Sleep—it’s something we take advantage of as children and only seem to begin appreciating when we have no time for it. According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), sleep indicates a person’s general health and well-being. People can spend up to one third of their lives asleep, but how much should they be sleeping?
The NSF conducted a study over more than two years to determine just how much a person at different stages in their life should be sleeping. Everyone has heard that eight hours is the staple, but this is not necessarily true. Generally, the younger a person is, the more sleep is recommended per night to maintain their health.
For the newborn bracket of zero to three months, 14 to 17 hours of sleep are recommended. Infants (four to 11 months) ought to have 12 to 15 hours, toddlers (one to two years) should sleep 11 to 14 hours and preschoolers (three to five years) should get ten to 13 hours. Children from ages six to 13 should have between nine and 11 hours of sleep.
Teenagers ought to have between eight and ten hours, and young adults (18 to 25 years) should be sleeping seven to nine hours per night. Adults between 26 and 64 years old also need seven to nine hours. The last bracket is adults older than 65 years, who are only recommended seven to eight hours a night.
These times listed refer to the basal sleep needs of a person, or the amount of sleep that the body needs on a regular basis to perform at its best. According to the NSF, if a person frequently does not get the recommended amount of sleep for their age bracket, they are at risk for gaining a sleep debt. Sleep debt refers to the accumulated sleep lost through poor sleep habits, sickness or other environmental factors.
Once a person has a sleep debt, it can take time to resolve; often a person needs more than just a night or two where they meet their basal need. A person with a sleep debt can feel less alert and generally sluggish.
Unfortunately, many Americans are not meeting these needs on a regular basis. According to ABC News, Americans work more than people in any other industrialized country, including England, France, Germany or Japan. Additionally, Americans take fewer vacation days, work longer shifts and retire later in life.
This has led to less sleep on a nightly basis and a rise in stress. According to ABC, there are growths in stress-indicative trends such as road rage and workplace shootings. Also, there have been a greater number of children enrolled in day cares and more interest in after-school programs for children whose parents are still at work.
According to a poll of 2,500 American workers given by Mattress Clarity, approximately a quarter of working adults are living on five hours or less of sleep on a daily basis. This is less than is prescribed for every single age group in the study done by the NSF.
So, how do students at Elizabethtown College compare? According to a survey conducted by the Etownian, most students are getting more than six hours of sleep on the average night. The factor that most impacts the amount of sleep they are getting is school work.
“When at their worst, my sleeping habits make it extremely difficult to complete work both inside and outside of class; not to mention everything else that the College requires me to balance,” one student responded to the Etownian survey.
It is vital that students get enough sleep. According to the NSF, sleep can reduce stress, improve mood, help to maintain a healthy weight, improve physical performance, increase coordination and increase cognitive abilities.
A different student wrote, “On one hand, [my sleeping habits] keep grades up while being able to do stuff. On the other, zombie-ing through life isn’t exactly pleasant, leads to low morale, and even stupid academic mistakes that could have been avoided with a clear, rested mind.”
“The more I sleep, the happier I am and the better I do with my school work. When I don’t sleep I’m a mess,” another student responded.
People looking to improve their sleep can follow the following tips from the NSF: establish a consistent schedule to follow, even on weekends; create a regular and relaxing nighttime routine, such as bathing or listening to music; keep bedrooms dark, quiet, cool and comfortable. Lastly, to sleep better at night, the NSF recommends that individuals exercise regularly.
