Then maybe THIS is also your (sleep) problem!How long sleep is enough? And can you sleep too much? How to sleep really well? And do naps actually make sense?
You are always tired in the morning? Then something is probably wrong with your sleep rhythm. imago/Panthermedia
It's Monday morning and you already feel totally exhausted again. You just got up. Totally tired again. Something is going wrong! But what exactly?? Why we often do not feel well-rested? Do we sleep too little? Or can you even sleep too much? The KURIER answers the most important questions. May uncover your (sleep) problem with it as well.
How long sleep is enough?
On average, a person working full time spends about as much time sleeping as working. About 8.22 hours a day according to the Federal Statistical Office.
Many studies show that most people need seven to eight hours of sleep. As a rule of thumb, anyone who can concentrate during the day without getting sleepy, even when sitting down for long periods of time, has found his or her personal sleep quota, according to the Techniker Krankenkasse health insurance fund.
Basically, the length of sleep also depends on age. Babies still need about 16 hours of sleep a day, while toddlers still need 11 to 14 hours. Elementary school children should sleep around 9 to 11 hours and teenagers 8-10 hours. Seniors need sleep the least.
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Can you sleep too much?
Yes! Then we usually feel tired in the morning. Studies also show that sleeping too much on a sustained basis increases the risk of stroke. Studies show that sleeping more than ten hours a night increases the risk of obesity, diabetes, depression, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and heart disease. If you don't feel rested after seven to nine hours of sleep, you're not sleeping too little, you're simply not sleeping well.
Can you catch up on sleep?
Sometimes there are just reasons you don't get enough sleep. It can happen that you don't stay in bed for more than five hours a day. Can we then make up for the lack of sleep? Yes, says a study by American sleep researcher David F. Dinges from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and his colleagues. If you get a good night's sleep after a few short nights, you'll regain a lot of strength. But you won't be really fit again until you've had enough sleep for several days.
What happens if you sleep too little or too much??
Seven hours of sleep is the ideal length of sleep for middle-aged and elderly people. That's what U.S. researchers report. Chinese scientists in the scientific journal "Nature Aging. Significantly more or less sleep was associated with impaired mental health as well as poorer mental performance, the study concluded.
The evaluation of the information from 500.000 adults found that both too little and too much sleep was associated with reduced cognitive performance – the subjects in question were slower on tests and had lower attention spans and poorer problem-solving skills. Their mental health also suffered: people with too much or too little sleep showed more symptoms of anxiety and depression and lower overall well-being.
How to get a really good night's sleep?
There are some tips that you should take to heart for really good sleep. Go to bed around the same time every day. Always wake up at the same time. A fixed schedule strengthens the body's biorhythms, a kind of timepiece in the brain that controls the release of hormones that cause fatigue or. Promote alertness.
After waking up, you should expose yourself to natural light as soon as possible. Sunlight in the morning can help put the brain into wakeful mode.
Stop using digital media at least one hour before going to bed. Cell phones should be off limits there, too – because of their short-wave rays, which could interfere with the brain's release of the sleep hormone melatonin, according to results of one study.
Do naps actually make sense?
In fact, according to the German Society for Sleep Research and Sleep Medicine (DGSM), older people in particular often report trouble sleeping through the night, a decrease in total sleep time, and an increase in the use of sleep medications. However, sleep problems are increasingly being found across age groups and around the world. Many people then take naps at lunchtime. But does that make sense?
Yes, if it is dosed correctly. A midday nap has a positive effect on our performance and reduces stress. But it should not exceed 30 minutes to be healthy!