We all know sleep is important to us all. It is a key factor in being healthy and feeling re-energized each morning and throughout the day. However, how many hours sleep we get can differ from person to person. A lack of sleep can impact our health significantly.
In this article we will look into whether 6 hours sleep is really enough. We will discuss how to have quality sleep, and how much is optimal for our health.
In short, 6 hours of sleep is not enough for most adults. Whilst you may feel that time-wise, enough hours have passed for you to feel like it should be enough rest. You will not be able to perform to your best ability with only this amount.
Most people need a very similar quota of sleep each night. This does depend on your age, as it changes the older you get. If you’re not getting the recommended amount of sleep consistently (we all can have the odd disruption), then you should see a healthcare provider.
The average ideal sleep per night related to age is:
- Newborns (up to 3 months old): 14 to 18 hours
- Infants (up to 1 years old): 12 to 16 hours, napping hours included.
- Children (1 to 5 years old): 10 to 14 hours, napping hours included.
- School aged children (6 to 12 years old): 9 to 12 hours
- Teenagers (13 to 18 years old): 8 to 10 hours
- Adults (18 years and up): 7 to 9 hours
Quality of Sleep vs. Quantity of Sleep
Sleep is a basic human survival mechanism. It is that important.
The quality and quantity of sleep that we get are both important to how rested we feel. However, often we can get confused by thinking that if we were to get 6-8 hours of sleep, then that is all that matters.
But what if that 6-8 hours of sleep was full of restlessness, repeated episodes of waking up or symptoms of a sleep disorder eg; Sleep Apnea where you are gasping for air or snoring. This would result in you still waking feeling sleepy and tired. That would be classed as poor quality sleep despite the length.
Good quality sleep means that whilst you are asleep you are sleeping well. Whilst we view sleep as a time where our mind and body will rest, they are in fact still active. Just not in a way that is of detriment to our health.
When you are sleeping, our body’s will repair cells and restore energy. It goes through a detoxification process where the brain gets rid of toxic waste. Sleep also helps us regulate our emotions, which is why a lack of sleep tends to make us feel slightly more emotional than we would be normally.
All these processes, take place during different stages of our sleep. We need to give ourselves time for these all to happen. Which is why our sleep is a balance of quantity and quality. With too little sleep, we don’t give ourselves enough time to recover, repair and restore.
What are the Stages of Sleep?
There are four stages of sleep that our body goes through. The first three stages are known as Non-REM sleep, and the fourth stage being REM sleep. REM sleep is the most commonly known stage and is where we can experience having vivid dreams.
The stages of sleep happen within sleep cycles, these cycles tend to last from 90 to 120 minutes each. An average adult will have 4-5 sleep cycles each night.
Stage 1: NREM N1
This is where you first fall asleep. It only lasts from one to seven minutes. N1 is where we transition from being awake to falling asleep.
Our body and brains slow down and we can fall into a light sleep. If you were to be woken within Stage 1, you wouldn’t know that you had fallen to sleep. If left undisturbed, you would quickly move into the next stage.
Within your body during this stage; you muscles would start to relax, your heartbeat and breathing rate slows down and our eye movements slow and roll.
Stage 2: NREM N2
This stage is where we spend our longest time asleep during the night. Each cycle we enter, N2 becomes longer. You can be woken easily within this stage as you are still sleeping quite lightly.
When we are in Stage 2, our body is in a more calmed state. Our breathing rate will have slowed even further, our eye movements have stopped and our body temperature will have dropped. Whilst this is happening, our brain waves show a new pattern.
Stage 3: NREM N3
In this stage, you are finally entering a deep sleep. It would be hard to wake someone up when they are in this phase. Any sleepwalking tends to occur during Stage 3.
During this stage your blood pressure will drop and your muscles will relax. Your brain shows a pattern of activity know as ‘Delta Waves’. These are known as ‘long-burst’ brain waves, or people may refer to this type of sleep as ‘slow-wave’.
This is an important stage of sleep as it is when your body and brain starts to repair, which is why if you can get lots of it you will wake feeling refreshed the next day. Your brain will be consolidating memories and things you have learned meanwhile your body will be recovering and growing.
Stage 4: REM N4
Known as when your Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep occurs. This happens about 90 minutes after you first fall asleep and will reoccur every 90 minutes.
Your brain activity will almost resemble it’s awake activity. Your eyes move around quickly, and your breathing and heart rate increase to nearly awake levels. During this stage your body is paralyzed temporarily, which is definitely a good thing as you don’t want to be acting out some of the vivid dreams you might be having!
You can dream in any of the stages of sleep, however that is less common and they would not be as intense as in your REM sleep.
REM sleep is essential for our cognitive functions as well as our immune system – it helps us to fight off infection, inflammation and illness.
Let’s talk about ‘The Afternoon Slump’
If you’re asking yourself ‘Am I getting enough sleep?’ and you’re also finding yourself suffering from the afternoon slump, then you might be answering your own question!
The afternoon slump is when you find yourself feeling exhausted, full of yawns, your sluggish and your energy levels have dipped. You might have lost concentration of whatever task you are doing and have zero motivation.
We all will, to some point, suffer with an afternoon slump. After our lunch we could be suffering from a blood sugar low, if it got spiked with your choice of food. Maybe you have been working quite sedentary that day, and haven’t actually moved your body. These ar