How long do you sleep to get enough sleep? Sleep is a very individual matter. For some, 5 hours of sleep are enough to be refreshed, others are asleep 10 and feel sleepy. Why is this happening? Partly because it's not just the quantity that matters, but also the quality of your sleep. How long does it take to sleep to be in shape?
WonderingHow to sleep to get enough sleep ? You go to bed early, get up late, and feel constantly tired. Your friend, on the other hand, keeps telling you how long she has been sleeping, and yet she is bursting with energy. Cheating? Not necessarily! As it turns out, a dream is a very individual matter. How long do you have to sleep to get enough sleep?
How to sleep to get enough sleep: the four stages of sleep
- Sleep is not a homogeneous state. It consists of the three stages of NREM sleep (N1, N2, N3) and REM sleep. During the first two, our sleep is shallow. Only during the N3 stage do we sleep deeply. REM sleep, in turn, is responsible fordreamsand information processing - informs Dr. Adam Wichniak, psychiatrist and clinical neurophysiologist from the Sleep Medicine Center of the Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology in Warsaw. Therefore, in order to get enough sleep, we need as much N3 and REM sleep as possible. - The first is responsible for biological rest, and the second for preserving memory and shaping intellectual functions - explains our expert. Interestingly, the two most important sleep stages do not occur consecutively but are always separated by the N1 and N2 stages of sleep. If, on the other hand, we wake up in the middle of the night, the entire sleep cycle is disrupted and we usually start sleeping again at the first stage of N1.
Some people sleep 5 hours, others 12
In addition to the quality of sleep, genetics are also important. An adult person typically has 4 to 6 sleep cycles that last between 80 and 120 minutes. So, in extreme cases, it happens that one person needs only 5 hours and 20 minutes (4 x 80 minutes) to rest, and the other as much as 12 hours (6 x 120 minutes). - Most people need 7.5 - 8 hours of sleep. Unfortunately, we usually sleep for at least half an hour less than we should, which affects our form during the day, says Dr. Wichniak. The circadian rhythm has some influence on the amount of sleep needed for rest, although much less than genetics. - In the fall and winter months, we sleep a little longer than in spring and summer. They are howeverslight differences, on the order of a dozen or several dozen minutes at most.
What to do to get enough sleep?
It is not the length but the depth of sleep that matters
Sometimes it seems to us that if someone is active during the day, they should sleep for a long time. Meanwhile, such people sleep longer deeply, which effectively affects their regeneration. Put simply, they just sleep better. In contrast, inactive and stressed people sleep shallower, which reduces the length of N3 sleep. So what if they spend long hours lying in bed, when they don't sleep in the dream during which they rest best.
From sleep deprivation to high blood pressure
Sleep deprivation is a problem that is often neglected. When you are tired, you usually save yourself with coffee. This works in the short term, and you get sleepy again after a while. Fortunately, one or two sleepless nights are unlikely to do much damage to your body. You will write them off quickly. It is worse when you regularly, for several years, give up the right dose of night rest. You can pay for such carelessness with serious ailments. - Long-term insufficient sleep causes not only drowsiness and fatigue, but also deterioration of intellectual functions, weakening of the body's efficiency and immunity. It's not everything. Years of lack of sleep also contribute to depression, and even hypertension and other heart diseases - warns Dr. Wichniak.