Should i sleep for 2 hours

Scientific research makes clear that sleep is essential at any age. Sleep powers the mind, restores the body, and fortifies virtually every system in the body. But how much sleep do we really need in order to get these benefits? National Sleep Foundation guidelines advise that healthy adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night. Babies, young children, and teens need even more sleep to enable their growth and development. People over 65 should also get 7 to 8 hours per night.

Knowing the general recommendations for how much sleep you need is a first step. In each group, the guidelines present a recommended range of nightly sleep duration for healthy individuals.

These guidelines serve as a rule-of-thumb for how much sleep children and adults need while acknowledging that the ideal amount of sleep can vary from person to person. For that reason, the guidelines list a range of hours for each age group. Deciding how much sleep you need means considering your overall health, daily activities, and typical sleep patterns.

Some questions that you help assess your individual sleep needs include:. Start with the above-mentioned recommendations and then use your answers to these questions to home in on your optimal amount of sleep. To create these recommended sleep times, an expert panel of 18 people was convened from different fields of science and medicine. The members of the panel reviewed hundreds of validated research studies about sleep duration and key health outcomes like cardiovascular disease, depression, pain, and diabetes.

After studying the evidence, the panel used several rounds of voting and discussion to narrow down the ranges for the amount of sleep needed at different ages. In total, this process took over nine months to complete. In general, these organizations closely coincide in their findings as do similar organizations in Canada.

Start by making sleep a priority in your schedule. Improving your sleep hygiene , which includes your bedroom setting and sleep-related habits, is an established way to get better rest. Examples of sleep hygiene improvements include:. Pointers for parents can help with teens, specifically, who face a number of unique sleep challenges.

Fortunately, improving sleep hygiene often boosts both the quantity and quality of your sleep. If you or a family member are experiencing symptoms such as significant sleepiness during the day, chronic snoring, leg cramps or tingling, difficulty breathing during sleep, chronic insomnia , or another symptom that is preventing you from sleeping well, you should consult your primary care doctor or find a sleep professional to determine the underlying cause.

You can try using our Sleep Diary or Sleep Log to track your sleep habits. This can provide insight about your sleep patterns and needs. It can also be helpful to bring with you to the doctor if you have ongoing sleep problems. Eric Suni has over a decade of experience as a science writer and was previously an information specialist for the National Cancer Institute. His research and clinical practice focuses on the entire myriad of sleep disorders.

A nighttime cough is the cold symptom most likely to interfere with sleep. Learn how to sleep with a cough…. Learn more about the causes and underlying mechanisms of REM rebound, a phenomenon in which a person temporarily experiences more…. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website.

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What a dream! Ah, sleep. You lovely, lovely thing. When you hit snooze and drift off, your sleep cycle starts all over again. In other words, fight what your body is telling you and just get up. Setting a strict routine each a. Before you go to bed, make a list of your morning routine or the tasks you want to accomplish the next day. Having something to do and knowing what must get done will act as motivation to get up on time.

If you continue to wake up feeling drowsy, try setting your alarm a few minutes later or earlier to track your natural wake cycle. If you wake up at different times every day, your body may have a difficult time knowing when to start feeling sleepy. This can cause your bedtime to get pushed back later and later, further depriving you of much-needed rest. Eventually, this routine will become your natural rhythm. You can ensure this happens by going to bed and waking up….

Deep sleep occurs in the final stage of non-REM sleep. During this stage, your breathing is the slowest it is during sleep, and you're unlikely to be…. Experts say you can prepare for the end of daylight saving time for days in advance. Among the recommendations is outdoor physical activity. Here's everything you need to know about shopping for the…. Sleep trackers are equipped with tools and features, such as sleep duration and quality, heart rate, blood oxygen level, that can help you make….

Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Why you should get the sleep Sleep cycle Side effects of no sleep Risks of not getting enough sleep Summary According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC , adults need more than 7 hours of sleep per night, and children ages 6 to 12 need 9 to 12 hours for optimal health. Should I sleep for 2 hours or stay awake?

How the sleep cycle works. Downsides of skipping sleep altogether. Risks of getting too little sleep. Read this next. Medically reviewed by Raj Dasgupta, MD. Is 5 Hours Enough Sleep?