumstances and his productivity does not suffer. This is why doctors recommend stopping driving vehicle in case of lack of sleep.

Research on the effects of sleep on humans

Research into the effects of sleep on humans has led to several stunning conclusions:

  1. Sleep disturbance, namely its insufficiency, leads to memory impairment. An experiment was conducted with bees - after they were forced to change their usual route of flying around the territory, the disruption of rest (bees do not sleep in our understanding of the word) led to loss in space - not a single representative of these insects was able to repeat the flight path studied for the day before.
  2. Lack of sleep leads to increased... This is also confirmed by research; scientists associate this manifestation of lack of sleep with what an overworked/unrested body experiences.
  3. Normal, good sleep significantly enhances creativity. For example, in a dream one dreams of unexpected solutions to global problems, a person comes to an understanding/vision of some theories - and one does not have to look far for an example: Mendeleev dreamed of a table chemical elements!
  4. Sleep disturbance can be caused by increased background lighting in evening time. Quite serious research has been carried out on this matter. medical center at the University of Chicago. It was found that this fact provokes a later bedtime and reduces the duration of the sleep phase that precedes awakening.

In addition, sleep duration may influence food preferences. An experiment was conducted with children aged 6-7 years: when regular lack of sleep children began to consume more meat, carbohydrates and fats, almost forgetting about fruits and vegetables. All this happened against the background of the absence of any diet - scientists noted classic overeating in a group of tested children. It has long been known that the lack of adequate sleep negatively affects neurotransmitters in the brain - they are simply depleted. The result of such exposure can be stress, because it is the neuroregulators that are responsible for good mood. It turns out to be a chain: lack of sleep - irritability - stress. And the consequence stress state may become a dangerous and complex condition that must be treated professionally.

How to regulate sleep

We recommend reading:

Too much sleep is harmful, but not enough sleep is also dangerous. What to do and how to determine how much sleep you need specifically? Firstly, if a person feels constant fatigue and always wants to sleep, then this means only one thing - you need to adjust the time daily sleep. And this does not mean that you need to set aside a day, simply sleep, turn off the phone and the doorbell - this will only have short-term action. It is necessary to increase the duration of night sleep:

  • try to go to bed as early as possible;
  • Before going to bed, do not watch TV or engage in too active work;
  • It is advisable to do this before going to bed a short walk on fresh air(without beer and strong coffee!), you can read a book - is this advice too banal? But it is very effective - it has been tested, as they say, for years.

Secondly, train your body to rest during the daytime. Some people absolutely need to sleep for at least an hour and a half during the day - they will feel great in the evening and not experience fatigue. But it would be wiser to gradually accustom yourself to rest for a maximum of 30 minutes during the day - don’t be surprised, this REM sleep quite enough to restore normal functioning of the whole body. Thirdly, you need to adjust your sleep routine. You need to go to bed and get up at the same time - if this is problematic, then use an alarm clock. And even if it’s very difficult to get up at 7 am, don’t stay in bed - spend a couple of minutes of active wakefulness (going to the toilet, hygiene procedures, making coffee and a sandwich) is enough to wake up. If you don’t know how much sleep you need, then pay attention to the data below:

Age/position

Babies At least 16 hours a day. More often than not, babies require up to 18 hours of sleep per day.
Preschool age Children should sleep at least 11 hours a day. It is better if the child gets an average of 12 hours of sleep.
School age (up to 15 years) Schoolchildren should sleep at least 10 hours a day. Taking into account the activity of children and existing associated factors, sleep duration can be increased to 12 hours.
Adolescence Sleep takes at least 9 hours a day, but no more than 10 hours.
Adults Sleep should take at least 7 hours per day, ideally you should sleep 8 hours in a row.
Old men Daily sleep should last 7-8 hours. But considering frequent awakenings And interrupted sleep (age feature), you definitely need to rest during the day - at least 1 hour.
Pregnant women at any stage The duration of sleep is 8 hours; during the day you should definitely rest for at least 1 hour, but no more than 2.
Sick Sleep duration is 8 hours, additional hours of sleep are necessary.

Of course, the table cannot be perceived as indisputable data - these are just recommendations. But you can “start” from them when creating an individual sleep and wakefulness schedule. In some cases, the body requires more sleep than indicated in the table. This may indicate health problems, or simply be a necessity in a particular case. For example, pregnancy, emotional outbursts (exams, competitions, etc.), too much physical activity - all this is considered normal, but automatically prolongs sleep time. Note: if suddenly, without visible reasons If you experience sleep disturbances, fatigue and irritability, you should consult a doctor. Most likely, these signs will indicate health problems. Sleep is unconditional health. Therefore, you should not ignore emerging problems with falling asleep, intermittent sleep, or feeling tired after waking up. And drink medications sedative and hypnotic effect It also doesn’t make sense - they should be selected by a specialist, and these medications won’t solve the problem. Even with small but persistent violations sleep needs to go full examination– the cause of this condition may lie in any organ/system. Tsygankova Yana Aleksandrovna, medical observer, therapist of the highest qualification category.

Why sleep is needed, as well as how much sleep an adult needs per day, tables of a person’s physiological need for sleep, what are the phases of sleep and what is REM, you will find out right now...

Hello friends! How often do you wake up in the morning feeling sleep-deprived and... bad mood? Or you try to sleep, tossing and turning all night, but end up feeling tired and ineffective. I'm sure everyone has experienced this state. First things first...

Dreams in understanding the past

Since ancient times, people have been trying to unravel such a phenomenon as sleep. And the question: how much sleep does an adult need per day was also of interest to ancient scientists. IN Ancient Greece It was believed that during dreams, blood fills the brain, and its outflow contributes to awakening. In Islam, this period is interpreted as something that steals the soul at night and is resurrected in the morning.

Astrologers associated the period of night rest with something mystical; it was during this period that dreams prophetic dreams, which are more often seen by representatives of the air element. By the way, the scientist chemist Dmitry Mendeleev discovered the table of chemical elements in a dream and his sign is Aquarius.

Some physiologists have suggested that sleep occurs only at the moment when brain activity devastated by different types thoughts. I will say one thing that there is truth in this, a person who is always in experiences is more difficult to fly into the world of dreams.

How much sleep does an adult need per day and what kind of Morpheus is he?

So what is sleep and why are we so dependent on its quality? Scientists have not fully understood this physiological phenomenon, however, they have defined it as a certain gap between a person’s mentally active state and the outside world. Simply put, a kind of pause to restore the body’s strength from all points of view. It is this state that occupies 1/3 of our lives.

The dream period is usually divided into sleep phases:

  • fast phase or REM, characterized by a short period of 1-2 hours, at which point rapid movement is noted eyeballs under closed eyelids, which distinguishes this type from the next one, the most interesting thing is that the brain is in a state of wakefulness;
  • the slow phase is divided into several stages:
  1. Stagelight sleep , this period is very sensitive, so a person wakes up from the slightest noise;
  1. Stagephysiological processes . At this moment, breathing stabilizes, body temperature decreases, muscle tone etc. The slightest noise may awaken you.
  1. Stage - transient, is the connecting link between the previous and subsequent final stages. Brain activity at this point it decreases.
  1. Stage – deep dream, during this period the brain receives maximum rest from external stimuli, the body regains strength. It is very difficult to wake a person; with a sudden awakening, as a rule, one loses orientation in space and lacks understanding of reality.

How much sleep does an adult need per day to be completely happy?

We are all different and our body’s need for rest also depends on age, gender, availability chronic diseases, professions, etc. In the table below you can see what physiological need person in a dream per day, depending on various circumstances.

On many forums there are debates among users about what time you should go to bed? I will say one thing that defines the moment when you urgently need to run to bed, there is no.

Many scientific physiologists and doctors have come to the same opinion: in order to get enough sleep and not feel exhausted in the morning, you need to go to bed no later than 23:00. This is due to physiological and biochemical processes that are regulated by a number of factors (mediators, etc.). If the recommendations are violated, as a result you can acquire a number of pathologies, among which are neuroses, etc.

If your type of activity involves shift work, after night shift you must divide the total amount of time allotted for sleep into two approaches. It is important to go to bed for 2-3 hours during the day, and reserve the rest of the time for the night period. Thus, the body correctly adapts to this rhythm.

How much sleep does an adult need per day, especially if he is an athlete? For athletes, the state of sleep is a period of recovery after. Bodybuilders especially need a long period for better

Why are we sleeping

Some of us believe that sleep is a waste of time, however, this is a misconception, and I can argue:

  • firstly, it is rest for the body, especially for the central nervous system, without rest for more than 5 days a person dies;
  • secondly, he plays important role in metabolism, at this moment there is a release of certain things that affect various biochemical processes, including metabolism;
  • thirdly, it promotes the assimilation of information, namely its sorting, received during wakefulness;
  • fourthly, it helps to adapt to temporary day/night changes, thereby ensuring vigor and activity of the functions of organs and systems during the daytime. It also helps to recover during illnesses, which is invaluable for health.

Why can't I sleep myself?

I am sure that at least once, you have experienced such a state when you fall off your feet, but when you put your head on the pillow, you cannot fall asleep. Such incidents arise for a number of reasons, some are transient violations, but others may signal serious illnesses. Our body is designed very rationally, and, as they say, it tolerates exactly as much as it can.

What can prevent a person from getting enough sleep:

  • eating disorders, especially overeating before bed;
  • experiences and
  • pregnancy;
  • sudden change in clock schedule;
  • taking certain medications that cause sleep disturbances;
  • climatic factor ( elevated temperature, humidity, etc.) and other reasons.

If these factors are eliminated, everything returns to normal and the usual rhythm is restored. What cannot be said about other reasons that can affect the quality and duration of the dream period.

As a rule, they are a wake-up call serious illnesses requiring special therapy. In such cases, urgent consultation with a specialist is necessary.

Reminder for proper sleep

For good night you need to pay attention to the following points:

  • don't get carried away with food in the evening, overeating is not best friend weight and sleep. If suddenly the need arises, include plant foods (light salads), fruits in your diet;
  • take walks before bed;
  • the bedroom should be ventilated;
  • a warm bath (you can add a decoction of herbs, valerian root, lavender, motherwort, etc.) or shower relaxes and helps you fall asleep quickly;
  • herbal teas(mint, lemon balm, linden and other herbs) and honey promote quality sleep;
  • eliminate factors of stress and anxiety, reading a book is suitable for this;
  • at least an hour before your night's rest, forget about mobile phones, computers and other gadgets;
  • If you are taking medications that disrupt sleep phases, your last dose should be no later than 16:00.

That's all for today.
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And let's move on!

For many years, doctors and scientists have been debating what the normal duration of sleep is for a person. For a long time It was believed that it was an eight-hour rest that maximally restored strength in the body. But in last years Not everyone agrees with this.

Sleep is a very complex phenomenon. And the duration of sleep is far from the only factor that affects a person’s well-being. Continuity of sleep, the presence of sleep phases, and the emotional state with which a person falls asleep are very important.

Sleep is considered to be the mechanism that is capable of translating all the events that happened to a person during the day or simply experienced in life into a form convenient for analysis. This is a peculiar function of the brain, with the help of which the body tries to build all experiences and emotions into a single correct chain. And at the same time, physical strength is restored.

Scientists have proven that if we sleep less than 8 hours, a special protein accumulates in the blood - amyloid, which destroys the walls of blood vessels and affects connective tissue, causing heart disease.

As a rule, in a dream a person is disturbed by those moments that the subconscious considers most important for him. emotional state and human life. Sometimes a person himself does not understand why he dreams of some people or events that he does not think about at all and does not even remember. But the fact is that here the subconscious itself decides what is really important for a person.

Each of us needs to develop for ourselves the optimal duration and mode of rest. If a person is deprived of sleep, he will develop sleep deprivation psychosis, against the background of which pathologies develop in the form of hallucinations. Sometimes a person falls into a coma. In other words, the body simply begins to sleep in reality.

Duration of rest for people of different ages

As a rule, the more experiences and emotions a person experiences during the day, the more sleep he needs at night. This is the reason why babies and very young children sleep so much. But still, scientists have calculated the average number of hours of sleep for people of different ages. Let us consider all this in more detail, based on descriptions of such time periods.


The amount of sleep you need varies because the brain needs different amounts of time to recover at different ages.

Children who are still feeding breast milk, should sleep approximately 14 to 16 hours a day. In this case, all sleep time is considered in total, since it is often not possible to put the child to sleep so that he sleeps continuously for many hours in a row. This is explained by the need for periodic, frequent feeding of the baby.

The average duration of night sleep for children aged one to two years is 10-11 hours. The long sleep time is explained by the fact that during the day the child develops many emotions as he begins to explore the world. At the same time, he perceives everything new emotionally at first, so the rest should be appropriate.

When the baby gets a little older, he should sleep 12-13 hours. This applies to all children aged 2 to 6 years. This slight decrease in sleep duration is explained by the fact that the child learns about the world, but reacts to all new things less emotionally.

From 7 to 14 years, the duration of night sleep should be reduced even more - to 10 hours. Despite the fact that this age is characterized by increased physical activity children, this time is quite enough for the body to fully rest and regain its strength.

From the age of 15, a child is already considered old enough, so scientists note that nighttime rest should be 7-8 hours a day. This also applies to all other people who have not yet turned 50 years old. The exception is for people who are sick. For them, the rest time should be increased so that the body can recover as much as possible in a short period.

For people over 50 years of age, the norm for healthy sleep is 5-8 hours a day. The reduction in sleep duration occurs due to the fact that in older age, processing the decreasing amount of new information no longer requires as many resources as before.

Rules for healthy sleep

In order not only to choose the optimal length of rest at night, but also to ensure healthy sleep, you need to adhere to a few simple rules.

They are absolutely the same for everyone, but if you do not forget about them, your health will always be normal.

First of all, you should learn to correctly determine for yourself the actual duration of sleep. In an adult, it consists solely of the number of hours of continuous sleep at night. Therefore, if a person believes that sleep begins from the moment he goes to bed, despite the fact that he can then read a book or watch TV, then this is wrong. Only the actual dream needs to be taken into account.

It is very important to determine how much sleep a person currently needs. Here we propose to conduct a small safe experiment. You should try for several days to go to bed when the body itself requires it. But at the same time, do not get up on the alarm clock, but when the body wakes up on its own. As practice shows, for most people after this experience, it is observed that the time of sleep required for complete rest of the body is approximately 1.5-2 hours more than the actual daily one.

If this is indeed the case, then you need to seriously consider increasing your actual sleep time on weekdays to necessary for the body minimum. After all, a person’s performance usually increases by 30% if he sleeps as much as needed.


Do not lie in bed answering calls or email. Also, don't watch TV in bed. The bed should be associated with sleep, not wakefulness.

Next, you should develop a rough schedule for yourself, according to which on weekdays you should try to go to bed and wake up at the same time. In the first two months this may seem quite a difficult task, but after a while the body will completely synchronize with the new biological clock. As a result, your sleep will become healthier and more complete, it will be easy to fall asleep at the right time, and in the morning it will be easy to get up when you need to, even without an alarm clock.

It is important to ensure that you get uninterrupted sleep. After all, if a person constantly sleeps restlessly, then he will no longer be able to feel good throughout the day. This usually happens to older people who wake up many times during the night. And then during the day they are constantly in a half-asleep state.

But this can often be seen in young people who are busy nervous work or who have certain serious problems, which are the cause of strong feelings. To prevent this from happening, you need to drink herbal teas, natural sedatives. This will help ensure healthy sleep.

Individual sleep duration

It is especially important to choose for yourself the individual optimal duration of rest. To do this, for 10-14 days you need to go to bed when your body requires it, and get up in the same way. You should record your clean sleep time every day.

After completing such a simple experiment, you should sum up the daily hours of sleep, and then divide it all by the number of days. This will create a constant that will show how much sleep is needed to feel normal during this particular period of life.

IN at a young age It’s not even as important to go to bed at the same time as it is to just get proper rest. It may also happen that a person only needs 4 hours to rest. However, sleeping so little every day is also harmful. This must be compensated for by other days, such as weekends.

So, what should be the normal total sleep duration for an adult has now become quite clear. As for daytime, the duration nap can be independently regulated by a person. But this only applies to those cases when the body simply requires a little extra rest.

Sound and restful sleep is the key wellness. Therefore, many are interested in the question of how much a person should sleep in order to feel alert and full of energy.

Night rest is unique and very important physiological process, which is still not fully understood. However, one thing is certain: sleep is necessary to restore the functioning of all systems. human body and, if for any reason night's rest is disrupted, the consequences can be catastrophic.

What's happened healthy sleep? With the birth of a child, parents teach him to observe a daily routine and develop concepts such as day is intended for wakefulness, and night is for complete rest of the body.

Important: During sleep, many different processes occur in the human body that have positive influence to all systems and organs. In addition, the body gets rid of daytime fatigue and improves tone.

Initially, the child adheres to the daily routine. However, as you get older, the habits developed in childhood change. Night rest takes less time, and the daytime load becomes greater.

And at this moment, the main task of a person is to rebuild his rest and work regime in such a way that the body recovers. And if the next morning you wake up feeling energized, then the chosen time for sleep is optimal.

How to form a good rest

Sound sleep is the key to human health and longevity. But how to develop the optimal regime? To do this, we suggest using the recommendations of experts:

  1. We adhere to the optimal regime. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, regardless of whether it’s a weekend or vacation. This approach will help you set up correct work biological clock.
  2. We plan time for sleep. An adult spends from 6 hours 30 minutes to 8 hours a day sleeping. But not only sleep time has an impact, the quality component of rest plays a big role. In other words, a person normally sleeps without awakening.
  3. When you wake up in the morning, try to reduce the time you get up. You shouldn't lie in bed for a long time. Otherwise, you may fall asleep again, and this will negatively affect the coming day. Warming up in bed helps a lot; it will invigorate you and put you in a positive mood for the whole working day.
  4. If you want to get a good night's sleep, spend two hours in a quiet environment before your planned rest. Avoid watching programs and films with negative plots. Avoid physical activity as well.
  5. To get a good night's sleep, avoid napping during the day. Of course, a 30-minute nap at lunch will give you strength and put your thoughts in order. However, people prone to insomnia should avoid resting during the day.
  6. It is recommended to fill your life with physical activity and a colossal flow of information during daylight hours. But when evening comes, it’s time for relaxation and rest.
  7. Smoking, drinking too much coffee and alcohol guarantee sleep deprivation and health problems. If you don’t have the will to completely say goodbye to your habits, try to reduce them to a minimum.

To have a healthy rest, make it a habit to think positively before going to bed, ventilate the bedroom, isolate extraneous sounds so that there is silence in the room and create darkness. This will help you fall asleep quickly and make your sleep deep.

Approximate norms for healthy sleep

What is the optimal amount of sleep for a person per day? It’s worth highlighting right away that there are no exact data that must be strictly adhered to. Each woman and man has a purely individual rest norm. Moreover, if a person has certain pathologies, he needs long-term rest. Because sleep has a healing effect on the body.

Important: Each person must, first of all, focus on his own well-being, in such a matter as how long his rest should last.

The duration of a night's rest is influenced by both subjective reasons and the human factor. Therefore, scientists have come to a consensus that it is recommended to normally sleep for 8 hours.

How holidays change depending on age

Age has an effect a huge impact for the duration of rest. Below is a table that clearly describes the age category of people and the average duration of their sleep.

In addition, scientists have found that fluctuations in the duration of night rest negatively affect not only its quality, but also general condition person.

In other words, by sticking to a specific sleep time, you will feel alert and have a good health, but if the duration of sleep is different, Negative consequences will follow almost instantly.

Important: There is an opinion that women need to rest more than the stronger sex. However, scientists believe that the same amount of time should be allocated.

Gender doesn’t matter, your vacation should be based on your professional activity. People engaged in mental work require long rest. But for workers involved in specialties provided for more physical activity, you can sleep less.

What time is sleep considered the most beneficial?

Normal rest largely depends on the chosen time. Many people believe that if they go to bed well after midnight and wake up closer to eleven o'clock, they will fully meet their need for rest.

In fact, this opinion is completely wrong. The optimal time to restore the body's strength is from 22:00 -23:00 to 6:00 - 7:00 in the morning. It is at this time that the process of cell regeneration of all systems and organs begins. In addition, rest at this time promotes rejuvenation skin and restoration of the central nervous system.

Is it harmful to sleep during the day?

Today, many European countries practice long-term day rest. This is due to the features climate zone. Yes, and napping in lunch break has a number of positive aspects:

  • a rested person has improved visual memory;
  • mental concentration is restored;
  • efficiency increases;
  • a good influx of energy arrives.

The main thing is not to overdo it with daytime naps. An effective result can be obtained from a 30-minute rest, anything more will provoke night insomnia. In addition, the person will have symptoms such as:

  • lethargy;
  • headache;
  • apathy.

This also applies to sleeping at sunset. It is believed that falling asleep between 17:00 and 18:00 hours will negatively affect your condition. Therefore, doctors advise not to go to bed at this time, even if you really want to. Endure your nap and go to bed later in the night.

Is it possible to eat before bed?

The quality of rest is greatly influenced by food consumption. The task of each person is to correctly schedule food intake throughout the day. At the same time, it is important to leave healthy foods for dinner.

Today there is an opinion that the last meal should be no later than 18:00. This is actually not true. If you go to bed on an empty stomach, health problems will arise in the near future. Moreover, after waking up there can be no talk of energy, and the sleep itself will not be complete.

2 hours before the planned rest, doctors recommend taking light foods. They will not cause harm to the body; on the contrary, the benefits of such a snack will be invaluable.

To avoid feeling heavy in your stomach, consume the following food groups:

  • fermented milk products;
  • chicken and turkey meat;
  • boiled eggs;
  • vegetable or fruit salads;
  • seafood.

Such food will even help normalize proper sleep. And what is important, the brain will receive good nutrition for the regeneration of systems and organs at night.

Consequences of lack of sleep and oversleeping

Why is not only lack of sleep dangerous, but also oversleeping? Let's start with the fact that there are 24 hours in a day, ideally people should spend 8 hours on:

  • work processes;
  • rest;

However, in reality, few people adhere to such a schedule. Moreover, as a rule, the time intended for recuperation is often reduced or increased. The fact is that some people prefer to solve a number of problems by reducing the duration of sleep.

But others, on the contrary, prefer to go to bed much earlier than the scheduled time. As a result, we have a lack of sleep or oversleeping, which equally negatively affect our well-being, manifesting itself with the following symptoms:

  • isolation, lethargy and apathy;
  • a sharp decrease in serotonin production as a result of which a person begins to suffer from depression;
  • the appearance of nervousness and irritability;
  • decreased performance;
  • decreased mental abilities;
  • premature aging;
  • deterioration in physical fitness;
  • almost everything malfunctions important systems body.

These are the consequences chronic lack of sleep. However, oversleeping also has a number of consequences, namely:

  • drowsiness observed throughout the day;
  • depression;
  • swelling of the body due to long stay bodies in one position;
  • problems with excess weight.

As we see, the lack and abuse of night rest equally affects the human body negatively. Therefore, doctors recommend calculating the optimal norms for your body and sticking to them. To make your task easier, use an online calculator.

It is important to understand that the right time for rest guarantees a person complete rest. Moreover, you will wake up refreshed and well-rested in the morning. Moreover, this positive charge will remain throughout the day.

Learning to wake up early correctly

So, we found out how much sleep you need to feel rested. Now let's look at one more thing important issue How to teach your body to fall asleep and wake up in the morning correctly.

If a person wakes up early in the morning cheerful and rested, he can do a lot of useful things without getting tired. Because at this time efficiency is at its highest. But, to achieve this state, you first need to find out how much sleep an adult needs per day. In addition, much depends on the following factors:

  • what time did the person go to rest in the evening;
  • what phase of sleep is occurring at the moment of awakening.

In general, if you fall asleep at 22:00 and wake up at 6:30, you will feel a surge of energy. Because with such a schedule, during this period a short stage of sleep occurs, which is suitable for awakening.

In addition, there are rules that you can follow to wake up early and correctly in the morning:

  • Optimal humidity and air levels will help you feel more alert after waking up. According to Dr. Komarovsky, regular ventilation, dust removal and humidification of the bedroom will make waking up early easier;
  • Set an alarm clock and place it a few meters away. This cunning trick will make you wake up in the morning from the sound and overcome the distance to turn off;
  • if using an alarm clock fails to accustom the body to early awakenings, ask your family to call at a certain time;
  • after waking up, take a shower and drink green tea with honey and lemon.

It will take about two weeks to form the habit of waking up early in the morning, then the body will turn on the biological alarm clock and wake up without difficulty.