How Much Sleep Do You Really Need?

I think the question we all begin asking ourselves about the time we see 3 AM a couple of nights in a row is "how much sleep do I actually need"?  Here is a short article that I found that may help with the answer.


Enjoy!

The average adult needs about seven to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep per 24 hour
cycle. However, average sleep time for adults will vary depending on individual and
circumstance.

There’s a minority of adults who actually need up to nine hours of sleep per night, while
another small percentage of adults need fewer than seven to function well through the
day. For most healthy adults, eight hours is enough under normal circumstances.

Every individuals need are unique when it comes to amount of sleep needed. Here are
some average recommended hours of sleep by age under regular circumstances:



0 – 12 months                       14 - 18 hours
1 – 3 years                            12 – 15 hours
3 – 5 years                            11 – 13 hours
5 – 12 years                           9 – 11 hours
13 – 19 years                         9 – 10 hours
20 + years                             7  –   8 hours

There are other factors, of course, to take into considerate when it comes to the amount of
sleep one should be getting. Here are a few of them:

• Injury. Injury of any major type will cause the body to use much of it’s energy,
proteins and nutrients on healing and rebuilding. An injured person should sleep
whenever he or she feels it is required.

• Pregnancy. Pregnant women may need more sleep just as they may require more
food. Women in the early and late stages of pregnancy can tire more easily and
this may too come in spurts that last a few days to several weeks.

• Illness or disease. When the body is fighting off an illness, just as with an injury,
more energy is needed, more nutrients are used and, more sleep is required. This
is true for simple sicknesses or chronic diseases.

• Changing hormones. A change in hormones can alter the amounts of sleep needed
for young adults up to age 18, and in older adults entering into menopause.

• Emotional stress. This can be anything from a change in jobs, a big move, or a
death of a loved one. As people go through emotional stress or trauma, they may
require more sleep.

Individuals all have different sleep requirements at different stages and different ages.

Original Article Here

*******
Nathan says:  Judging by this article I would say that I am way off on my sleep times.....

How about you?  About how much time are you getting per night?  What are the affects you've seen?

Also, please feel free to check out my Facebook page, and share the love!
*******