How Much Sleep Do I Need To Function Properly?

April 25, 2022

May of us – in America and the West particularly – don't get adequate sleep, and many of us don't even realize it. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), one-third of Americans are not getting adequate sleep, representing an uncomfortably large public health problem.

The reality is that an adequate amount of sleep is important to your body to functioning to the best of its abilities. Not getting enough sleep can hinder your ability to think clearly and feel energized, and it can have a number of effects on physical process, like an increased chance of developing high blood pressure, obesity, and even erectile dysfunction.

There are a number of reasons why this trend in "sleep needs" exists.

Some people are convinced of that "hustle" mindset, where you should work as much as humanly possible to succeed, even if that means sacrificing your sleep. Others simply can't put down their screens, while for others, inadequate sleep is about stress and anxiety. Other people simply don't see sleep habits as something worth improving.

But great sleep is something we should all strive towards for better health and longer lifespans. 

Below is a closer look at everything you need to know about sleep, including how much sleep you need to get consistently, how to sleep better, and more.

With this knowledge, you can better understand how much sleep you should be getting and why it's important for your health and overall well-being.

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Why Is Sleep Important?

The average person spends nearly 26 years of their life sleeping. With over 200,000 hours of your life spent asleep, wondering exactly why we do it is perfectly normal.

While it would be nice if there was a clear-cut reason for why we sleep, there isn’t. We've learned much about sleep in recent decades, however scientists still have a lot of questions, too. While the exact mechanism behind sleep and how it works is not perfectly understood, the importance of sleep for good health is well-known and very well-documented.

Below is a closer look at how sleep impacts many facets of your health, and what can happen if you aren’t getting enough of it.

Mental Impacts of Sleep

One of the most notable impacts of sleep is its effect on your mental health and cognitive capabilities. If you've ever been over-tired, you're likely familiar with the fact that a lack of sleep reduces your ability to think clearly. Sleep impacts your cognitive abilities, but it also impacts your reaction time, stress levels, and mood.

The effects of sleep deprivation are immense, so much so that researchers have found a severe lack of sleep can resemble being drunk. Just one night of missed sleep is enough to meaningfully alter reaction time and spacial awareness. A good night’s sleep is crucial to brain health.

Physiological Impacts of Sleep

The first impact of sleep is its effect on your physical health. Many people associate sleep as something beneficial to your brain and ability to concentrate, and while this is true, the extent of sleep's effects reach far beyond your mental health.

When you go an extended period of time without enough quality sleep, you increase your chances of developing high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. It can even make you more prone to getting sick.

Impacts on Sexual Health

One aspect of sleep that many people don’t consider is its impact on proper sexual function and overall sexual health. There is a recognized link between sexual dysfunction and sleep disorders, such as the link between sleep apnea and erectile dysfunction.

There is still significant research that needs to be done on the relationship between sex and sleep, but the current research points to adequate sleep being an important part of maintaining good sexual health.

If you find that you're dealing with sexual dysfunction, consider adjusting how much sleep you get and you may find yourself on a path to stronger erections and better overall health.

How Much Sleep Do I Need?

Everyone has a different sleep routine and sleep cycle. Even though there is high variability in how much sleep people need, experts agree that people should aim for a sleep duration of anywhere between seven to nine hours of quality sleep consistently to avoid the risk of chronic sleep deprivation and an accumulation of sleep debt.

This recommendation is based on the amount of sleep a healthy adult needs, but several factors can alter the amount of sleep you should be getting.

Still, there is variability (good and bad) in how we sleep.

Night shift workers sleep during the day while most other individuals sleep during the night. Some individuals try to sneak in a nap while other people simply cannot take a nap even if they try. This high variability speaks to the subjective and personal nature of healthy sleep.

The amount of sleep every person needs is slightly different. Some people may need upwards of ten hours per day while others work well on six hours of rest. President Donald Trump famously needs fewer than four hours of sleep each night, and the same for the likes of Jay Leno and Martha Stewart. 

Below is a closer look at different factors that can impact the amount of sleep you should be getting.

Age

One of the largest factors that impacts the recommended amount of sleep you need is age. When you're young, you need considerably more sleep, and as you grow up, this requirement slowly tapers.

Newborns, for instance, have a very different sleep schedule than a preschooler or older adult. Newborns don’t sleep for long stretches of time, and they take numerous naps and wake up throughout the day to breastfeed. These naps equate to about 17 hours sleep each day for most newborns and infants.

Young school-aged children need 10 to 12 hours of sleep per night, while teenagers may need more like eight to nine.

On the flip side, older adults get about seven to eight hours of sleep daily and sometimes face sleep problems or altered sleep patterns throughout the night.

Quality of Sleep

Another factor that impacts the amount of sleep you need is the quality of your sleep.

Sleep has a number of different stages of light and deep sleep, and the most important are the deeper "REM" cycles. Deep sleep is crucial for helping your body reset, and if you're not entering deeper stages of sleep often or for long enough, you will need a longer duration of sleep.

Many factors determine the quality of your sleep and how much time you spend in deep sleep stages, including genetics, your sleeping environment, and sleep hygiene. Making your sleep a priority and focusing on getting quality sleep can allow you to get the most out of the hours you spend asleep and function at a higher capacity.

The Takeaway

In closing, the exact amount of time you need to sleep to function optimally depends on a number of factors, but for most adults is in the range of seven to nine hours a night. 

If you sleep too little or too much, you will likely experience some sleepiness and other effects associated with sleep deprivation.

Sources

1 in 3 adults don't get enough sleep | CDC

Lack of sleep: Can it make you sick? | Mayo Clinic.

Sleep, Sleep Disorders, and Sexual Dysfunction | NCBI

Sleep Deprivation | American Academy of Sleep Medicine

National Sleep Foundation's sleep time duration recommendations | NCBI