How much sleep do you really need?

We all love an early night now and again, but did you know that sleep is also one of the most essential parts of life in general? There are so many different benefits to getting enough sleep, and it’s pretty clear that we cannot function in life if we are sleep deprived. There are a lot of things that play a role in developing the ideal sleep routine

Have you ever wondered just how much sleep you actually need? Of course, this is a relative term, and something you need to make sure you think about. Every person is different, but is there an acceptable amount of sleep that we actually require in order to get by? Let’s take a look more closely at how much sleep we require in order to operate at our physical and mental peak.

Accepted amount of sleep

The accepted amount of sleep people are expected to be getting varies depending upon age. Babies, for instance, seem to do nothing but sleep, whereas elderly people seem like they rarely sleep at all! Science suggests that healthy adults should be looking to get between 7-9 hours of sleep per night. You’d be surprised how much even one hour less of sleep can affect you during the day. Of course, the quality of sleep is more important than the quantity, so you need to work on improving this where you can.

Signs you aren’t getting enough

So, how do you know if you aren’t getting enough sleep? Well, aside from looking at the time on your watch, there are some signs to look for that can help you to determine this. Sleep deprivation is something that affects a lot of people, and it can have an adverse effect on your day to day life. You need to look out for signs that you are suffering from sleep deprivation. Some of these include needing an alarm clock to wake you up, feeling sluggish in the afternoons, and falling asleep within minutes of going to bed.

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How you can get more

Getting more sleep is something that you need to work toward, and the best way of achieving this is to make sure you try to improve your sleep routine. This is something that you can work on in a number of ways, including getting a new mattress, changing the temperature of the room, and getting blinds instead of curtains. If you have young children, you should look at working on their bed-time routine, and you will benefit by extension. 

Photo: Getty Images

Making sure you get the right amount of sleep is so important, but there are a lot of things you can do to improve the quality of your sleep and ensure that you get enough. Think about the best way of taking your night-time routine and improving it, to ensure you’re getting a good night’s sleep, every night.

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