Sleep is important for all of us. Duration and quality influence your well-being. And restful sleep keeps you fit and healthy. We tell you your optimal sleep duration!
Every person needs 8 hours of sleep a day. This figure should be the key for the optimal sleep duration be. And make sure you're fit and rested the next day.
This opinion was widespread for a long time. But you can't make such a sweeping statement.
The optimal amount of sleep varies a bit from person to person. Nevertheless, there are a few rules of thumb for the right amount of sleep, which I would like to tell you here.
If you're constantly tired and unable to perform, you're either sleeping too much or too little.
In the long run, this can have an impact on body and mind. Here you can find out how much sleep is actually necessary and what the optimal sleep duration is.
Table of contents
Why is sufficient sleep so important?
Sleep is important. We know that. But why? At night, our body refuels its energy stores and restful sleep is also enormously important for the mind.
Sleep consists of these phases: Sleep onset phase, light sleep phase, deep sleep and REM sleep.
These phases repeat several times per night and last about 90 minutes in total. The phases are characterized by different brain activities. The sleep phases are important for recovery and processing what has been learned.
Those who sleep less risk losses in performance and have poorer memory.
Effects of too little sleep
- You have difficulty concentrating,
- you are not efficient,
- more susceptible to diseases,
- are tired and weary and
- are in a bad mood.
With too little sleep, serious diseases can occur. However, too much sleep also has bad effects on the body, mind and psyche. So what is the optimal amount of sleep?
What does age have to do with sleep duration
The optimal sleep duration depends above all on the Age ab. The American National Sleep Foundation analyzed more than 320 studies. It came to the following conclusion:
The recommended amount of sleep for adults is seven to eight hours. Maximum nine hours.
People over 65 usually get by on five to six hours of sleep at night. However, they often take a nap during the day. And so they get seven to eight hours.
More sleep is needed by babies and adolescents. Babies are masters at sleeping. They need 14 to 17 hours of sleep a day. However, these values can fluctuate and be as high as eleven or 19 hours.
The long sleep duration is mainly related to the growth hormones. Normally, a regular rhythm settles in by the age of three months at the latest.
Toddlers still sleep 12 to 14 hours a day and older children nine to eleven hours. Children's sleep rhythm and optimal sleep duration are very important for their physical and mental development.
Optimal sleep duration for adolescents
Children of kindergarten age sleep about ten to 13 hours. Less sleep here can lead to behavioral problems. Children between the ages of six and thirteen need nine to eleven hours of sleep. This is mainly due to information processing after school. After all, what is learned during the day is stored and processed during the night. And a study by the University of Tübingen has shown that longer sleep promotes intelligence.
Growing teenagers need eight to ten hours of sleep. This is because their hormonal balance changes during puberty and they need energy. Young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 should sleep seven to nine hours. According to a study by the University of Southern Denmark, lack of sleep in men reduces testosterone levels and sperm.
On what factors does the optimal sleep duration depend?
One of the largest studies on the question of optimal sleep duration took place in California. The University of California in San Diego studied over one million people for six years.
The result for perfect sleep duration in adults was about seven hours. Researchers at the University of Freiburg speak of a range of five to ten hours per night.
However, factors such as age, genes and physical activity play a major role.
How much sleep do I need?
There are different ways his optimal sleep duration and answer the question "How much sleep do I need?". Here you will learn three methods.
Test over three nights for the correct duration of sleep
Every person's need for sleep is individual. It varies from person to person.
While it is within a certain range, there are individual variations.
In order to find out the personal sleep requirement, a test on vacation is suitable.
Because you should have three days in a row where no alarm clock rings.
The test works like this:
- Avoid caffeine, alcohol and nicotine in the evening.
- Go to bed when you are tired.
- Also, refrain from taking a nap or power nap during the day.
- Don't set an alarm clock.
- Sleep until you wake up on your own and feel fit.
- Calculate the number of hours slept.
- After three days, you take an average.
- This number is your personal optimal sleep duration.
It shows you how much sleep you need to be fit and alert. Stick to this number in the future. Try not to sleep more, especially on weekends - at least not more than one or two hours more than usual.
Those who keep to their optimal sleep duration fall asleep better and get up more easily.
Set the wake up time
You can train your body to always get up at the same time.
The time does not matter, what is important is the consistency.
In the beginning, you will probably still need the alarm clock. It is better if you wake up by yourself.
In the evening, you should go to bed when you get tired.
Don't force yourself to stay awake. If you are still too awake, don't go to bed yet. If you keep getting up at the same time for about two weeks, your body will get used to it. It will then signal you when to go to bed.
Set the bedtime
In this variant, you set the bedtime. Choose the time so that it is theoretically possible to sleep ten hours. So always go to bed at the same time and pay attention to when you wake up in the morning.
You should wake up by yourself and without an alarm clock. Because the alarm clock would dilute the result.
Of course, you can set an alarm clock for emergencies. Note the wake-up times and sleep duration in this test.
The tests should help you to answer the question "How much sleep do I need?" to answer. Once the answer is found, it's a good way to ensure that restful sleep keeps you healthy.
And if your optimal sleep duration differs, listen to your body. We often need less sleep in summer than in winter.
What happens when you don't sleep enough?
Too little sleep is associated with reduced performance and fatigue during the day. In addition, your creativity and ability to orient yourself suffers. And your ability to react is also slowed down.
Since sleep is important for hormone production, this suffers from a lack of sleep. During sleep, for example, the appetite-inhibiting hormone leptin is released.
Sleeping too little can lead to obesity. Overall, people who sleep too little have a higher mortality rate.
Seniors reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and dementia if they sleep at least seven or eight hours a day.
This is because too little sleep affects sensitivity to insulin. Studies have found that sleep has an enormous influence on the risk of diabetes.
Compensating for an acute lack of sleep is not difficult, by the way. After a long night, you simply stay in bed longer. It's a different story with chronic sleep deprivation. Then it's a matter of taking a vacation and trying to catch up on sleep.
What happens when you sleep too much?
As mentioned, too much sleep also has negative consequences. Spending too much time in bed is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and obesity.
The development of diabetes is associated with too much sleep.
A study by the University of Cambridge also demonstrated a higher risk of stroke.
As a rule of thumb, more than eight hours is considered too much sleep. If you sleep about nine hours a day and wake up tired, you should consult a doctor. He can clarify the question "How much sleep do I need?
A midday nap is especially good for seniors. They usually don't sleep more than five or six hours at night. That's why they make up for it with naps during the day.
A midday nap is well suited for pregnant women. This is because it compensates for the increased energy requirements during pregnancy. Shift workers with irregular working hours benefit from an afternoon nap. But a nap can also be healthy for everyone else.
Conditions for the healthy nap
Experts recommend certain conditions for a restful nap.
- The power nap should last between 20 and 40 minutes at the most.
- The nap should always take place before 3 pm.
Late naps have a negative effect on the quality of sleep at night. If you pay attention to this, naps can make you more creative, more relaxed and more productive. In some countries, such as China and Denmark, naps are even included in employment contracts.
Our conclusion
Sleep is important and one of the most important factors for health, fitness, performance. There are recommendations for the optimal duration of sleep. However, it differs from person to person. You should find out the right time to sleep for you individually.
There is no clear answer to the question "How much sleep do I need? Because the range here is from five to ten hours. Healthy sleep has many positive effects on body and mind: For example, lower risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease and less overweight. You also perform better and are in a better mood. And an afternoon nap of no more than 40 minutes can restore your energy.
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