Newborns: 16-18 hours a day. Preschool-aged children: 11-12 hours. School-going children: 10 hours. Teens: 9-10 hours. Adults (including elderly): 7-8 hours.
While we may get by with less sleep on a prolonged basis, it is important to remember that ‘catching up’ on a sleep deficit accumulated over the week over the weekend does not provide the same restorative and beneficial effects as regular sleep does. It’s not a question of just balancing numbers but of respecting the process.
In today’s world of 24/7 connectivity, it is a big challenge for humans to disconnect and accept that the world will continue to function for those few hours when we sign off — simply because productivity is increasingly associated with being awake longer. This may play out quite to the contrary if the complexity of the sleep cycle and its needs are not fully understood.
So, as a solution, we need to prepare for sleep as we prepare for work. Some possible strategies for cultivating better sleeping habits could include the following:
≠ going to bed and waking up at the same time each day
≠ trying not to vary weekday and weekend sleep/ wake routines too much
≠ preparing for sleeping by quietening down about an hour before sleeping
≠ avoiding strenuous exercise close to bedtime
≠ avoiding bright lights from TV or laptop/ mobile phone screens
≠ avoiding watching TV in the bedroom
≠ avoiding caffeinated drinks in the
≠ avoiding nicotine (cigarettes)
≠ avoid heavy/ large meals close to bed a compromise the quality of sleep
Seek remedies for sleep disorders like apnea and insomnia. Try relaxation techniques like warm baths, meditation, music, good reads or whatever soothes your mind and gets the body ready for sleep.
Some special categories of people, such as care-givers, emergency responders, shift workers and even older children faced with big workloads and early morning starts, may need additional strategies to cope.