Would we feel better if we slept a little more? Maybe – but that’s not guaranteed. Although we know how much sleep the average person needs, there are a lot of differences. To get a better idea of how many hours you need — and how and when to get them — let’s start with the basics.
This article is part of a special series examining basic questions related to sleep. Read more here.
According to the US National Sleep Foundation, the needs of an adult are typical Between 7 and 9 hours Per night, even though we start life needing more sleep – newborns sleep 14 to 17 hours, and this gradually decreases during childhood. Teenagers need to 9 hours per night People over 65 tend to need about 7 to 8 hours. Gender can also be a factor. “There are some studies that show that women, on average, need about 20 minutes more than men,” he says. Veena Kumari At Brunel University in London. There is evidence that humans, like many animals, tend to do this Sleep a little longer during the winteralso.
Of course, there are exceptions. There is a rare genetic trait called familial short sleep, where individuals typically go to bed late and wake up early, and thrive in just 4 to 6 hours. “We don’t know how widespread this is,” he says. Lisa Ashbrook At the University of California San Francisco, who identified him Number of genetic variants They are involved in this trait, but “it is a minority.”
Most of us aren’t so lucky, though whether a restless or short night doesn’t matter much. “We are able to go a night without sleep and function more or less…
