Getting Enough Sleep
It's Not How Much You Sleep but the Quality.
Feeling exhausted harms your daily life, from work to your leisure time, and can even affect your perception of the world. As a result, your job, leisure, motivation, focus, perception of the world, and other's perceptions of you will be impacted.
A busy schedule, alcohol intake, caffeine intake, or poor sleeping conditions can affect how much you sleep and how well you sleep.
Although there isn't a single recommendation that works for everyone on how much sleep you need each night, figuring out what is suitable for you is key to living a holistic lifestyle.
If you feel like you are not getting enough sleep each night, you can use this guideline to help you determine what's right for you.
How Many Hours?
The suggestions below are minimum and maximum ranges of the length of sleep by age group to use as a rule of thumb when gauging how much rest you need every day.
Newborns (0-3 months): 14-17 hours per day
Infants (4-11 months): 12-15 hours per day
Toddlers (1-2 years): 11-14 hours per day
Preschoolers (3-5 years): 10-13 hours per day
School-age children (6-13 years): 9-11 hours per day
Teenagers (14-17 years): 8-10 hours per day
Adults (18-64 years): 7-9 hours per day
Older Adults (65+ years): 7-8 hours per day
There are always outliers for each group; if you don't feel the recommendations suit you, adjust accordingly. The critical takeaway here is knowing your habits and waking up feeling refreshed.
What are the stages of sleep?
There are two stages of sleep: non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM).
In NREM sleep, the first stage is soon after you fall asleep. It lasts about ten minutes and is very light sleep awakening easily. The second stage lasts about 30 minutes to an hour, with your muscles relaxing, and you may begin to have slow-wave brain activity.
When you reach stage three, deep sleep can last between 20 and 40 minutes. During this stage, your slow-wave brain activity increases. You usually progress through each step before entering REM sleep, which can take up to 2 hours. REM sleep is when dreams occur.
What happens to my body when I don't get enough sleep?
Holistic living depends on adequate sleep as it sets the stage for a full and productive day and affects your overall health. Proper sleep and a healthy diet are the cornerstones of a holistic lifestyle.
Lack of proper sleep can cause problems such as:
Getting sick. Lack of sleep suppresses your immune system.
Increase your chances of developing chronic diseases.
Impacting your memory,
Develop high blood pressure, diabetes, or possible stroke.
How can I improve my sleep quality?
Changing evening habits that impact sleep is essential for improved quality of sleep. A few recommendations include:
Stick to a sleep schedule, even on weekends.
Create a relaxing nighttime routine. Avoiding electronics 1 hour before bed staying away from caffeine, alcohol, and heaving snacks can improve your sleep quality.
Exercise daily.
Ensure your bedroom is ideal for temperature, sound, and lighting.
Invest in a comfortable mattress, pillow, and sheet set.
Avoid watching TV in bed, working on the laptop, surfing the internet, or chatting.
Address your overall wellness: mind, body, and spirit. Solid oral health is a 24/7 effort and adventure, but you will love how you feel once you start!