Would we feel better if we got a little more sleep? It’s possible, but it’s not guaranteed. Although we know the amount of sleep an average person needs, there is a lot variation. 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 investigating key questions about sleep. Read more here.
According to the US National Sleep Foundation, a typical adult needs between 7 and 9 hours of night, although we start life needing much more – newborns sleep 14 to 17 hours, which gradually decreases during infancy. Teenagers need it 9 hours at night and people over the age of 65 need about 7 to 8 hours. Sex can also be a factor. “There are some studies that show that women, on average, need 20 minutes longer than men,” she says. To Veena Kumari at Brunel University in London. And there is evidence that humans, like many animals, are prone to it sleep a little more in the winteralso
Of course there are exceptions. A rare genetic trait called familial natural short sleep usually sees you go to bed late and wake up early, increasing by 4-6 hours. “We don’t know how big this is,” he says Lisa Ashbrook at the University of California San Francisco, which has identified some gene variants he participates in the characteristic, but “is a minority”.
Most of us aren’t so lucky, although the occasional disturbed or shortened night doesn’t matter too much. “We’re able to sleep-deprived and more or less…
