Sleep is a vital, yet often overlooked, component of good health and wellbeing. In particular, the restorative effects of sleep play a crucial role in maintaining optimal physical and mental health, and promoting recovery from ailment. In particular, sleep loss:
- impairs attention, learning and memory, and reasoning and problem-solving, and >the ability to cope with stressors and challenges
- impairs the breakdown of stress hormones and impairs the immune system and the body’s ability to combat illness
- disrupts blood pressure control, appetite, breathing, and general cardiovascular health
- >increase vulnerability to a range of physical health conditions, including stroke, heart disease, obesity, diabetes
- increases vulnerability to a range of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety disorders, and
On average, adults need 7–8 hours of sleep per night. Babies typically sleep about 16 hours a day. Children aged 1-2years need 11-14 hours a night, children 3-5years need 10-13 hours, while children 6-12 years should get 9-12 hours per night. Teens aged 13-18 years need 8-10 hours. To attain the maximum restorative benefits of sleep, getting a full night of quality sleep is important.
Did you know?
Even subtle sleep restriction can be significant. The negative impact after just two weeks of losing only two hours sleep a night is equivalent to the impairment experienced after a night of total sleep deprivation!
