Do people have to sleep eight hours a day? According to the survey of the American Cancer Association, people who sleep an average of 7-8 hours a night have the longest life span; 80% of those who sleep an average of less than 4 hours a night are short-lived. However, Guo jueheng, director of the sleep and respiratory disease diagnosis and treatment center of Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, also pointed out that the best sleep time for different age groups is different, and sleep should be scientific according to their own age.
elderly over 60 years old: sleep 5.5 ~ 7 hours a day
The elderly should go to bed before 12 o’clock every night. They should sleep for 7 hours or even 5.5 hours at night. According to the data released by the Alzheimer’s Association, the aging of the brain can be delayed by two years for the elderly who are limited to seven hours of sleep every night. Long term sleep of more than 7 hours or insufficient sleep will lead to poor attention, even Alzheimer’s, and increase the risk of early death.
Suggestion: the most common sleep problems of the elderly are dreaminess and insomnia. Dreaminess is due to the deterioration of the brain function of the elderly; Insomnia is often caused by the reduction of melatonin secretion in the body. Melatonin is one of the important factors that determine sleep in the body. Guo Juheng suggested that the elderly with poor sleep quality at night had better develop the habit of taking lunch breaks, and the time should not exceed 1 hour. Otherwise, the central nervous system of the brain will deepen the inhibition, promote the relative reduction of blood flow in the brain, slow down metabolism in the body, and easily lead to discomfort and even sleepiness after waking up.
adults aged 30-60: sleep about 7 hours a day
Adult men need 6.49 hours of sleep, and women need about 7.5 hours of sleep, and should ensure “quality sleep time” from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Because people can easily reach a deep sleep state at this time, which helps alleviate fatigue. A 22 year follow-up study of 21000 adults in Finland found that men who slept less than 7 hours were 26% more likely to die than men who slept 7 to 8 hours, and women were 21% more likely to die; Men who slept more than 8 hours were 24% more likely to die than men who slept 7-8 hours, and women were 17% more likely to die.
Suggestion: if people in this age group lack sleep, it is mostly related to mental decline, or bad habits such as overeating caused by stress. Guo jueheng reminded that in addition to relieving pressure as much as possible, you can also make some efforts in the sleeping environment, such as reducing noise, ventilation, and proper shading, and choose a pillow 10-15cm high with moderate hardness and softness. Those who still don’t get enough sleep can also take a 1-hour lunch break to make up for their sleep.
young people aged 13-29: sleep about 8 hours a day
Teenagers at this age usually need to sleep 8 hours a day, and follow the principle of early to bed and early to rise to ensure deep sleep at about 3:00 at night. Generally, we should ensure that we go to bed at 24:00 at the latest and get up at 6:00 in the morning. On weekends, we should try not to sleep in. Because sleeping for too long will disturb the body’s biological clock, lead to depression, affect memory, miss breakfast, cause eating disorders, etc.
Suggestion: young people are used to staying up late, which will directly affect their mental state the next day, and easily cause skin damage, acne, melasma and other problems. Staying up late for a long time will also affect endocrine, leading to decreased immunity. Colds, gastrointestinal infections, allergies, etc. will come to your door, and mental symptoms such as forgetfulness, irritability, and anxiety will appear. Therefore, the most important thing for young people is to standardize their lives. Don’t eat an hour before going to bed, and take a nap at noon for half an hour, which is more beneficial to their health.
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