Quality Sleep Promotes Healthy Living
Achieving quality sleep is an essential component of a healthy lifestyle. Sleeping well not only allows our bodies to feel good, but it can also help you:
- Maintain a healthy body weight
- Lower stress
- Avoid sickness
- Reduce your risk of diseases like diabetes and heart disease
- Clears your mind for better decision making
- Get along well with others
However, how much sleep do we really need each night? Dr. Lauck of North Texas Sleep Solutions explains the optimal number of hours we should be getting each night and why each sleep stage is so important.
How Much Sleep You Should Be Getting
Each individual will differ in how many hours of sleep they need each night, as it’s based on age. Of course, it’s no surprise that babies need much more sleep than children and adults. The following list is based on a 24-hour period:
- 4 to 12 months old: 12-16 hours
- 1 to 2 years old: 11-14 hours
- 3 to 5 years old: 10-13 hours
- 6 to 12 years old: 9-12 hours
- 13 to 18 years old: 8-10 hours
- Adults: 7-8 hours
The Sleep Stages
Your sleep each night is made up of several rounds of the sleep cycle, comprised of four individual stages. Generally, an individual will go through four to six sleep cycles, lasting around 90 minutes each. Sleep cycles will vary from person to person depending on certain factors such as age, sleep patterns, alcohol consumption, and sleep disorders.
These are the four stages of sleep:
- NREM 1: You’ll begin to doze off, transiting from being awake to asleep. You may still be aware of your surroundings and can wake up easily. If you wake up, you may feel as though you weren’t sleeping. However, you can still dream at this stage.
- NREM 2: During this stage, your muscles will start to relax, you’ll start to breathe more slowly, and your heart rate will lower. Your eyes will stop moving. Most will spend about half their lives sleeping in this stage.
- NREM 3: This is a deep stage of sleep where your body rests, restores, and repairs itself. It’s hard to wake up during this stage, and if you do wake up, you may feel disoriented. Early in the night, you’ll stay in this stage for about 45 to 90 minutes, and it gets shorter as the night goes on.
- REM: During the rapid eye movement (REM) stage, your brain is active and your eyes move around. Your breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure will increase. REM is the dreaming stage, and sometimes you may remember your dreams. This stage gets longer later on throughout the night.
Why Do Sleep Stages Matter?
Sleep stages are crucial to your health as they allow your brain and body to recuperate and develop. When an individual fails to achieve enough of both deep sleep and REM sleep, it can lead to troubles with decision-making, emotions, and physical health.
How to Tell If You’re Getting Enough Sleep
Chances are if you’re constantly waking up tired and feel extreme fatigue throughout the day, you’re probably not getting enough sleep. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to try and improve your sleep quality:
- Maintain a sleep routine of going to bed at the same time each night
- Create an ideal sleeping environment
- Consider exercising in the morning instead of at night
- Manage stress or anxiety
- Try sleep journaling
If you find that no matter what you try, nothing improves your sleep, we recommend talking with your doctor. They may direct you to a sleep specialist.
Get the Sleep You Need
If you struggle with sleep, it may be because of a sleep disorder. If you’re concerned about your sleeping patterns or any symptoms you may experience that align with sleep apnea, call our sleep specialist today at (817) 431-6764. Dr. Lauck proudly serves those in Keller, TX, and its surrounding areas. You can also request more information through our online contact form. We’re here to help you get the sleep you need.