How Many Hours of Sleep Do You Really Need?

How many hours of sleep should you get at night? This is a question that it seems like everyone has an opinion about, but who should you listen to? Considering just how important sleep is to every aspect of our health, it’s important to make sure that we’re doing our best to get the right amount!

Isn’t 8 Hours the Magic Number?

There’s long been a general belief that 8 hours of sleep is the perfect healthy amount. However, it’s worth noting that there are no modern studies that support that 8 hours is the only right amount!

Some people have stayed with the safe 7-9 hours to account for lighter or heavier sleepers, but this might not be the best rule of thumb, either.

Age Matters

While the exact number can vary based on genetics, general health, and other similar factors, one of the most important factors is age. Newborns need enormous amounts of sleep. The elderly will need less than any other age group.

A study released by the National Sleep Foundation has recently changed the recommended sleep range for each age group they study.¹ In some cases, the shift in recommended times was pretty substantial, like with very young children. The CDC has adopted these guidelines as well.²

What do the new numbers mean?

Young ones need lots of sleep

These new guidelines show that young children need a lot of sleep. 14-17 hours for newborns is the new recommendation while sleep time for infants should be in the 12-15 hour range. Toddlers need a little bit less but should still have 11+ hours of sleep per night.

The range shifts as a person grow up and slowly needs less sleep until adulthood—but most ranges are higher during those times than people think and certainly well above the 8-hour rule of thumb!

What about adults?

Many are surprised to find some school children need 12 hours of sleep and some teenagers need 10 hours of sleep. However, this study creates two new groups: young adults of 18-25 and older adults who are 65+.

The range for young adults and adults are 7 to 9 hours of sleep generally speaking, while older adults need a little bit less. This is the same range as last time, but now more studies have been done that created these new categories.

Young Adults: 7-9 hours

Adults: 7-9 hours

Older Adults: 7-8 hours

Keep in mind these are ranges. There are always outliers and exceptions, but chances are you fall into these ranges—assuming your sleep is restful!

Make Sure Your Sleep Is Restful

These sleep hours are only accurate if your sleep is healthy. This is where aromatherapy as a bedtime habit can really help your sleep! You want to practice good habits to make sure you are fully recharged when you wake up.

The right use of essential oil aromatherapy can be super-helpful in getting restful sleep. MONQ’s relaxing Sleepy Blend relaxing blends has made a huge difference in many people’s sleep schedules through the calm it can help create at their bedtime. Coupled with dimming the lights and turning off electronics, essential oil aromatherapy can lead to better, longer sleep.

So…How Many Hours Do I Need?

It can be frustrating when you ask a question and the answer comes back in some form of “it depends.” However, in general, the more sleep, the better, and so getting to sleep is very important. No matter your age, it’s never a bad idea to wake up feeling well and rested.

Photo Credits: Stock-Asso/shutterstock.com, GeorgeRudy/shutterstock.com, KamilMachiak/shutterstock.com, MarcosMesaSamWordley/shutterstock.com