Sleep is one of the most underrated factors in the world of health and well-being. Most people give an immense amount of importance to diet, exercise, and even meditation. However, when things go south and we enter a hectic phase of life, the first thing we decide to do is compromise on the number of hours of sleep we get. Pulling all-nighters or sleeping late and waking early are things we are familiar starting from preparing for exams in college to working on presentations at work.
For many of us, not a day passes when we wish to go back to being a baby to get some much-deserved shut-eye. Even the simile goes, “sleep like a baby.”
The big question is, “Can we really sleep like a baby?”
The answer is a big no. For over years, we have been confusing the quantity of sleep to quality of sleep. The amount of sleep as told by our parents over the years is 7-8 hours each day. However, those numbers vary steeply for individuals of different age groups.
Let us take a quick look at the number of hours of sleep people need based on their age groups.
The First Three Months After Birth
Shutterstock
Right after birth, humans (and mammals, in general) have a high tendency to sleep for nearly eighteen hours a day in the first week. Over the course of the next month, this comes down to approximately twelve hours a day. This is not unfamiliar to most people that have gone through or witnessed parenthood. In order to match up with the random sleep hours of children, parents are highly likely to face sleepless hours, putting up with odd hours of waking and sleeping.
From Month Three To Eleven
Around this time, infants usually settle into a sleep cycle that is relatively more regular. While maintaining a comfortable nine-plus hours at night, they might manage to catch a few hours of shut-eye during the day. However, the night sleep may be broken down in after about six hours for food and possibly a change of diapers too.
From Year One to Year Two
This is probably the most critical point of a child’s growth. Between the age of one and two, the child’s mental and physical development is at its peak and that may form the basis for the little one’s sleep cycle. The sleep pattern that they develop around this age may also have a strong impact on their sleep pattern when they grow. Around this time, kids may sometimes manage to be awake all through the day before they turn two. All this uncertainty is probably why people call it the “Terrible Twos”.
From Year Three to Year Five
Well, this is the point when the kids land up with their backs against the wall with regard to sleep. It is time to step into school life. Children at this stage will begin learning to stick to a routine. With the inability to sleep during the day, it may be imperative that they sleep 10-12 hours a night to ensure that they stay active during the day and not become moody at school. Fun fact: the little genius is seeing more of the world around, so it is going to be a lot more of a struggle to make them get some shut-eye.
From Year Six To Year Thirteen
There is nothing unfamiliar about this point in life. It’s all about school, activities, and learning. However, this may also be the time for kids to understand how much sleep they will be able to manage daily and that sleep duration may not really be a constant anymore. The key is to avoid sugar before bed, else bedtime will have to be renamed as ‘Mission Impossible’.
From Year Fourteen To Year Eighteen
Homework, assignment, and projects take the front seat and about now, sleep is only second priority. Around this time, kids do what we did — sleep later at night and catch up with all the sleep in the summer vacation. This makes their bodies restless and infinitely confused.
The Point Of No Return
After the eighteenth year, life hits you on the face. Till the age of twenty-five, most of them do not sleep as much as they ought to and exert themselves physically and mentally. We do not need research for this. It is all there in our lives. From around mid-20s to at least sixty, the amount of sleep is based on the amount of physical exertion each day. Those who are into sports or exercise may need as much as seven to eight hours, while others may need as less as five hours.
Once you have crossed the sixty mark, sleep is probably going to be extremely difficult. While they might sleep for a significant number of hours, it may be broken which leads to restless sleep.
So, what age are you at? And, how much sleep are you getting? Share your thoughts on sleep in the comment section below.
Happy Sleeping!
