Normal sleep time for a person per day. When you need to go to bed: time intervals in which the body rests more

Night rest is a vital necessity for every person. People may not sleep for very long, after five to seven days, harmful processes in the body begin to occur, which can even cause death. Resting at night is even more important than eating. How many hours should an adult sleep? How to prepare for sleep? What are the consequences of lack of sleep? All these questions can be answered by reading this article.

Sleep standards with a table of age norms of sleep

How much sleep do you need? For each age category people have their own rules. Surely many people know that the time of night rest for an adult is approximately 8 hours a day. Many scientists confirm that children need much more time for a normal rest, and older people need about 7 hours or less to wake up refreshed. A lot of research has been conducted to answer the question: how much time do adults and children need to sleep. Here is a table that shows the number of hours of sleep per day for each category of people:

1. Infants - around 3-4 p.m.
2. Children under one year - 13-14 hours.
3. Children 1-2 years old - 12-13 hours.
4. Children under 5 years old - 10-12 hours.
5. Schoolchildren - 9-11 a.m.
6. Boys and girls 14-17 years old - 8-10 hours.
7. Youth 18-25 years old - 8-9 hours.
8. People 26-65 years old - 7-9 hours.
9. The elderly from 65 years old - 7-8 hours or less.

These are just approximate figures showing what is the standard sleep rate for an adult and for a child. However, in each individual case and each individual person may have their own characteristics of the body that affect sleep time, so the above norm may not be indicative of different people. For example, Napoleon slept only 4 hours, and Einstein spent on night rest more than 10 hours every day.

Sleep phases

Exist different phase falling asleep and sleep phases. Each cycle usually takes about an hour and a half. Being in the same cycle, a person alternates between slow-wave and REM sleep phases. Before diving into deep dream, there is also a sleep phase. Each of us has a phase slow sleep takes much longer than fast. Usually, the phase of non-REM sleep takes about 1.5 hours, and being in the phase of REM sleep, a person spends from 2 to 30 minutes. Thanks to modern technologies Doctors and scientists have divided the nightly rest of adults into 5 separate phases, in each of which the brain is in a certain state:

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1. Sleepy phase or zero phase.
2. Sleep phase.
3. Not very deep sleep, when sigma waves act on the brain.
4. and 5. Phases of non-REM sleep, when a person is in a phase of slow sleep, he sleeps the most soundly, in these two phases delta waves are called manifest. Slow-wave sleep cycles account for approximately 75% of the total night's rest. In this phase, a person begins to breathe less often, his heartbeat decreases, there is practically no eye movement, the muscles completely relax. It is in the cycle of slow sleep that a person recovers, his cells and tissues are rehabilitated, and the energy spent during the working day is restored.

Research on how sleep affects humans

Scientists have conducted many different studies on the effect of night rest on human health and well-being, as a result of these studies, the following conclusions were obtained:

• lack of sleep time leads to the fact that a person's memory is disturbed and deteriorates. Experiments were carried out with bees, they deliberately violated the rest period, as a result they began to get lost in space, none of the bees was able to repeat the flight route that the bees had studied the previous day. Therefore, non-compliance with the norm of sleep time causes lethargy of the mind, a slow reaction and a deterioration in the perception of the surrounding world and various events;
• lack of sleep increases appetite. Many scientists have confirmed this fact, studies have shown that if you do not sleep enough, then there is stress, very similar to that which appears in an overtired or not rested person, and because of stress, people begin to eat more, obesity occurs;
• deficit good sleep when there is not enough normal, good rest, reduces Creative skills. Often people in a dream come to understand some problems or resolve difficult life situations. For example, Mendeleev dreamed of a system of chemical elements;
• if you turn it on in the room in the evening bright light, then because of this, a person falls asleep later, the phases of his sleep become shorter, and this often becomes the reason early awakening.

Scientists have found that lack of sleep causes irritability and stress, and as a result constant stress a person gradually develops depression - dangerous disease which must be treated.

Sleep deficiency - how does it accumulate?

If a person does not comply age norms sleep and sleeps less than expected, then the body accumulates a lack of sleep, leading to a decrease in performance. If every day for a week there is little sleep, and on weekends you sleep off, spending a couple of hours more on rest at night, then your strength will not be fully restored. A person will want to sleep, he will be tired and overwhelmed, because the lack of sleep will only decrease for a couple of hours, and will not disappear completely.
An adult should rest at night 8 hours a day, and he sleeps for 6 hours, then every day the lack of sleep accumulates for 2 hours. After 5 days, this deficit will be 10 hours, and this debt must be paid back to your body, either immediately or gradually. If you do not compensate for this time, then it is impossible to feel completely rested, vigorous and full of energy.

How to prepare for sleep

In many ways, the duration of sleep depends on how a person prepares for it. To fall asleep quickly and sleep soundly, you need to follow these recommendations:

• before going to bed, do not eat too much. Dinner should be three to four hours before the night's rest. In addition, at night it is better not to eat fatty and very high-calorie foods;
• when it is time to sleep, it is advisable to take cold and hot shower, thanks to which you can relieve tension and fatigue that has accumulated during the working day;
• no need to watch disturbing news, it is advisable to turn off the TV, computer and Internet at night;
• before going to bed, for a while (15-20 min.) you need to open the windows in the bedroom wide open to ventilate it, thanks to fresh air you can fall asleep very quickly, sleep soundly and wake up cheerful;
• so that there is no shortage of night rest, you need to sleep in a dark and quiet room;
• you can fall asleep faster thanks to a relaxing massage of the neck and lumbar, and you can also massage the feet;
• sleep better without clothes, naked;
• can't afford to evening time to worry or worry, because anxiety greatly interferes with sleep, because of them insomnia develops;
• at night you can drink a sedative herbal tea based on valerian, mint, lemon balm and motherwort.

What to eat before bed

Sleep deprivation often occurs due to the fact that a person takes the wrong food at night. During the day, it is necessary to properly compose a diet and leave light, low-calorie foods for the evening meal. It is worth remembering that you should not go to bed hungry, because this can harm your health and this will cause you to wake up early.
At night, it is advisable to eat such dishes and foods that would not burden the stomach and intestines. Nutritionists and doctors advise eating vegetable salads, various seafood, egg dishes, chicken, and sour-milk products at night.

How much sleep do you need to wake up refreshed

Many people sleep long enough, but do not get enough sleep. How much sleep to wake up refreshed? If an adult rests at night for 8 hours, he sleeps well. But if the rest is interrupted, for example, due to the fact that the alarm clock rang very early, then most likely the person will be lethargic and tired. best time for healthy waking up is the REM phase of sleep, when a person has dreams.
How much sleep does an adult need? In order to wake up cheerful, and also so that there is no shortage of rest, it is necessary to correctly calculate the rate. You need to focus on 4.5 hours, 6 or 7.5 hours of night rest. That is, for example, if a person went to bed, fell asleep at 23:00, in order to feel cheerful during the day, he needs to wake up either at 3:30 at night, or at 5 in the morning, or at 6:30 in the morning. Often, even if you do not set an alarm for this time, the body wakes up on its own during these hours, when the REM phase is coming to an end.

What often leads to lack of sleep?

If the duration of a person’s sleep is insufficient for a long time, then this will necessarily affect health and well-being. Chronic sleep deprivation lead to:

• weakened immunity;
• occurrence of heart disease;
• low performance;
• weight gain;
• chronic insomnia;
• frequent depression;
• decrease in concentration, vision, memory.

When a man sleeps less than the prescribed norm, then testosterone is produced in insufficient quantities. Because of this, a man loses stamina and strength, his body fat appears prostatitis. When a person has little time left for a night's rest, and it is rarely possible to sleep during the day, irritability occurs, unreasonable outbursts of anger increase. arterial pressure, work is disrupted digestive system. Sleep deficiency is very dangerous problem, leading to a violation of biological rhythms, swelling appears, severe fatigue, as a result, the help of a specialist doctor is needed.

Is long sleep good for you?

Prolonged sleep, when a person sleeps several hours more than the norm, leads to various problems, such as:

• headaches, back pain;
• obesity;
• weakness, depression;
• cardiovascular diseases.

Is it bad for adults to sleep too much? Yes, because because of this, he will be tired all the time, the biorhythms of the body will be disturbed. Scientists say that prolonged sleep (9-10 hours a day or more) leads to hormonal disruptions, and even reduces life expectancy!

How to learn to wake up early?

There can be many reasons for waking up early, if you wake up early, you can have time to do a lot more things. In addition, performance in the morning is much better than in the evening. How to wake up early? Necessary:

• do not go to bed too late in the evening, preferably at 22:00, maybe a little later;
• sleep in a room that is neither cold nor hot, the temperature should be about 20-22 degrees;
• it is advisable to set the alarm clock at a certain distance from you, which must be overcome in order to turn it off;
• ask friends or relatives to call early;
• after waking up early, you need to take a shower, drink coffee, it is advisable to do exercises;
• in order to get up early into a habit, you need to wake up in the morning at the same time, for 10-15 days.

Do you need to sleep during the day?

Is it good for adults to sleep during the day? This is directly related to night rashes. If you go to bed very late, it will be useful to take a little nap during the day. Daytime rest should be light and not very long, 15-20 minutes is enough for the body to turn off and reboot, but at the same time it does not have time to go into a period of slow sleep. Do not sleep during the day longer than this time.
Do you need to sleep during the day? It is necessary, but such a rest should be an additional rest. Waking up during the day will be quick and easy, only when the body has not had time to understand that it is sleeping. But if a person sleeps in daytime 40 minutes or more, then it will be much harder for him to get up, he will be overwhelmed and tired, because the body will have time to go into the phase of slow sleep.
If you can afford to sleep longer during the day, then you need to go through a period of slow rest, after which you can easily wake up. To go through this phase, you need to sleep during the day for about an hour and a half. However, this is not a rule for everyone, because each organism is individual, moreover, the duration of night rest has a significant impact on daytime rest.

How much sleep do you need

Each of us is a unique personality, so each of us has our own noma of night rest. Everyone needs to determine this norm by trial and error and stick to it in the future. How much sleep do you need per day? You need to rest at night as much as the body requires in order to wake up well-rested. The average rate is 2-9 hours a day. However, if you want to sleep more than 12 hours a day, then you need to consult a doctor.
How much sleep does a person need? There are experts who believe that a person wants to sleep more than is actually necessary, it is enough to sleep about five hours a day and feel great. But to listen to the opinion of these experts or not is a personal matter for everyone. Lack of sleep can negatively affect health and even duration. human life. Therefore, it is better not to cut the time of night rest.

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Over the past 6 months, I have reduced the amount of sleep by 3 hours. At the same time, my sleep became deeper, better, and during the day I myself feel vigorous and full of energy. I’ll tell you what I had to go through to learn how to get enough sleep in fewer hours.

Like most people, I'm constantly short on time. Or rather, I'm wasting it

I have to get up early, go to bed late, the first half of the day goes to "buildup", and in the second I try to have time to do everything. As a result, the body does not get enough sleep, the head is buzzing, and in the evenings there is no strength and time to do something else.

So I decided to try to improve my sleep pattern. And at the same time, check how much minimum time is needed to get enough sleep and feel full of energy.

But in order to adjust your sleep pattern, it is important to understand how it works. It's simple

Our sleep includes 4 phases: drowsiness, drowsiness, deep sleep and light (REM) sleep.

Without going into details, each phase has its own important processes. But most of all, whether we get enough sleep or not is influenced by the 3rd phase, in which “ Maintenance» organism. Toxins are removed, resources are restored and the work of organs is checked.

That is, the longer the phase of deep sleep and the deeper it is, the better we sleep and recover.

2 things are important for good sleep

1. Low temperature. The higher the temperature (within reasonable limits) - the higher your activity. Therefore, during the day, the temperature must be high in order for the body to work well. And at night - low, so that the brain falls into the phase of deep sleep faster and stays in it longer.
2. Melatonin is the sleep hormone. It is released when our eyes are in darkness. And in bright light, it collapses. It is known that the peak of melatonin production occurs between 23:00 and 4:00, so it is important to sleep at this time.

Based on these rules, I made myself a routine.

1. Get up at the same time every day

If on weekdays I have to get up at 6:00, then on weekends I have to get up at 6:00. I set the alarm for every day so that it can not be turned off until you get up.

What for? The body must get used to getting up at the same time, and then going to bed at the same time. As a result, the brain begins to understand that there is a clear number of hours in which to recover.

2. Wake up in REM sleep

Waking a person is easier (and better) in REM sleep. Therefore, it is important to seize the moment. There are several ways to do this:

1. Use smart alarm apps. There are many such applications, I tried Pillow and SmartAlarm. They are quite accurate, but not always convenient in that the phone must be placed on the bed to record movement and sleep data.
2. Get up at the same time every day. If getting up at 6:20 is easier than 6:00, then you are in REM sleep at 6:20. You can just try in different days set an alarm for different time. In addition, if you get up every day at the same time, the brain will get used to it and will understand that by 6:00 you need to go into REM sleep.
3. Use a bracelet with a smart alarm function. Fitness bracelets are cheap, accurate, and wake up with gentle vibrations.

3. Sleep is disturbed by 3 things: humidity, temperature and light

Oftenhumidity in the apartment does not exceed 25% (this is not enough). Little humidity - processes slow down, sleep worsens. The optimum humidity level is 45%, and preferably 70%.

• I bought the simplest humidifier that shows the humidity level and maintains the desired value.

The optimal temperature for sleep is 16–20 ° C. It's pretty cool outside, so I just leave the window open at night. But in the future, you will have to buy a miniature air conditioner.

Less light - melatonin is produced faster. This means that we fall asleep faster and go into deep sleep. Even a window lantern or a store sign can disrupt your sleep cycle, so it's important to draw your curtains tightly.

• I bought blackout curtains, which are made of thick material, block out light and make the room dark, like a cave. Sometimes I also wear a sleep mask.

3. Charging in the morning and physical activity during the day

Charging seriously increases body temperature, and hence performance.

Any physical exercises in the morning seem simply unreal. For a while I had to overpower myself, and then the body got used to it and I got involved. And here are important exercises that will make you sweat (abs, pull-ups, push-ups). All this in fast mode, about 10-15 minutes.

During the day, you also need to do some physical exercises. I've found that exercising less than 3 hours before bed makes it worse, so it's best to exercise during the day to raise your temperature and get your blood pumping.

4. You will have to give up some products

I hung up a piece of paper and marked on it every day that I went without coffee.

To sleep soundly, you should also not drink alcohol, nicotine, energy drinks and eat a lot of heavy, fatty foods. Even a simple bun, eaten before bedtime, disrupts the phase of deep sleep. And if you lean on energy, then you can completely violate the regime.

5. A few more little tricks

1. To drink a lot of water. Trite, but I often forgot about it. The body uses water during sleep, so it is important that you have enough of it.
2. Shower before bed. It is necessary to make the water about 23 ° C. The body cools down during sleep, and here we will do it in advance. If the water is too cold, then there will be an adrenaline rush, and we do not need this before going to bed.
3. Lots of light. To wake up quickly, you need more bright light, preferably sunlight. Therefore, as soon as I get up, I open the curtains or go out onto the balcony. In the light, melatonin is destroyed and you do not want to sleep at all.
4. Pillow. I didn't pay attention to it before. special attention, but a good orthopedic pillow greatly improves the quality of sleep. Good for neck, back and blood flow. Ask a specialist to choose the right orthopedic pillow for you.

What were the results

Violating or observing each of these points, I observed a change in the phases of sleep, noted my well-being and performance the next day.

I compared my sleep performance before and after: the number of deep sleep phases increased by 2 times (from 1:43 to 4:02). Their frequency has also increased.

As a result, I achieved the goal and reduced my sleep time from 8–9 to 5–6 hours. At the same time, I get less tired, feel good and think quickly throughout the day.

Something important if you decide to repeat

I am not a doctor. Therefore, if you decide to seriously take care of your sleep, change the number of hours of sleep and your daily routine, then you should consult a doctor before starting.

He will tell you if it is safe for you specifically, and possibly tell you the best way problem solving.

Hello, friends! Today we will find out how many hours an adult needs to sleep in order to maintain a youthful brain, health and active longevity.

Sleep is of great importance for a person, because during sleep, the restoration of all organs and systems occurs.

There are people who understand this, they take care of themselves, and do not allow them to systematically stay up at work after midnight. They are aware that sleep is a medicine for the body, without which there is no recovery.

And there are people who think that here I am a little tense up, finish the work, and then sleep off. But such a position gets away with it while young and healthy and there is a supply of strength in the body.

How many hours does an adult need to sleep at night.

The need for an adult in the number of hours of sleep at night varies depending on the energy supply, health, the opportunity to rest during the day, from individual features man, his biorhythms.

Sleep is unique state, during which all systems, and above all, the brain, work in special treatment. During this period, self-regulation of the body occurs, a deep shutdown of consciousness, necessary for natural recovery strength and energy. His average duration per day, determined by doctors for an adult, is approximately 7-8 hours, but taking into account the individual characteristics of the organism, it may vary. Regardless of the rest mode, the cyclicity with the predominance of deep sleep remains unchanged.

A person consists of two phases: fast and slow, which is due to the peculiarities of the work of the brain and changes in its rhythms (intensity of electromagnetic waves). Their alternation is carried out within the framework of one cycle, which lasts an average of 1-2 hours.

During the night, the change of cycles occurs 4-5 times, and at the beginning of the rest, the slow phase is predominant, and closer to the morning - the fast one. The body's ability to fully recover may depend on the correct ratio of periods, since each of them has special functions. In general, sleep consists of 5 stages, which are replaced throughout the night's rest.

In an adult, the initial process is as follows: falling asleep begins with a state of drowsiness, the duration of which does not exceed only 10 minutes. It smoothly flows into the second stage, which also lasts about a quarter of an hour. After that comes the turn of two other stages, which take about 45-50 minutes in time. After its expiration, the second stage enters into force, during which an episode of REM sleep appears.

Advice! If a person wakes up with a feeling of irritation and fatigue, then the awakening falls in. To avoid this, one should have an idea of ​​the duration and structural features deep phase.

Deep sleep and its features

A night journey to the kingdom of Morpheus begins with a dive into the deep. Certain areas of the brain take part in its formation: the hypothalamus and its nuclei, the inhibitory center of moruzzi. The functioning of the systems slows down, the body is partially switched off and goes into a state of deep rest and rest, tissue restoration begins, the formation of new cells and structures.

Structural elements

Slow-wave sleep is called deep or orthodox. Unlike the surface, it is divided into 4 main stages:

Drowsiness. A person is already starting to dive into, but the brain is still actively working. Consciousness is confused, so often dreams are intertwined with reality, and it is at this short period you can find a solution to some problems that were difficult in the daytime.

Falling asleep. The time when the main parts of the brain begin to turn off, but still sensitively react to any stimulation from the outside. A person can easily wake up from a loud noise, but it will take some time for him to fall asleep again.

Deep dream. good period When the body relaxes as much as possible, all processes slow down, motor and brain activity practically comes to naught.

Delta sleep. The person is completely immersed in unconsciousness. There is no reaction to external stimuli and sensitivity to odors. During this period, the sleeper is very difficult to awaken.

Body condition during deep sleep

The first stage is characterized by the following indicators:

• breathing slows down;
• body temperature decreases;
• the heartbeat weakens;
• movements eyeballs barely perceptible.

As you sink into a sleepy state, the pressure level decreases, and the pupils become almost motionless. The blood flow to the cells of tissues of organs and muscles increases, growth hormone begins to be synthesized. At the last stage, there is a complete shutdown of consciousness, there is no reaction to external stimuli (bright light, noise, screams, singing), including smells. Normal flow This stage allows you to remember after waking up some information.

Normal duration of the slow phase at different ages

It is known that deep sleep is a purely individual indicator, and how long it should last depends on the human body. So some people, like Napoleon, for example, need only 4 hours to get enough sleep. Others need at least 10 hours of sleep to stay active. Albert Einstein belonged to this category.

According to the results of the experiment, which was conducted by specialists from the University of Surrey, it was found that the sleep rate for each age group has differences, which is clearly shown in the table.

The Importance of the Deep Rest Stage

How long deep sleep lasts within one cycle depends on how many hours per night its total duration.

In the process of numerous studies, it was found that deep immersion in sleep has a tremendous impact on mental capacity and physical development individual. A conscious reduction in the slow phase even for several days adversely affects a person’s well-being: his memory deteriorates, concentration decreases, and attention is scattered.

There are other differences that characterize the effect of deep sleep on the body.

1. Full restoration of strength and energy, tissue regeneration on cellular level, Calming and healing the psyche.
2. Disclosure of intellectual resources, increasing the efficiency of labor activity.
3. strengthening immune system, increasing the body's defenses.
4. Slowing down the aging process.
5. Preservation of creative skills, concentration of attention, ability to solve difficult life situations.
6. Compensatory properties that help maintain good spirits and physical health.

Attention! Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that the health and well-being of a person is directly dependent on the number of hours of slow sleep.

To ensure a good night's rest, you just need to accustom the brain to switch off from daytime problems, and the body to go to bed and get up at the same time.

Slow sleep disorder

Many people can suffer from intermittent sleep disturbance, but this does not negative impact on the body. Exam preparation, completion important project wedding preparations and more life situations are factors that affect and shorten its duration. healthy body able to compensate for lack of sleep for several nights. But if the lack of sleep is noted for a long period, you should start looking for the cause of a dangerous disorder.

The reasons

As practice shows, the most common factors that provoke insomnia in the adult population include the following:

It's important to know! common cause sleep disorder is a common workaholism, when a person seeks to improve their well-being by reducing the time for a night's rest. As a result, it forms vicious circle- performance is reduced, to increase it, he is a man or a woman who minimizes the period of sleep. As a result, the body suffers, and financial position it does not improve.

Effects

AT young age, as a rule, sleep disturbances are not as noticeable as in the mature, but in everyone, without exception, they cause more severe disorders over time. A regular lack of night rest is bad for the state of the body and leads to dangerous consequences.

1. Deterioration appearance: traces of fatigue, sallow complexion, bags and swelling under the eyes, the formation of fine wrinkles.
2. Weight gain, obesity development.
3. Respiratory arrest and development of the syndrome.
4. Increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, the development of cancer
5. Reduced concentration, leading to difficulties at work and problems on the road.
6. Deterioration of memory and ability to memorize, which affects the quality of life.
7. The occurrence of various diseases due to weakened immunity.

All these problems arise due to, therefore, doctors advise changing the daily routine and increasing the time of night rest.

Unusual sleep disorders: connection with the orthodox stage

Regardless of the total duration night sleep starts with a slow phase. It differs from fast and in some situations can last longer than normal. This is usually associated with violations thyroid gland, physical or mental exhaustion, a number of other factors. During the research, scientists noted some interesting phenomena.

1. Sleep disorders appear - sleepwalking, sleepwalking, enuresis, nightmares can occur.
2. Pathologies of development - the production of somatotropin growth hormone decreases, the formation of the muscle corset slows down, and the fat layer increases.

It was also found that the conscious exclusion of the phase of non-REM sleep during a night's rest is identified with spending a sleepless night.

Awakening in the deep phase

Let's understand what deep sleep is. This is the period when the body relaxes as much as possible, reactions to the world are absent, which allows a person to fully recover and replenish the spent energy. The brain stops responding to annoying factors including smells and sounds.

If a person is awakened during delta sleep, then he has disorientation in space and time. He looks lost, cannot determine the time of day, his whereabouts and how long he has been in sleepy state. Such an individual feels worse, there is a feeling of weakness and fatigue. He will not be able to remember his actions and dreams, even if the latter took place before awakening. In this case, pressure surges can be determined, a headache can occur.

Possibility of slow sleep correction

In order to correct deep sleep, increasing its duration and making it stronger and healthier, you need to follow simple rules.

If it is necessary to adjust the rest mode, it is recommended to purchase, which captures movements in a dream, distinguishes between phases. Its main function is to awaken the sleeper during the shallow stage.

Conclusion

Norms orthodox sleep directly depend on the age of the person and lifestyle. Being in a state of deep immersion has many useful features and is necessary for full development, as well as normal physical and intellectual activity. Sleeping soundly and feeling refreshed after waking up will help following the recommendations of experts.

The process of sleep is no less important for a person than, for example, regular meals. And yet, how many times have we sacrificed sleep due to lack of time! What consequences can this lead to and how to improve the quality of sleep? AnySports asked the experts.

No other type of rest, except for sleep, will allow us to relieve tension and fatigue, get rid of heavy and intrusive thoughts, gather strength. At the same time, how much important processes happens in the body at night! The process of synthesis and decay is going on in the body: skin and hair cells are actively dividing, various hormones are formed, etc. Yes, and "sleep only with half an eye" - during sleep he needs to sort out a lot of information.

How many hours do you need to sleep to sleep

The genius Einstein slept 4 hours a day, and this did not prevent him from leaving a noticeable mark on science. But how many people are able to withstand such a rhythm? Renders only 1%. By the way, according to WHO recommendations, the average person needs to sleep about 7-8 hours. During this time, in 95% of people, the body is completely restored.

“How many hours a person needs to sleep in order to get enough sleep is an individual indicator,” says Yuri Poteshkin, PhD, endocrinologist. - This largely depends on the characteristics of the central nervous system, a person's reaction to external stimuli, on the method of analyzing information entering the brain, on the convenience bed and so on. On average, the time range is from 6 to 10 hours. More than 10 hours of sleep is simply useless, less than 6 is fraught with lack of sleep.

There is an opinion that proper organization Sleep can "sleep" for one and a half to two hours. This is true, but with a small caveat. “In order to partially recover, one sleep cycle is enough for a person, and this is 80-90 minutes, which includes one phase of REM sleep and one slow wave,” says Olga Yakob, professor, doctor of medical sciences, general practitioner. - For a long time such a rest is not enough, but you can provide yourself with 3-4 hours of vigor. However, if you go to bed at two and wake up cheerfully at six, this technique will not help.

Remember that if you do not get enough sleep, then:

• Get up and eat more. Short-term sleep disturbance leads to the abuse of high-calorie foods with great content carbohydrates;
• You have a high chance of getting into an accident. One a sleepless night can negatively affect visual coordination, which, in particular, is important when driving;
• You don't look your best. “In one study, participants who experienced sleep deprivation were outwardly more depressed and less attractive,” says Olga Yakob. The problem only gets worse with time! So, accelerated skin aging, researchers at the Royal Karolinska Institute in Sweden, is associated with chronic deficiency sleep";
• You risk catching a cold. At night, the body produces proteins - cytokines, which are necessary for the regulation of stress and for the synthesis of antibodies that fight infections;
• Get more. With a lack of healthy sleep, the centers of the brain responsible for emotions become 60% more receptive. The brain reverts to a more primitive pattern of activity when it cannot relate emotions to the situation.

Healthy sleep rules

Human biorhythms are sufficiently regulated by the change of day and night. For a long time we lived in harmony both with nature and with our own organism: we got up at dawn, went to bed at sunset. But the modern lifestyle, with its ability to stay awake for as long as you want, throws off our circadian rhythms. The duration and quality of sleep is declining, and this trend is recent times is just gaining momentum. What you need to consider in order to sleep truly sound and healthy?

— . It is better to plan all important things before 17:00. After this time, just do your routine. Otherwise, the stress hormone cortisol, which should decrease during the day, will jump in the evening, and this will make it difficult for you to fall asleep;

— Have dinner. At night your body needs nutrients for the formation of skin cells and hormones. So lean meat or fish with a salad of non-starchy vegetables - a couple of hours before bedtime.

Is alcohol okay before bed? "Alcohol causes sudden jump blood sugar,” says Olga Yakob. “And this, in turn, increases the production of insulin, which contributes to a decrease in the quality of sleep.”

- Follow the rules. There is an opinion that if you want to sleep, you need to go to bed before 12 o'clock at night. To what extent is it true? "I have not met scientific literature any recommendations when it is better to go to bed in order to get enough sleep, - Yuriy Poteshkin comments. - With a late going to bed, as a rule, the time of awakening remains the same. Therefore, a person does not gain the necessary norm of sleep. ”

On this topic:

But there is another opinion: for a period of time from 12 am to 4 am, there is an active synthesis of the hormone melatonin - the strongest antioxidant that takes an active part in the recovery processes of the body, in the synthesis of a number of hormones and in the breakdown of fats. It is also responsible for the quality of sleep. With a lack of melatonin, many begin to sleep intermittently and anxiously, or even suffer from insomnia.

- Move away. Working devices make our sleep intermittent and disturbing. Getting on closed eyes, the light from the screens gives signals about the beginning of the awakening. As a result, activated various systems organs: nervous, endocrine, digestive. And the synthesis of valuable melatonin stops.

- Organize your bed properly. Silence, darkness, room temperature of about 18-20 degrees, a comfortable mattress and pillow, fresh bedding - that's what you need for a healthy and sound sleep.

- Don't force yourself to fall asleep. If you do not feel like sleeping 10-15 minutes after you lay down, do not torture yourself. Get up and do some simple household chores. After 20-30 minutes, try to fall asleep again.

How to calculate the time and wake up cheerful in the morning

Immediately make a reservation, it is impossible to compensate for the lack of sleep in any way! “If for you 8 is the number of hours you need to sleep to recover, and you sleep for 6 hours, in order to feel rested you need to compensate for the missing hours next time,” explains Yuri Poteshkin . – Therefore, next night you should sleep 10 hours. If you missed 36 hours of sleep, then within 9 days you need to sleep 4 hours more than your norm. Agree, few people can afford such a regime. In fact, we can sleep an hour longer, so those 36 hours will make up for more than a month. If you chronically do not get enough sleep, then you provide yourself with long period recovery."

But even if you sleep the prescribed norm, in the morning you can feel, to put it mildly, uncomfortable. What will help you cheer up?

— Rise in desired phase sleep. Normal sleep consists of two phases: slow and fast, the duration of the first is about 70 minutes, the second - 10-15. “The body rests and gains strength during the first phase. The maximum feeling of cheerfulness is achieved if you wake up during the phase of REM sleep, when the work of the brain is activated, ”comments Olga Yakob.

How to catch the beginning of REM sleep? This will help you either special applications for mobile phones, or trackers that are worn on the arm and wake you up in right time and in the right phase of sleep. The accuracy of such devices is usually much higher, because they judge the beginning of the fast phase based on your physiological indicators, and not on the movements of the bed, as applications do.

You can also try changing your wake up time by 15-20 minutes up or down. If after waking up you feel sleepy and rested, it means that you woke up in the right phase of sleep and will approximately know how much sleep you need.

— Smart alarm clock. The sunrise simulation gadget will help you wake up more smoothly and without unnecessary stress. Getting on the closed eyes, the light rays gradually bring the body out of the phase of slow sleep into fast sleep.

— Proper drinks. Ordinary or green tea in the morning can be much more effective than a cup of coffee. Theoretically, coffee will also help to cheer up, but not always. “If you are a “coffee addict”, then the sensitivity to caffeine decreases over time, after about 3 weeks of it regular use, - says Olga Yakob. – Therefore, coffee as a stimulant may not always work. But the action of such herbal preparations like ginseng, eleutherococcus or chinese lemongrass like caffeine."