How Many Hours of Sleep Do You Need?

• comments
• 
• 

Experts have released new guidelines on how to get good quality sleep. There have been many evidence that lack of sleep can affect a person's health. The same thing could also be said of oversleeping.

The American Thoracic Society (ATC) issued sleep guidelines on Monday regarding how many hours of sleep should an adult have to become functional and healthy. The official statement was published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

"In this statement, with an eye toward improving public health, we address the importance of good-quality sleep with a focus on sleep health in adults and children, the effects of work schedules on sleep, the impact of drowsy driving, and the diagnosis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea and insomnia," Dr Sutapa Mukherjee said, according to Medical News Today.

Dr Mukherjee added that sleep has a vital role in our health, but there are no resources or guidelines that could help promote "good sleep health," he told CBS News.

The sleep policy statement recommends that adults should get at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night. However, this may depend on the individual's different needs that may change over the course of many years.

Both sleeping too little and too much can yield health problems. People who sleep less than 6 hours in a 24-hour period can increase metabolic problems such as pre-diabetes, cardiovascular problems and hypertension, according to Dr Kingman Strohl of University Hospitals Case Medical Center.

Oversleeping, which is sleeping more than 9 or 10 hours a night, can also cause various health conditions such as a higher risk of stroke, according to CBS.

Sleep deprivation can also contribute to drowsy driving, one of the culprits of "fatal and nonfatal motor vehicle crashes," according to the expert group. This concern is mostly attributed to teens, whom the group finds the most susceptible.

The team also suggested that teens should have the school day attendance pushed back at a later time. They justified that adolescents would benefit more from this arrangement as it matches the "physiological circadian propensity" of the age group.

"For children, we suggest that age-based recommendations for sleep duration be developed. These should enable the child to awaken spontaneously at the desired time through implementation of regular wake and sleep schedules," according to the statement.

For those who suffer from insomnia, the policy states for physicians to recommend Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) before prescribing sedative sleeping pills.