What is the Right Amount of Sleep?

A shocking and very disturbing finding was discovered during a University of California study. They found that individuals, who sleep more than 8 hours per day, have a 50% higher mortality rate than people who sleep less.

Before we decide what the right amount of sleep is, we need to understand what exactly sleep is, and why our bodies need to sleep.

Sleep is the normal state of natural rest in which a person does not respond to soft sounds, touches, or sounds that they would react to if they were fully awake. Being asleep is an altered state of consciousness. While the person is not actually unconscious, they have a decrease in voluntary body movement, metabolism, and reaction of external stimulations. At the same time the person has an increase in their rate of anabolism, which is the synthesis of new cell structures.

Sleep is comprised of five stages that are essential for a healthy body and mind. An individual will cycle through the stages about 4 to 5 times during a typical eight hour rest period.

• Stage 1: This stage is sometimes called “drowsy sleep”. The individual drifts in and out of sleep for 5 to 10 minutes and can be awakened easily. This is thought to be the gateway phase between being awake and asleep.

• Stage 2: The person has now entered a light sleep phase. It is characterized by a decrease in body temperature, and heart rate. Additionally, most eye movements stop and the person’s brain waves become slower.

• Stage 3: Also known as Slow-Wave Sleep, and is associated with the appearance of delta-waves which signal that the individual has entered the beginning of a deep sleep state. It is usually very difficult to wake someone from this stage.

• Stage 4: This is the true phase of deep sleep. Individuals awakened during this phase will be very groggy and confused for several minutes while they regain their bearings. During this state, night terrors, sleepwalking, and bed wetting can occur.

• Stage 5: During REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, dreaming is more likely to occur. An individual will experience faster more rapid breathing, and increased blood pressure and heart rates.

The average person is like to spend 1.5 to 2.0 hours going through the 5 phases. This occurs about 4 to 5 times during a typical 8 hour resting period.

People need to sleep so their body can rejuvenate and restore itself. Many body functions will not work properly without proper diet, exercise, and rest. Sleep allows our brain to properly store information that was learned the previous day. This is primarily accomplished during the REM cycle of sleep. If the body does not achieve a proper REM status, then the brain will not be able to function effectively. Some experts in the sleep field believe that neurons that are utilized during the day are repaired by the body at night. When an individual experiences a lack of sleep, the body isn’t able to repair itself. During sleep, our bodies release growth hormones that are responsible for our physical and mental development. This is why it is extremely important for children and teenagers to sleep well every night.

Now that we have defined what sleep is, and why people need to sleep, the question is how much sleep does an individual need. One of the keys to optimizing a person’s sleep is to stay on a regular routine of when they go to bed, and when they get up. Whenever a person changes this, it can throw the body off schedule and make the person feel more tired then they really are.

Most adults need somewhere between 7 to 8 hours of solid sleep a night. While everyone is different it is recommended that a person track how much sleep they got and how they feel in the morning to determine how much sleep they need.

A study conducted by Boston University found that participants who sleep less than 6 hours a night or more than 9 had an increased risk of developing diabetes. Those that slept 7 to 8 hours had the lowest occurrence of diabetes.