Sleeping Properly: How much sleep do we need?

As we grow old, our body develops. We experience the different changes that we normally go through in our everyday lives. Some are hard to get used to and some we get used to quickly. However, we might have not noticed it but our sleeping patterns also changes as we age. It is something that we somehow take for granted as we discover what life is all about. When we were young, we were told that sleeping is an important part of our lives since we need it to be able to grow and develop properly.

Sleep or sleeping is a natural phenomenon that is categorized by the reduction or absence of our consciousness, idleness of most of our voluntary muscles, and the moderate suspension of our sensory activities. When we sleep, we have a decreased ability to react to any stimuli. However, it is an important phenomenon that puts an emphasis on our growth and the rejuvenation of our bodily systems such as the immune, muscular, nervous, and skeletal systems. Therefore, we need it in order for our body parts to develop accordingly.

Since we undergo a lot of changes as we grow old and develop, our sleeping patterns change as well. If sleeping is an important natural phenomenon for all of us, then how much sleep do each of us need? What is the average sleep for the different age groups? In every age group, we all have to sleep according to the average sleep that we all need to be able to grow and develop in a healthy way. The age groups is divided into seven categories according to the average sleep that all of us need. The age groups are categorized by an age bracket such as 0 to 2 months old, 3 to 1 year old, 1 to 3 years of age, 3 to 5 years old, 5 to 12 years old, 12 to 18, and 18 and beyond.

After being born, at about 0 to 2 months old, we sleep from 12 to 18 hours a day. When we get to being infants or reach 3 months old to 1 year, our average sleep decreases from 12 to 18 hours into 14 to 15 hours. As we move on to being toddlers or 1 to 3 years of age, our average sleep decreases to 12 to 14 hours. Then, as we reach the preschool stage which is from 3 to 5 years of age, our average sleep decreases from 12 to 14 into 11 to 13 hours. As we developed into being school-aged children or children who are in ages 5 to 12, our average sleep decreases to 10 to 11 hours. Subsequently, at the age of 12 to 18 years, we would need an average sleep of 8.5 to 10 hours. Eventually, as we reach our adult age which starts at the age of 18 and beyond, our average sleep has decreased to 7.5 to 9 hours a day.

As you can observe, as we grow old and get passed each age bracket, our average time to sleep decreases significantly by four after the newborn stage which is 0 to 2 months old. Then, as we grow old to being an infant to being school-aged children which is from 3 months to 12 years old, our average time to sleep decreases significantly by 3. Ultimately, as we get to preteens and teens up to the adult stages, our average time to sleep declines 3 to 2.5 hours. The decline is due to the amount of rest that we need to rejuvenate our body or help our body grow as time passes. Therefore, as we slowly age, it is imperative to get the required amount of sleep that we need in order to grow and develop in a healthy way.

The article taken from HEALTH ARTICLE Medsavailable