By Lack of sleep is a battle that many people face every night. Learn how much rest you should get and how to improve both the quantity and quality of time spent getting it.
For many people, sleeping 6 hours or less is the norm during the week. However, is that enough hours of sleep each day? We all know the importance of a good rest to face the day, but in practical terms, we don’t always do it correctly.
According to information from the Advanced Medical Informatics Network , which cites data from the World Health Organization, nearly 40% of the world’s population suffers from sleep disorders. Of all these, insomnia is the most common: it is estimated that it affects between 8 and 10% of adults chronically, and 40% temporarily.
From this perspective, in this article we will see why it is important to sleep and what reasons there are to affirm that 6 hours of rest are not enough.
Why is a good night’s rest essential?
Sleep is a biological function present in all animals. Its function is not limited to the recovery of energy, but allows the body to revitalize, renew itself and recover from the efforts made.
On the other hand, the endocrine system is also active during sleep. An article in the Revista Médica Clínica Las Condes points out that during the non-REM phase a peak of growth hormone is produced. For this reason, it is important to encourage sleep habits in childhood and adolescence. The Spanish Heart Foundation mentions other benefits of sleep. Namely:
- Protect the heart
- Helps to lose weight
- Reduces depression
- Increase creativity
- Boosts the immune system
- Improves memory and learning
What happens in the brain when you sleep 6 hours
Depending on your age , both the quality and quantity of sleep decrease. However, at any age range, sleeping 6 or fewer hours a day has negative effects on daytime functioning. The first thing you will notice is that from the start of the day you are tired and have low motivation.
Facing a morning is not an easy task, but if you have had little sleep, it is possible that it will become a real mountain of difficulties.
Specifically, cognitive processes such as memory , decision-making and planning will be impaired. You will have a harder time maintaining your attention; you will have to repeat any information several times to memorise it and your ability to react will become slower.
This is because a lack of rest affects the hippocampus, a region of the brain that plays a key role in memory and learning. During sleep, synaptic connections in this area are strengthened and regenerated. If we don’t sleep, this process does not take place with natural efficiency.
It also negatively affects the volume of the cerebral cortex. According to the GAEM Foundation , sleeping less than 7 hours, in the long term, is related to a loss of brain volume, especially in people over 60 years of age.
It also affects emotions. According to an article from the University of Navarra Clinic , getting too few hours of sleep produces negative emotional states, such as increased irritability. The brain amygdala becomes more reactive, which in the long term favors the appearance of emotional symptoms such as depression and anxiety, states that are directly linked to quality of life.
So how many hours should we sleep?
You may be wondering whether it is better to sleep 6 or 7 hours. The answer is: the general recommendation is to sleep between 7 and 8 hours, to optimize the proper functioning of the body and mind.
Sleep is a process that changes as you age. Depending on the maturity of the brain, the changes that occur in this organ will have an impact on both quality and quantity. The Mayo Clinic provides recommended daily sleep levels based on age:
- Adults: minimum 7 hours
- Teenagers: 8 to 10 hours
- School-age children: 9 to 12 hours
- Preschool children: 10 to 13 hours
- Infants between 1 and 2 years: 11 to 14 hours
- Babies between 4 and 12 months: 12 to 16 hours
How to improve the quantity and quality of sleep
If you suffer from insomnia and are unable to get the recommended hours of sleep, you may be interested in knowing what can be done about it. This issue is a prevalent problem in society and there are multiple lines of treatment to deal with it.
The most popular approaches to address the problem are aligned with behavioral trends such as sleep hygiene . The latter is a set of habits and practices that help you rest and prevent schedule disruptions.
It is based on the idea that, in order to get a good night’s rest, everything we do during the day matters, and it is not limited to the exact time of going to bed. The World Sleep Society organization establishes 10 rules to implement such hygiene:
- Wear comfortable, loose-fitting pajamas.
- Establish a regular routine for going to bed and waking up.
- Avoid heavy, spicy or sugary foods at dinner.
- Do not drink alcohol or smoke at least 4 hours before going to sleep.
- Try to eliminate sources of noise and light as much as possible to rest.
- Maintain an optimal room temperature. This means that it is neither too cold nor too hot.
- Lead an active lifestyle, but do not exercise in the hours before bedtime.
- Take short naps in the early afternoon that do not exceed 45 minutes.
- Avoid any caffeinated beverages or stimulants at least 6 hours before bedtime.
- Use the bed only for sleeping and sexual activity. Do not read, work or play in the place reserved for sleeping.
As for drugs , they are a temporary help under professional supervision. The best option is not to depend on a pill, but to educate the body to be able to sleep through healthy habits.
Be careful how much and how you sleep
A common practice in today’s society is to sacrifice hours of sleep to be more productive in other areas. But this is a wrong decision, since productivity is limited by factors such as sleeping 6 hours.
If you want to take care of your health, it is important to pay attention to your routines, especially your diet and sleep. The latter starts by recording the time you spend resting. When you have a figure, if it is less than 7 hours, make the necessary adjustments to increase it.
Finally, remember that you can rely on sleep hygiene. Quick fixes are effective in the short term, but it is best to build solid, long-lasting habits.