How Many Hours Should a Person Sleep?
Other People Are Reading
-
Eight Hours Each Night
-
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2009 released a "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report" that indicated that "10 percent of adults reported not getting enough rest or sleep every day in the previous month." The CDC defines adequate sleep as seven to nine hours per night for post-adolescent adults.
-
Eight Hours Each Night, Plus Two
-
In his book, "Sleep Thieves," neuropsychological researcher Stanley Coren notes that the accidents of Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and Exxon Valdez were all caused by sleep-deprived individuals.
Coren concludes, "The data seem to be quite clear on this. It is probably the case that we may need 9.5 to 10 hours of sleep a day for optimal performance."
Bottom Line
-
The National Sleep Foundation suggests that most adults have a "basal sleep need" of seven to eight hours. However, more sleep is needed for anyone who's accrued a "sleep debt" because of poor sleep habits, health problems or environmental factors.
The foundation echoes the CDC's position that most adults need seven to nine hours on average, but adds that there is ""no magic number" for sleep. Individuals should assess how they feel after differing amounts of sleep to determine what their sleep needs are.
References
- Photo Credit Alarm clock image by Mykola Velychko from Fotolia.com
