Normal sleep duration for an adult. How many hours does a person need to sleep

Why sleep is needed, as well as how much sleep an adult needs per day, tables of the physiological need of a person in sleep, what are the phases of sleep and what is REM, you will find out right now ...

Hello friends! How often do you wake up in the morning feeling sleepy and in a bad mood? Or you try to fall asleep, tossing and turning all night, and as a result, weakness and low efficiency. I'm sure everyone has experienced this. First things first...

Dreams in the understanding of the past

Since ancient times, man has been trying to unravel such a phenomenon as a dream. And the question: how much sleep an adult needs per day, was also of interest to ancient scientists. In ancient Greece, it was believed that during dreams, blood fills the brain, and its outflow contributes to awakening. In Islam, this period is interpreted as something that steals the soul at night and resurrects in the morning.

Astrologers associated the period of night rest with something mystical, it is during this period that prophetic dreams are dreamed, which are more often seen by representatives of the air element. By the way, the scientist chemist Dmitry Mendeleev discovered the table of chemical elements in a dream and he is an Aquarius by sign.

Some physiologists have suggested that falling asleep occurs only at the moment when the brain activity is empty of various types of thoughts. I will say one thing, that there is truth in this, a person who all the time in experiences more difficultly flies into the world of dreams.

How much sleep does an adult need per day and what kind of Morpheus is he?

So what is sleep and why do we depend so much on its quality? Until the end, this physiological phenomenon has not been solved by scientists, however, a definition is given as a kind of gap between the mentally active state of a person and the outside world. Simply put, a kind of pause to restore the body's strength from all points of view. It is this state that occupies 1/3 of our life.

The period of dreams is usually divided into phases of sleep:

• fast phase or REM, characterized by a short period of 1-2 hours, at which point there is a rapid movement of the eyeballs under the closed eyelids, which distinguishes this view from the next, most interestingly, while the brain is in a state of wakefulness;
• The slow phase is divided into several stages:

1. Stage — superficial sleep , this period is very sensitive, so a person wakes up from the slightest noise;

1. Stage — physiological processes . At this moment, breathing stabilizes, body temperature, muscle tone, etc. decrease. At the slightest noise, awakening is possible.

1. Stage - transient, is a link between the previous and subsequent final stage. Brain activity at this point is reduced.

1. Stage - deep dream, during this period, the brain receives maximum rest from external stimuli, the body recuperates. It is very difficult to wake up a person, with a sudden awakening, as a rule, orientation in space and misunderstanding of reality are lost.

How much sleep does an adult need per day to be completely happy?

We are all different and our body's need for rest also depends on age, gender, the presence of chronic diseases, profession, etc. In the presented table, you can see what is the physiological need of a person for sleep per day, depending on various circumstances.

In many forums, there are disputes among users, what time should I go to bed? I will say one clear time that determines the moment when you need to urgently run to bed, no.

Many scientists, physiologists and doctors came to the same opinion that in order to get enough sleep and not feel overwhelmed in the morning, you need to go to bed no later than 23:00. This is due to physiological and biochemical processes that are regulated by a number of factors (mediators, etc.). If the recommendations are violated, as a result, a number of pathologies can be acquired, among which are neuroses, etc.

If your occupation involves shift work, after the night shift you should divide the total amount of time allotted for sleep into two sets. It is important to go to bed for 2-3 hours during the day, and take the rest of the time for the night period. Thus, there is a proper adaptation of the body to such a rhythm.

How much sleep does an adult need per day, especially if he is an athlete? For athletes, the state of sleep is a recovery period after. Bodybuilders especially need an extended period to get better.

Why do we sleep

Some of us consider sleep to be a waste of time, however, this is an erroneous opinion, and I can argue:

• firstly, it is rest for the body, especially for the central nervous system, without rest for more than 5 days a person dies;
• secondly, it plays an important role in metabolism, at this moment certain substances are released that affect various biochemical processes, including metabolism;
• thirdly, it contributes to the assimilation of information, namely its sorting, obtained during wakefulness;
• fourthly, it helps to adapt to the temporary change day / night, thereby ensuring vigor and activity of the functions of organs and systems in the daytime. It also helps to recover during illness, which is priceless for health.

Why not sleep

I am sure that at least once, but you have experienced such a state when you fall down, but putting your head on the pillow, you cannot fall asleep. Such incidents occur for a number of reasons, some are transient disorders, while others can signal serious illnesses. Our body is arranged very rationally, and as they say, it tolerates exactly as much as it can.

What can prevent a person from sleeping:

• malnutrition, especially overeating before bed;
• experiences and
• pregnancy;
• abrupt change in the hourly regime;
• taking certain medications that cause sleep disturbances;
• climatic factor (high temperature, humidity, etc.) and other reasons.

If these factors are eliminated, everything returns to normal and the usual rhythm is restored. What can not be said about other reasons that can affect the quality and duration of the period of dreams.

As a rule, they are a bell of severe diseases that require special therapy. In such cases, urgent consultation with a specialist is necessary.

Proper sleep reminder

For a good sleep, you need to pay attention to the following points:

• do not get carried away with food in the evening, overeating is not the best friend of weight and sleep. If suddenly there is a need, include vegetable food (light salads), fruits in the diet;
• take a walk before bed;
• the bedroom should be ventilated;
• a warm bath (you can add a decoction of herbs, valerian root, lavender, motherwort, etc.) or a shower relaxes and helps you fall asleep quickly;
• herbal teas (mint, lemon balm, linden and other herbs) and honey promote quality sleep;
• eliminate stress and anxiety factors, reading a book is suitable for this;
• at least an hour before a night's rest, forget about mobile phones, computers and other gadgets;
• if you are taking medications that disrupt sleep phases, the last dose should be no later than 16:00.

That's all for today.
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And drove on!

Are you sleeping right? How well do you rest during sleep? What happens in the body when we sleep? These questions are natural, because a person spends about 24 years of his life in a dream! Agree, you need to get the most out of this - well, you can’t spend 24 years of your life somehow. Scientists conduct numerous studies of sleep, doctors use healing sleep in their work, even traditional healers claim that sleep is health. But speculation is speculation, and in the study of the topic, one can and should rely only on scientific facts.

Oversleeping or undersleeping - which is better?

How much sleep do you need to get enough sleep? Almost everyone knows that a night's sleep should last at least 8 hours - so doctors tell us. Indeed, many of us will agree that only after 8 hours of sleep do they feel rested. And it is even better to sleep 9-10 hours ... But the psychiatrist, Professor Daniel Kripke, specifically conducted research on the duration of sleep and made an interesting conclusion:

People who sleep between 6.5 and 7.5 hours per night live longer. They are more productive and happier. And too much sleep can even be harmful to your health. And you may feel worse after sleeping 8.5 hours than if you slept 5.

Try to experiment on yourself and sleep not 8 hours, but only 7.5 - just listen carefully to your inner state, to your well-being. Kripke claims that the body feels more energetic with this sleep pattern, the person is ready to literally “move mountains”, and the mood will be excellent.
Are you more likely to be satisfied with 4 hours of sleep a night and consider yourself a hero? Wrong! Lack of sleep is just as bad as oversleeping. Moreover, it is not known for certain what will affect health more negatively. It's like choosing the size of underwear - each person needs an individual approach. Therefore, you should gently and unobtrusively experiment with your own body - if you sleep 8 or more hours every night, then boldly reduce this time by half an hour. Do you feel that 7.5 hours is enough for rest? Try another half an hour to reduce the duration of rest. Important:less than 6 hours of sleep at night is harmful. Therefore, when setting up experiments, do not overdo it - you need to find a "golden mean". An interesting fact is that a person who has slept for 4 hours will be quite adequate and even attentive enough that he can be compared with a person who has slept for 7.5 hours. And even the tests/exercises carried out by these two people will give the same results. What's the catch? The fact is that even with a complete rash, from time to time the human brain loses focus on the task. And this is where the difference between the two people mentioned at the beginning manifests itself - with a full amount of sleep, the brain returns attention, but if there is lack of sleep “on the face”, then there will be no refocusing. In order not to put pressure on you, the readers, with scientific terms, but to convey the idea, it can be formulated as follows:

The brain of a sleep deprived person works normally, but from time to time something similar to a power failure in an electrical device happens to it.

The quote is from Clifford Saper, a professor at Harvard who studies sleep with a team of other scientists. Just look at the table below:
As soon as a person loses focus, the processes of its activation automatically begin in the brain - they are indicated in the figure in yellow. If a person has not slept enough, then such activity is very weak, or even absent. But the so-called “center of fear” begins its work (amygdala - they are highlighted in red on the table) and the brain works in a specific mode - as if a person is in danger from all sides. Physiologically, this is manifested by sweating of the palms, rapid breathing, rumbling and colic in the abdomen, and tension of individual muscle groups. Important:The danger of sleep deprivation lies in the fact that a person, losing attention and focus, is unaware of it. He believes that he adequately responds to the circumstances, his performance does not suffer. That is why doctors recommend not driving a vehicle in case of lack of sleep.

Research on the effects of sleep on humans

Conducting research on the effect of sleep on a person has led to several stunning conclusions:

1. Sleep disturbance, namely its insufficiency, leads to memory impairment. An experiment was conducted with bees - after they were forced to change their usual route of flying around the territory, a violation of rest (the bees do not sleep in our understanding of the word) led to a loss in space - not a single representative of these insects could repeat the flight path studied for the day before.
2. Lack of sleep leads to an increase. This is also confirmed by research, scientists associate such a manifestation of lack of sleep with that experienced by an overworked / unrested body.
3. Normal, full sleep greatly enhances creativity. For example, in a dream, unexpected solutions to global problems come to a person, an understanding / vision of some theories comes to a person - and you don’t have to look far for an example: Mendeleev dreamed of a table of chemical elements!
4. Sleep disturbance can be triggered by increased background lighting in the evening. On this occasion, quite serious studies were carried out by the medical center at the University of Chicago. It was found that this fact provokes a later bedtime, reduces the duration of the sleep phase that precedes awakening.

In addition, sleep duration may affect food preferences. An experiment was conducted with children aged 6-7 years: with regular lack of sleep, children began to consume more meat, carbohydrates and fats, almost forgetting about fruits and vegetables. All this happened against the background of the absence of any diet - scientists noted classic overeating in a group of children tested. It has long been known that the lack of proper sleep negatively affects the neurotransmitters in the brain - they are corny depleted. The result of such an impact can be stress, because it is the neuroregulators that are responsible for a good mood. It turns out the chain: lack of sleep-irritability-stress. And the consequence of a stressful state can be a dangerous and complex condition that should be subjected to professional treatment.

How to regulate sleep

Oversleeping is harmful, not getting enough sleep is also dangerous. What to do and how to determine how much sleep you need specifically? Firstly, if a person feels constant fatigue and always wants to sleep, then this means only one thing - it is necessary to adjust the time of daily sleep. And this does not mean that it is necessary to set aside a day, banally get enough sleep, turning off the phone and the doorbell - this will only have a short-term effect. Need to increase nighttime sleep:

• try to go to bed as early as possible;
• before going to bed do not watch TV and do not engage in too active work;
• it is advisable to take a short walk in the fresh air before going to bed (without beer and strong coffee!), you can read a book - is this advice too banal? But it is very effective - it has been tested, as they say, for years.

Secondly, accustom your body to rest during the daytime. Some people absolutely need to sleep in the daytime for at least one and a half hours - they will feel great in the evening, not feel tired. But it would be wiser to gradually accustom yourself to rest during the day for a maximum of 30 minutes - do not be surprised, such a quick sleep is quite enough to restore the normal functioning of the whole organism. Thirdly, you need to adjust your sleep schedule. You need to go to bed and get up at the same time - if this is problematic, then use the alarm clock. And even if it’s very hard to get up at 7 in the morning, don’t stay in bed - a couple of minutes of active wakefulness (going to the toilet, hygiene procedures, making coffee and a sandwich) is enough to wake up. If you do not know how much time you need to sleep, then pay attention to the data below:

Of course, the table cannot be taken as indisputable data - these are just recommendations. But you can “push off” from them when drawing up an individual schedule of sleep and wakefulness. In some cases, the body requires more sleep than indicated in the table. This may indicate health problems, or simply be a necessity in a particular case. For example, pregnancy, emotional outbursts (exams, competitions, and so on), too much physical activity - this is all considered the norm, but automatically prolongs sleep time. Note: if suddenly, for no apparent reason, sleep disturbances, fatigue and irritability appear, then you need to see a doctor. Most likely, these signs will indicate health problems. Sleep is absolute health. Therefore, do not ignore the emerging problems with falling asleep, intermittent sleep, feeling tired after waking up. And drinking sedative and hypnotic drugs also does not make sense - they should be selected by a specialist, and these medicines will not solve the problem. Even with small but persistent sleep disorders, it is necessary to undergo a complete examination - the cause of this condition can lie in any organ / system. Tsygankova Yana Alexandrovna, medical observer, therapist of the highest qualification category.

It is believed that a healthy adult should sleep between seven and nine hours a night, and that lack of sleep is bad not only for well-being the next day, but also for overall health. However, recent medical research shows that not only a lack of, but an excess of sleep can be detrimental and lead to the development and cardiovascular diseases.

“People who sleep no more than seven hours a day, on average, get sick less than those who sleep eight hours or more,” says Professor Sean Youngstadt (University of Arizona), who studies the effects of oversleeping.

Daniel F. Kripke, professor emeritus of psychiatry at the University of California, conducted two studies that showed that too much sleep can be a negative factor. One tracked 1.1 million people's cancer control over six years. The study found that those who slept between 6.5 and 7.5 hours recovered more often than those who slept less or more.

Another study looked at how older women sleep and also showed that the optimal sleep time is slightly less than the classic eight hours: those who slept between five and 6.5 hours a night lived longer than their sleep-deprived and sleep-abusing peers.

However, other experts disagree with colleagues: the fact is that the disease itself can make a person sleep longer or just spend more time in bed. “Such studies show us the relationship between the time that a person spends on sleep and their diseases, but they do not say anything about the causes,” says Timothy Morgenthaler, MD, president of the American Academy of Sleep. He recommends that patients sleep seven to eight hours and monitor their well-being. The doctor argues that the need for sleep is individual and varies depending on cultural traditions and genetic differences.

Experts suggest that you determine for yourself how long you need to sleep in order to feel good. It is best to do this during the holidays, since for three days you will need to wake up on your own, without an alarm clock.

1. Go to bed when you feel tired.
2. Avoid caffeine and alcohol.
3. Keep all electronic watch devices turned off.
4. Keep a diary or record your sleep time in some other way.

The main indicator will be your well-being during the day: if you woke up fresh and rested and spent the daytime actively, then you slept the optimal number of hours. It will most likely be seven to nine hours if you're an adult, but school-age children and teens need a longer nine to ten hours of sleep.

“Personally, I don’t think it’s okay to sleep too long. If you get enough sleep, your body will wake up on its own,” says Safwan Badr of the Detroit Medical Institute. Research confirms this too: five healthy adults were placed for two months in conditions of the "Stone Age" - without electricity, clocks or the noises of civilization. Study participants during the experiment went to bed two hours earlier than they did in normal life, and slept for an hour and a half longer. Their sleep averaged 7.2 hours.

Discussion

I need 8 hours of sleep to sleep and feel alert, when I sleep less I notice how bad it is and slowly start to think and act ... so I would say that in this case everything is individual

I absolutely agree that sleep is the basis of a healthy lifestyle. I myself notice that during the reporting period at work, when I have to sleep 4 hours a day, I gain weight and always look terrible. But how to explain this to children?) Especially to adults who are already on their own minds. Probably, only when they live to my age, then they will understand!

Healthy sleep means good immunity. Read an interview with an oncologist. He says that 7-8 hours of sleep per day is enough for adults.

Comment on the article "How much sleep should a person?"

Please tell me, the child is a year old, we continue breastfeeding, lately the child has not been eating as much as breastfeeding, but how much he has been playing, maybe even bite (Does it make sense to leave breastfeeding. He does not suck on the pacifier, is it possible that the child replaces the pacifier with me? Can offer the child milk in a bottle instead breast? But also a problem, milk, kefir - we don’t drink, only if yogurt with fruit. Night sleep is also not long, it can wake up 2-3 times for sure, it seemed to me that at that age a child should sleep ...

Discussion

First of all, I want to say that it does not replace the nipple with your breasts. On the contrary, it is a nipple that replaces the breast. Secondly, while you are breastfeeding your baby, he will wake up at night. As soon as wean - sleep will be better.
I weaned first from daytime feedings. Usually we ate breasts and I rocked him on the pillow. I began to skip the chest and just shook it, a couple of times it rolled. Then he started throwing tantrums. I made porridge in a bottle, he ate them and then I shook and he fell asleep.
The same goes for night feedings. She made liquid porridge in a bottle and he ate it. Yes, the first week I woke up at night and cried, for about 10 minutes. I refused water, juice, tea. In general, from everything that was offered. And then he fell asleep. So we turned the GW.
If the pediatrician says that you can’t have too much porridge, then remove it from the daily feeding. We always had a liquid porridge before any bedtime.
I also heard that pediatricians advise doing this: if you wean a child from the breast for a year, then up to a year and a half to feed him with milk formula (not to be confused with cereals).
But judging by what you wrote, it's time to turn off the GW.

Good afternoon. Regarding breastfeeding, it is advisable to continue breastfeeding for up to two years, but you need to weigh all the factors - if this is already uncomfortable for you and the baby is not very attached to the breast, you can wean. Ideally, a baby can breastfeed before going to sleep in the evening and after waking up in the morning. At night at this age, the child may not wake up, but not all children sleep like that. If you finish breastfeeding when waking up at night, just carry the baby in your arms, offer some water or tea from the nipple. To accustom to night feeding - to give milk or porridge, is not worth it. The baby should learn to eat during the day. Porridge can be given twice. The norm for 12 months is 200-300 grams per day.

For World Sleep Day, Philips has conducted a global study on a quality and healthy night's rest. It was attended by about 8,000 people from 10 countries. According to the findings, work stress and financial problems have a strong impact on the quality of sleep. Thus, the vast majority of respondents (84%) do not sleep at night because they are worried about their financial situation and career. Healthy sleep is a necessary condition for a fulfilling life, but more...

Sleep norms are of great importance in the full development of children. This article will introduce you to the recommended sleep rates for children at different ages. Every living being must sleep. This is the basis of early brain development. Circadian rhythms, or sleep-wake cycles, are regulated by light and dark, and these rhythms take time to form, resulting in irregular sleep patterns in newborns. Rhythms begin to develop at about six weeks, and three to six...

For the health and full development of an infant, the smallest details matter. Moms study entire volumes on caring for a baby, consult a doctor and consult with friends, but still it is impossible to get answers to all questions. An urgent problem can be daytime sleep: how much sleep a child needs to get enough sleep - any mother who is raising her first child and not only thinks about this. Search engines of Internet resources are simply clogged with such requests and women's forums are overflowing ...

person online. Tell me how much a baby should sleep at 4.5 months. Maybe in vain I continue to stack her after each feeding?

Discussion

And what is sucking sisyu?

we have such a regime: getting up at 11 o’clock ... hanging out for an hour and a half and cutting down for 50 minutes in a stroller on the street .... then hanging out until 15-30-16 hours and sleeping 2.5 hours ... then hanging out again and half an hour on the shoulder will die somewhere at 8.30 (+ -) half an hour ... at night about 12 at night to sleep
i.e. three sleeps first and third for 40 minutes with an average of 2.5 hours

person online. 01/26/2017, Thursday. In short, a good dream! Thus, we regretfully skip bathing almost every other day! How much sleep should a child have during the day at her age?

Discussion

yes, but we bathe earlier - at 19:30. We wake up at 18:00.
At 20:00, we feed approximately (immediately in our bed, because she sleeps with us) and fall asleep at a maximum of 21:00.

our daughter established the regimen herself somewhere by 8 weeks of life. Has become somehow more predictable or something (waking up at about the same time, falling asleep).
I tried to bathe at the same time, and keep the same intervals between sleep (about 1.5 hours she was awake).

And in a month she generally behaved as she wanted. I also walked like a zombie. And in general the first 2 months I had those. Now we are almost 3 (tttttt) it has become much easier

Sleep is an integral part of the life of any person, the basis of health and good mood. The most interesting thing is that most people are well aware of how important a good night's sleep is, but only a few pay due attention to this process, including time. Moreover, some even aggravate the situation by taking various stimulants (coffee, energy drinks) in order to overcome the body's natural desire for rest.

Note. Generally, women sleep more than men and experience less sound sleep that is easier to interrupt.

A person's need for sleep depends on many factors, including age, lifestyle, fitness, stress levels, occupation, and even genetics. World-class experts and scientists from different countries are uniting and conducting large-scale studies in order to determine how much sleep people need. It is impossible to establish the exact number of hours that would suit everyone, but the optimal range has been found. Next, we will tell you how much a person needs to sleep, including adult men.

Sleep time by age (hours per day)

Newborns (0-3 months) - 14-17

Infants (4-11 months) - 12-15

Toddlers (1-2 years old) - 11-14

Preschoolers (3-5 years old) - 10-13

School age children (6-13 years old) - 9-11

Teenagers (14-17 years old) - 8-10

Youth (18-25 years old) and adults (26-64 years old) - 7-9

Older generation (over 65 years old) - 7-8

Important. An adult person, both a man and a woman, needs to sleep from 7 to 9 hours a day.

In order to determine the exact number of hours a particular person needs to sleep, it is required to conduct several tests, compare the results and settle on the optimal one. Observe how your body reacts to different intervals of night sleep.

Pay special attention to mood during the day, energy and well-being in general. During the experiment, adhere to a healthy lifestyle, that is, give up bad habits, eat right and exercise.

Even on weekends, go to bed and get up at the same time, that is, on a schedule.

Avoid stressful situations and unnecessary worries in principle and especially before bedtime.

Sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillows.

Before going to bed, do various relaxation practices - meditation and yoga.

Try to maintain a comfortable sleeping temperature in the bedroom (18-19 ° C), ventilate the room, exclude third-party sounds and bright light.

Do not drink alcohol and caffeine before bed, do not eat at least 2-3 hours in advance, and do not smoke.

Take a warm bath before bed and read interesting books.

Exercise daily (at least exercise).

Give up gadgets and TV viewing at least 30-60 minutes before bedtime.

If you can't fall asleep within 20 minutes, it's best to get out of bed and do something relaxing (reading or listening to music) until you feel sleepy.

Regular lack of sleep leads to irritability, stress and depression, contributes to weight gain, reduces immunity and impairs memory. According to statistics, adults who sleep between 7-9 hours a night live significantly longer and happier.

What time do you need to go to bed

Most often, habit and favorite evening activities determine the hours when people go to bed. Getting out of bed is due to the need for professional, family and social life. In addition, some people are considered larks (early risers) and others are owls (late risers). At the same time, each type can feel great, be alert and maximally productive during the day.

That is, there is no universal answer to the question of what time you need to go to bed. It is known that for a healthy sleep, an adult needs from 7 to 9 hours a day, so at least you should stick to such a schedule to fit into this range. According to scientists, the optimal time to go to bed is between from eight o'clock in the evening to midnight.

Important. Every hour of sleep before midnight is worth two hours after midnight.

In conclusion, if a person experiences symptoms such as drowsiness during the day, regular snoring, leg cramps, difficulty breathing, prolonged insomnia, or other sensations that do not allow you to sleep well, then you should seek the advice of a doctor. On average, sleep takes up a third of a person's life, so try to make this process as comfortable and beneficial as possible for the body.

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 obsessive thoughts, and gain strength. At the same time, how many important processes occur 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 comfort of a bed, etc. 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.

It is believed that with proper organization of sleep, you can "sleep" in 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, high-carbohydrate foods;
• You have a high chance of getting into an accident. One 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 a chronic lack of 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 only gaining momentum in recent years. 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 to produce 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 a sharp jump in 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 seen any recommendations in the scientific literature when it is better to go to bed in order to get enough sleep,” Yuri 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 the closed eyes, the light from the screens gives signals about the beginning of awakening. As a result, various organ systems are activated: 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 a long period of 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?

— Get into the right sleep phase. 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? Either special applications for mobile phones or trackers that are put on your hand will help you with this and wake you up at the 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 you will approximately know how much you need to sleep.

— Smart alarm clock. A gadget with a simulated dawn 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. Regular 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 its regular use, says Olga Yakob. – Therefore, coffee as a stimulant may not always work. But the effect of such herbal preparations as ginseng, eleutherococcus or Chinese magnolia vine is similar to caffeine.