Your Guide to Healthy Sleep
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Are You Sleep Deprived?
Medical Author: Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD
Medical Editor: Jay W. Marks, MD
 No matter how much sleep you need, if you don't get enough, you will suffer
the effects of sleep deprivation. Research has shown that in tests of driving
ability and hand-eye coordination, people deprived of sleep perform as badly as,
or even worse than, people who are intoxicated. It's no wonder that drowsiness
is a major cause of traffic accidents and deaths.
Individuals vary in their need for sleep. Some people require nine or more
hours of sleep per night, while others may not feel deprived after just five
hours of sleep. But the average adult requires seven to eight hours of sleep per
night.
Are you getting enough sleep? Ask yourself the following questions:
- Do you often feel drowsy during the day?
- Do you usually fall asleep within the first five minutes after lying
down in bed?
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Introduction to sleep
When you're in a rush to meet work, school, family, or
household responsibilities, do you cut back on your sleep? Like many people, you
might think that sleep is merely a "down time" when the brain shuts off and the body
rests. Think again.
What is sleep?
Sleep was long considered just a uniform block of time
when you are not awake. Thanks to sleep studies done over the past several
decades, it is now known that sleep has distinctive stages that cycle throughout
the night. Your brain stays active throughout sleep, but different things happen
during each stage. For instance, certain stages of sleep are indeed for us to feel well
rested and energetic the next day, and other stages help us learn or make
memories.
In brief, a number of vital tasks carried out during sleep help maintain good
health and enable people to function at their best. On the other hand, not
getting enough sleep can be dangerous-for example, you are more likely to be in
a car crash if you drive when you are drowsy.
How much sleep is enough?
Sleep needs vary from person to person, and they change throughout the
lifecycle. Most adults need 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Newborns, on
the other hand, sleep between 16 and 18 hours a day, and children in preschool
sleep between 10 and 12 hours a day. School-aged children and teens need at
least 9 hours of sleep a night.
Some people believe that adults need less sleep as they get older. But there
is no evidence to show that older people can get by with less sleep than younger
people. As people age, however, they often get less sleep or they tend to spend
less time in the deep, restful stages of sleep. Older people are also more easily
awakened.
Why sleep is good for you and skimping on it isn't
Does it really matter if you get enough sleep? Absolutely! Not only does the
quantity of your sleep matter, but the quality of your sleep is important as
well. People whose sleep is interrupted a lot or is cut short might not get
enough of certain stages of sleep. In other words, how well rested you are and
how well you function the next day depend on your total sleep time an dhow much
of the various stages of sleep you get each night.
Performance: We need sleep to think clearly, react quickly, and create
memories. Inf act, the pathways in the brain that help us learn and remember are
very active when we sleep. Studies show that people who are taught mentally
challenging tasks do better after a good night's sleep. Other research suggests
that sleep is needed for creative problem solving.
Skimping on sleep has a price. Cutting back by even 1 hour can make it tough
to focus the next day and can slow your response time. Studies also find that
when you lack sleep, you are more likely to make bad decisions and take more
risks. This can result in lower performance on the job or in school and a
greater risk for a car crash.
Mood: Sleep also affects mood. Insufficient sleep can make you
irritable and is linked to poor behavior and trouble with relationships,
especially among children and teens. People who chronically lack sleep are also
more likely to become depressed.
Health: Sleep is also
important for good health. Studies show that not getting enough sleep or getting
poor quality sleep on a regular basis increases the risk of having high blood
pressure, heart disease, and other medical
conditions.
In addition, during sleep, your body produces valuable hormones. Deep sleep
triggers more release of growth hormone, which
fuels growth in children, and helps build muscle mass and repair cells and
tissues in children and adults. Another type of hormone that increases during sleep works to fight various
infections. This might explain why a good night's sleep helps keep you from
getting sick-and helps you recover when you do get sick.
Hormones released during sleep also affect how the body uses energy. Studies
find that the less people sleep, the more likely they are to be overweight or
obese, to develop diabetes, and to prefer eating foods that are high in calories
and carbohydrates.
Next: How much sleep do you need? »
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