Many have different beliefs on what we consider a sufficient amount of sleep. The truth is that the hours of sleep that our bodies need, varies throughout our life span. For example, you will find that newborns and infants need anywhere from 12-17 hours of sleep while adults need about 7-9 hours of sleep (Newman, 2020). It is not common for someone to need less than 6 hours of sleep to be functional. While some people swear by “not needing” more than 6 hours of sleep, evidence shows that the person may have just become accustomed to the negative effects of sleep deprivation.
Everyone needs at least 8 hours of sleep to best avoid the gradual effects of sleep deprivation. Once someone is sleep deprived, it is difficult for them to develop positive sleep habits. Studies show that mice who underwent an experiment where they were only allowed to sleep 3 to 5 hours a day, experienced a great loss in neurons. These mice lost as much as 25% of their neurons within their locus coeruleus, the region of the brain responsible for one’s alertness (Garrett, 2017, p. 448).
Through changing our sleep habits like refraining from napping, sleeping at least 8 hours, and staying away from our electronic devices at least 20 minutes before bed, our quality of sleep can greatly improve. Sleep is how our body rests and restores itself. It is proven that cognitive functioning and cerebral recovery takes place when someone enter REM sleep however it is important to note that for REM sleep to take place, one must be asleep for at least 90 minutes. Thereafter, we cycle through REM for a couple of minutes, followed by longer states of REM sleep which can last around an hour. It is advised for adults to cycle through at least 2 REM stages.
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