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HOW MUCH SLEEP DO I NEED

Today, we are answering the age-old question: how much sleep do I need?

Of course, it all depends on who you are, how old you are, your personal preferences, daily activity level, lifestyle, etc. We are breaking it all down for you and telling you exactly how much sleep you should get to be performing your best during the day.

Table of Contents

How Much Sleep Do Kids Need

Children have very different sleeping needs than adults. They grow while sleeping, and it is an important time for their brain to process information from their day. It is very important to ensure that your baby and child get all of the sleep they need to avoid concentration issues, mood swings, and behavior problems such as tantrums, etc.

It is also well known that rested child = rested parent. The entire household’s well being, in fact, depends on how well the children sleep.

So how much sleep do kids need? Based on research from Nemours Kids Health, newborns and babies should sleep up to 17 hours per day.

Babies And Kids Up To Age 5

Children up to age 5 should be put down to take a nap (or several) during the day.

Including naps, young children should sleep the following, based on their age:

  • 0–3 months: 14–17 hours
  • 4–12 months: 12–16 hours
  • 1–2 years: 11–14 hours
  • 3–5 years: 10–13 hours

School-Aged Children Ages 6 to 17

Once children enter school age and start attending school and collective time / activities, parents will typically sleep that naps are dropped. This makes quality nighttime sleep even more important.

  • 6–13 years: 9–12 hours
  • 14–17 years: 8–10 hours

Did you know that teens should sleep up to 10 hours a day? If your 15-year old goes to sleep at 10PM, that means that he should not wake until 6 to 8AM to get his full 8 to 10 hours of sleep.

How To Tell If My Child Is Not Getting Enough Sleep

Just as with adults, some children naturally need less sleep than others. However, if your child seems to sleep a lot less than the above recommended sleeping times, make sure to discuss your concerns with his/her pediatrician.

If you think that your child is not getting enough sleep, watch for the following signs:

  • is your child hyper during the day or at nighttime, especially during regular bedtime / nighttime?
  • Does your child fall asleep at times when s/he should be awake?
  • Does your child have frequent meltdowns, tantrums, moody episodes?
  • Does your child have concentration issues at school, at home, with tutors or other caregivers?

How Much Sleep Do Adults Need

Personal needs, lifestyle, daily activity levels can all impact how much sleep adults need.

How Much Sleep Do Adults Need – General Guidelines

Under general guidelines, most adults need around 8 hours of sleep. Adults 18 to 64 years old typically require 7 to 9 hours of daily sleep. If you go to bed at 11PM, you would need to wake up between 6AM and 8AM to have slept a full night of restorative sleep.

Older adults aged 65+ have similar requirements, and should sleep 7 to 8 hours a day to be fully rested. According to a study published in PubMed, adults 65+ typically awake about 1.5 hour earlier, and go to sleep about 1 hour earlier, than they did at age 20-30.

How Does Lifestyle Impact Sleeping Needs?

It is important to note that lifestyle can have a significant impact of your sleeping needs. Make sure you are paying attention to changes in your sleep patterns during the year and making adjustments as you see fit. Listening to your body is paramount to living a healthy lifestyle. There will be moments when you have to hit the break pedal – do not ignore those moments, take care of yourself! You are your best advocate!

Stress Level

One of the biggest factors when it comes to times of poor sleep (i.e., waking up frequently, trouble falling asleep, waking up earlier than usual, more tossing and turning, etc.) is stress level. You will notice that, during times of high stress, you are finding it difficult to fall asleep and/or stay asleep. During those times, make sure you give your body extra rest to recover from stress. If it takes a nap to get that sleep in, give yourself some time to sleep and recover when you get home from work, or during the weekends.

Work Schedule

We all have times when work takes over personal time. In those moments, your brain is triggered, you may be lacking physical exercise, stress is typically high, and you may require more sleep. Those working irregular or longer hours than usual, may need more sleep during those demanding times, in order to rest their bodies and minds.

Diet

Unless it is Thanksgiving and you are sleepy thanks to your mom’s turkey, most disruptions to diet will lead to a loss of sleep quality. Diets high in caffeine or sugar will typically disrupt sleep and reduce the amount of sleep an adult needs.

Activity Levels

Daily activity levels can have a serious impact to how much sleep adults need. Physical activity is paramount to leading a healthy lifestyle, and it is proven to help your body feel heatlhy, and you mind happy. While physical activity is known to improve the quality of your sleep, people engaging into demanding physical activity may require longer hours of sleep to help their bodies recover and repair.

What Happens During Sleep

During sleep, the body works through a cycle of four sleep phases. The brain works through different wave patterns, and your body through different muscle activity, singular to each sleep sleep phase. Each full cycle averages 90 minutes and you will go through 4 to 6 cycles each night.

According to the National Library Of Medicine, “the time spent in each sleep stage develops and changes as we age, with the consistent trend being that amounts of sleep decrease as individuals age.”

5% In Light Sleep

Only about 5% of sleep is spent in light sleep. That phase typically only lasts 1 to 5 minutes and involves muscle toning and regular breathing. During that stage, you drift in and out of sleep, you can be easily awaken, and your muscles are starting to relax.

45% In Deeper Sleep

During phase 2, your heart rate and body temperature drop. Your brain activity goes through sleep spindles, which contribute to memory consolidation. Those brain waves are longer and last about 1 second. This second phase lasts about 25 minutes in the first cycle, and gets longer with each cycle, as the night progresses.

25% In Deepest Non-REM Sleep

During the deepest non-REM sleep phase, your brain waves have the lowest frequency, but highest amplitude. This phase is considered your deepest sleep. This is the hardest part of sleep to wake up from – even loud noises wake not wake you. If you do awake from deep non-REM sleep, expect to feel groggy and in a bit of a mental fog, known as sleep inertia, which can last 30 minutes to an hour.

This is the stage “when the body repairs and regrows tissues, builds bone and muscle and strengthens the immune system. This is also the stage when sleepwalking, night terrors, and bedwetting occurs.” It is also interesting to note that, as adults age, they spend less and less time in this third sleep stage.

25% In REM

REM is the dream stage. Because brain waves are very similar to brain waves during wakefulness, this sleep stage is not considered restful. While the body’s muscles do not move during REM, the eyes muscles and breathing are very active, and can be erratic and irregular. The REM phase typically starts about 90 minutes after falling sleep, and gets longer with every sleeping phase. Your first REM phase may only last about 10 minutes, while your last one can last up to a full hour. 

The Effects Of Lack Of Sleep

Being well aware of your sleeping patterns and correcting lack of sleep as you feel it happening, can prevent some rather unpleasant side effects. Lack of sleep can adversely impact your quality of life, functioning, and well-being by affecting our memory and ability to think clearly, while sleep deprivation can lead to neurological dysfunction such as mood swings and hallucinations. Family life can be negatively disrupted, so is the ability to care for children in the home, or even yourself. [source]

Drug-Free Sleeping Aids

If you are one of the nearly 70 million Americans dealing with insomnia, we have tested some drug-free sleeping aids that may help you reach a healthy sleeping routine.

Dodow Sleep Aid

The Dodown Sleep Aid was developed by a team of French insomniacs looking for a healthy alternative to sleeping pills. This little device can be set on your bedside table or on the floor near your bed. Tune your breathing to the small light projected on your ceiling. Set on a rhythm that will inevitably induce sleep, you will fall asleep naturally, and can easily start a new cycle, should you awaken in the middle of the night.

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Apollo Neuro

This wearable device helps with more than falling asleep. Watch your body get stronger at fighting stress and anxiety, thanks to a schedule of vibrations you set for your day (7 total choices). As the wearable device vibrates, its touch therapy rebalances your body’s natural nervous system, helping you naturally fight stress, anxiety, and lack of focus, in turn preparing you for a longer night of deeper sleep. The sleep mode becomes a gentle reminder to tune down and fall asleep, which your nervous system trains itself to accept as its cue to fall asleep.

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Proper Natural Sleep Aid

Proper Natural Sleep Aid offers several packages of monthly deliveries designed to help you sleep and more. Choose from a CBD formulation (Oregon-source hemp extract), and a non-CBD one, with options that can impact sleep, as well as functions such as: restoring, immunity, calm, and clarity.

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Weighted Blankets

You have probably heard it before, but weighted blankets use a weighted touch therapy to apply gentle deep pressure to increase the release of the well-being hormone, while inhibit the release of the stress hormone. There are many models on the market and below are two of our favorites.

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FAQ

Most frequent questions and answers

While this depends on lifestyle and personal preferences, most adults need between 7 and 9 hours of daily sleep.

Newborn children may need up to 17 hours of sleep daily, including naps. As children age, their sleeping needs decrease. School-aged children need about 9 to 13 hours of sleep each day, while teenagers need 8 to 10 hours of sleep.

As your brain cycles through several sleeping stages, your body processes the day’s information and experiences. It also recovers, consolidates memory, repairs and regrows tissues, strengthens your immune system and more.

External factors such as stress, working hours, depression,  healthy issues, diet, activity levels, and age, can all affect the quality of your sleep and its recovery.

More Sleep Resources

What can impact my sleep?

External factors such as stress, working hours, depression,  healthy issues, diet, activity levels, and age, can all affect the quality of your sleep and its recovery.

How much sleep do I need?

While this depends on lifestyle and personal preferences, most adults need between 7 and 9 hours of daily sleep.

How much sleep do kids need?

Newborn children may need up to 17 hours of sleep daily, including naps. As children age, their sleeping needs decrease. School-aged children need about 9 to 13 hours of sleep each day, while teenagers need 8 to 10 hours of sleep.

What happens when I sleep?

As your brain cycles through several sleeping stages, your body processes the day's information and experiences. It also recovers, consolidates memory, repairs and regrows tissues, strengthens your immune system and more.

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Laura Georgieff
Laura Georgieff

Laura is a mother of three who did not sleep through the night for the first 5.5 years of her kids' lives. She is passionate about sleep quality and loves sharing her experience and knowledge of all thing bedding! It is her mission to help you make the best decisions when it comes to sleep and help you get the best deal on the market!

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