The belief that we should sleep eight hours a night on average is one of the most popular in the entire world. When considering the quality and quantity of our sleep, we often make a mistake comparing or measuring it with this notion.
Even though this might seem possible at first, experts clarify that we should take into account additional unique and personal factors that could lead to differences in each person’s chronobiology and, therefore, their needs.
Why the eight hour sleep rule doesn’t work for everyone
First of all, it’s important to remember that recommendations like getting eight hours of sleep should not be considered generic.
Age, genetics, and lifestyle all affect how much sleep a person needs. As a result, not everyone benefits from getting that precise amount of sleep each day. Adults should regularly get at least seven hours of sleep each night to support their health, according to a joint consensus statement from the Sleep Research Society and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
Adults between the ages of 18 and 64 should get seven to nine hours of sleep, while those over the age of 65 should get seven to eight hours. Teenagers between the ages of 14 and 17 should typically get eight to ten hours. The U.S. CDC also considers less than seven hours of sleep per night to be inadequate for adults.
Actually, there are experts who can design and modify our sleep schedule for optimal efficacy and efficiency. A large UK Biobank analysis showed that more irregular sleep timing was associated with a higher risk of death, regardless of sleep duration or fragmentation. This does not mean that you have to be perfect every night, but it does suggest that “social jet lag,” or the big shift between weekdays and weekends, may throw off the body’s circadian rhythm.
It’s also critical to recognize that there are 90-minute cycles. The structure of sleep happens over the course of ninety minutes: light sleep, deep sleep, and REM (dreaming phase). As a result, you could feel exhausted if you wake up during a deep cycle. Sleeping in multiples of 90, like six, seven and a half, or nine hours, is highly recommended.
Quality vs quantity: Why consistent sleep is better for health
Maintaining consistency is one of the main challenges. According to some recent research, regular sleep schedules may be more beneficial to health than the quantity of hours because our bodies naturally follow certain routines after becoming used to them.
However, it’s important to keep in mind that different chronotypes exist, which means that some people are genetically diurnal and nocturnal.
The basic principle is that quality matters more than quantity. This means that getting fewer hours of uninterrupted, high-quality sleep on a regular, balanced schedule is much better for our health than getting more hours of ineffective sleep.
How to make your sleep routine better
About 35% of American adults reported getting little sleep in 2020, according to CDC surveillance. This helps to explain why practices that improve sleep reliability are frequently the focus of public health recommendations.
What can you do to sleep better? Maintaining a regular and balanced routine, which includes going to bed and waking up at the same time, even on weekends, is recommended by experts as the best way to get a good night’s sleep. This will help regulate your biological clock.
Also, avoiding screens, alcohol, and caffeine before bed can help prevent insomnia.
Finally, it’s very important also to create a quiet, dark, and cool space that somehow leads you to rest. And adding a routine about an hour before going to bed to let know your body it’s time to rest, like reading, listening to soft music or light stretching.
