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How Much Sleep Do You Need?

The importance of sleep.

Sleep is vital for our health and well-being. It is our body’s way of “charging its batteries,” giving us the ability to function in our daily lives. Without it our energy levels, concentration, and cognition suffer. 

But how much sleep do we need? Does it depend on factors such as gender or age?

How long can we go without sleep? 

What are signs of sleep deprivation? 

Or what if you always wake up tired no matter how much sleep you get?

We unpack these questions and more below.

How Much Sleep Do Kids Need?

Kids need more hours of sleep than you do per night and even benefit from naps during the day (especially infants and toddlers).

According to the National Sleep Foundation, newborns need 14-17 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period. 

As children grow up, they can run on less sleep. For example, a 4-year old needs 10-13 hours of sleep, while a teenager only needs 8-10 hours. 

However in general when compared to adults, children need more sleep because sleep is the essential building block when looking at growth and development. This can be applied to so many facets of the body, from cognition & memory, to the immune system. Even a child’s bones grow during sleep. 

Ironically enough, when a body is at rest, that is when it truly gets to work! 

To learn more about why sleep is important for children (and the negative consequences that are apparent when a child does not get enough sleep), we recommend Elizabeth Gehrman’s article “A Child’s Need for Sleep,” published in Harvard Medical School’s magazine. It also dives into naps specifically and the cognitive and emotional benefits of these particular hours of sleep when regularly implemented into a child’s daily routine.

How Much Sleep Do Women Need?

Women need 7-9 hours of sleep per night, which is also the recommended amount for men. Some studies do show that women need more sleep than men, but it is pretty negligible at only 11-20 minutes more on average per night. However, keep in mind that women need more sleep during major events such as pregnancy and menopause. 

If you are pregnant but are having a difficult time sleeping due to physical discomfort, you may want to try a body pillow for extra support while sleeping on your side.

Extra sleep is also recommended during menstruation since fatigue is a common symptom while experiencing blood loss and hormone level fluctuations. However, hormonal fluctuations happen throughout the month and some studies show more sleep may be needed during ovulatory and luteal phases as well. The most important thing is to listen to your individual body. It will tell you when more rest is necessary!

How Long Can Someone Go Without Sleep?

We don’t recommend participating in a self-induced “no sleep” experiment. It is dangerous and can have serious negative health impacts. Even within the first 24 hours, you’ll start to notice that you feel almost as if you’ve had too much to drink with symptoms like slurred speech, irritability, and difficulty focusing (both your mind and vision). 

When you push the boundaries longer, your hormones, metabolism, and even body temperature can be affected. In a Cleveland Clinic article, Dr. Michelle Drerup, PsyD, DBSM, explains what happens after 36 hours of no sleep: “This is where we start to see a greater physical impact on our health. With this level of sleep deprivation, we’re likely to see higher levels of inflammatory markers in the blood.”

But how long can a person go without sleep? If you are curious about the topic, there is really no concrete answer or exact number. But people have indeed gone several days. The highest known record is 18 days 21 hours 40 minutes. 

The Guiness Book of World Records no longer has sleep deprivation as an open category to pursue due to the danger associated with it. 

We always recommend prioritizing sleep in your daily life. To learn more about the consequences of sleep deprivation, as well as the benefits you can experience when you allocate enough time for sleep, check out this blog post.

Why Am I Always Tired?

“Why am I always sleepy no matter how much sleep I get?” If this is you, we know how frustrating it can be. Unfortunately, it isn’t a simple thing to pinpoint. It could be stress, too much caffeine, alcohol consumption, thyroid dysfunction, poor blood sugar regulation, depression or other mental health disorders, lack of proper vitamins & minerals, not enough exercise, nervous system dysregulation, anemia, a pre-existing medical condition, or many other potential factors.

It is important to speak to a healthcare provider about your symptoms. They may order blood tests as a starting point for diagnosis. 

Always be your own health advocate!

How Much REM Sleep Should You Get?

REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement and is one of the stages in your sleep cycle.

If you are getting the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep a night, approximately 25% of that time is REM, so about 2 hours when looking at an 8-hour sleep schedule.

REM sleep is vital for memory and mood. The brain is an incredible organ that acts much like a computer. While you’re sleeping, it processes the information you learned during the day, the activities you participated in, the conversations you had, etc. It essentially takes a consensus of your day and then decides what to keep in your memory “storage” and what to discard. There is a reason why we don’t remember every single moment of our lives and every discussion we’ve had–we can’t possibly. Imagine if you were walking around with detailed memories of every single thing in your life over the span of decades–it would be so overwhelming! The brain stores certain things but makes room for future memories, for our own sanity.

How Much Sleep Should I Get?

If you are an adult, you really need to aim for a minimum of 7 hours of sleep each night, but preferably 8 or 9 hours. Of course, life can make it challenging to get a proper night’s sleep, especially for new parents or work schedules that aren’t your typical 9-5.

We do recommend prioritizing sleep as much as possible because it is so integral to overall health and wellness. 

Wishing you healthy, restorative sleep!

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