Having trouble getting that ideal 8 hours of sleep? So is everyone else. But there’s some good news — you may only need 7 hours of it.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and the Sleep Research Society (SRS) have issued a new recommendation, saying seven is the magic sleep number for most healthy adults.
In an article with the Seattle Times, incoming AASM president Dr. Nathaniel F. Watson says 7 hours is the lower limit for how much sleep a healthy adult should get per night.
A 15-member panel spent a year reviewing research materials that led the AASM and SRS to this conclusion.
“More than a third of the population is not getting enough sleep, so the focus needs to be on achieving the recommended minimum hours of nightly sleep,” Watson said in a press release from the AASM.
The study didn’t place a limit on the amount of sleep you should get. People who are recovering from sleep debt or battling sleep illnesses and younger adults probably need closer to 9 hours a night.
Part of the problem with how we approach sleep, according to Watson, is our busy lifestyles. The cycle never ends. Work gets us up early in the morning, and on occasion, keeps us up late at night. When it’s not work, it’s family or projects or children. The regular stressors of life are always going to be there.
But allotting time in your schedule for at least 7 hours of sleep can keep you more alert during the day. That way you will have the energy to enjoy all the things that are keeping you busy.
Quit fighting your snooze button. Make time for at least 7 hours.
