Sleeping Through the Night Improves Overall Health at Any Age

Getting to bed on time, at the right time, is more important than you might think. Sleep studies carried out over the last decade have found that poor sleeping habits not only impair the body's ability to think and react appropriately when awake but can also lead to obesity, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, blackouts and hormonal imbalances.

Despite how it may appear to the naked eye a sleeping body does not shut down completely. In fact, while we sleep our body is busy completing an array of tasks in preparation for the next day's activities. According to the National Institute of Sleep there are five stages of sleep. Getting a good night's sleep involves cycling through these stages, which lasts from 90 to 110 minutes, four or five times per night depending on your age, the amount of sleep your body needs on a regular basis to maintain optimal performance and the amount of sleep lost as a result of illness, poor sleep habits or environmental issues that interfere with sleeping.

The National Institute of Sleep encourages establishing good sleeping habits so that the body can carry out its nocturnal activities as follows: newborns (1-2 months) require 10 ½ -18 hours of sleep per day; infants (3-11 months) require 9-12 hours during the night and from one to four naps lasting from ½ - 2 hours per day; toddlers (1-3 years) require 12-14 hours of sleep per day; preschoolers (3-5 years) require 11-13 hours of sleep per day; school-aged children (5-12 years) require 10-11 hours of sleep per day; teenagers (11-17 years) require 8 ½ - 9 ½ hours of sleep per day; and adults require 7-9 hours of sleep per day. Following these guidelines allows the body enough time to cycle through the stages of sleep so that you don't feel sleepy during the day, if however, you find yourself needing an afternoon nap keep it short.

The key to getting a good night's sleep is to establish good sleeping habits. Setting a consistent bedtime, preferably between 8 pm and 10 pm to accommodate cycling through the five stages of sleep four or five times during the night, creating a sleep-friendly environment that is not too warm and is free from bright lights and loud noises, providing comfortable bedding and avoiding exercise, caffeinated beverages and alcohol close to bedtime are the basic necessities for getting a good night's sleep.

References:

How Much Sleep Do We Need?

Let Sleep Wok For You

Sleep Deprivation