Sleep - How Much is Enough?

Sleep - How Much is Enough?

A good night's sleep should be the most natural thing in the world. However, many people find that the pace of modern living affects their quality of sleep. The inability to fall asleep is called insomnia and it is often assumed that it is detrimental to our health.
The most frequent reason why people do not have a good night's sleep is because they have to get up in the middle of the night to urinate. Interruption of a sleep pattern is not good for aging.

Stresses of life also is a big factor. Many sleep only a few hours a day. Studies have shown that continuous deprivation of sleep over as little as 7 days can unbalance the blood sugar level. If you are a diabetic, please pay attention to this important fact.
Over the years, extensive studies have been conducted on sleep pattern and longevity. In a study involving more than 1.1 million men and women between the ages of 30 and 102 years for 6 years, it was found that during this period, , 9.4% of the men and 5.1% of the women had died.

Interestingly, some of the findings were as follows: -

1. The most common cause of death was heart disease and stroke. This comprised 43 per cent among the women and 49 per cent among the men.

2. Cancer accounted for 36 per cent of deaths among women and 29 per cent among men.
3. People who slept an average of 7 hours every night had the best survival rate.4. People who had more than 8.5 hours of sleep or less than 4 hours had a 15 per cent increase in overall mortality as compared to those who slept 7 hours every night.

5. People who slept 10 hours or more had a 30-40 per cent higher mortality than those who slept 7 hours at night.The study showed that there was no excess mortality among people with insomnia. However, those who depended on sleeping pills had a 10-25 per cent higher mortality than non-users.

This study concluded no rational explanation. It was evident that people who slept between 7 to 7.5 hours a night tend to live longer.How much sleep is enough? My answer is simple: When you don't have to wake up with an alarm clock (ie. When you wake up naturally), that is the way your body tells you that you have enough.
www.DrLam.com

dear padma,
very imp & relevent topic.in this era when everything has contributed to make life comfortable,easy & fast,still people r facing sleep depravation.
the one thing i really hate is to see small kids waking at 6 in morning as their school starts by 7.15.with T.V,internet etc these kids seldom sleep before 11 so end up being sleep deprived.
well,i agree that one should wake when body's natural alarm gives wake up call.but left to themself a kid will not wake before 9 in morning,so what to do.
love
pragati

Hello

The above information was very good and gives an idea about sleep. however as far as I am concnerned , i always have a query as to even after sleeping from 10.30 p.m to 5.00 or 5.30 a.m , i feel sleep is insuffcinet for me and feel tired while getting up . Becuse of the morning pressure like p[reparing Lunch and breakfast for children to go to school , i am forced to get up at that time . I am working and my office timings are 10. to 5.30 p.m and i come home at 7.30 p.m . So i always have a tendency to sleep and lay in bed . even if some little time is there i feel to lie down and close my eyes but this is not always possible. So with that I never have satisifaction that I slept nicely today and I am fresh . Always some tiredness is there except for some time which is negligible So please what is the solution for this. Any body can advise me please

padma madam,
will u plz clarify my doubt that is the day time sleep for one hour/one and half hour can also be added to the night time sleep and if the total comes to 7hrs is it enough
for asenior citizen person like me who crossed 70 yrs?plz reply.
Nischel