Sleep needs vary across ages and are especially impacted by lifestyle and health. To determine how much sleep you need, it’s important to assess not only where you fall on the ‘sleep needs spectrum’, but also to examine what lifestyle factors are affecting the quality and quantity of your sleep such as work schedules and stress. To get the sleep you need, you must look at the big picture.

The latest research has extended the indicative sleep ranges for various age groups as given below:

• Infants: Sleep range widened by one hour to 11-14 hours (previously it was 12-14)
• Preschoolers (3-5): Sleep range widened by one hour to 10- 13 hours (previously it was 11-13)
• School age children (6-13): Sleep range widened by one hour to 9-11 hours (previously it was 10-11)
• Teenagers (14-17): Sleep range widened by one hour to 8-10 hours (previously it was 8.5-9.5)
• Younger adults (18-25): Sleep range is 7-9 hours (new age category)
• Adults (26-64): Sleep range did not change and remains 7-9 hours
• Older adults (65+): Sleep range is 7-8 hours (new age category)

This is indicative, it is more important that you wakeup bright and fully rested without an alarm clock.

It is not essential that all the sleep be in one stretch, though that would be ideal for adults. Napping as necessary during the day can also make up for sleep deprivation. However, in such cases do try to schedule the nap period, limited to 30 min maximum, into a regular daily slot between noon and 1600 hrs (4.00 PM) so that it won’t affect your regular sleep cycle.

Don’t overdo sleep. Too much sleep may increase the chance of obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Also do not sleep immediately after a meal as it may lead to gastrointestinal problems.

Sleep disorders:

• If unable to sleep properly, you may increase your intake of saturated fats and also check if you need supplemental
• Night time exposure to glowing e-screens and LED lights can swiftly switch off production of sleep inducing melatonin and throw off our circadian rhythm or internal clock. Blue light delays sleep. Specialized ganglion cells in the retina are finely tuned to tell the brain to cut melatonin production when they are hit by a short wave length (around 480 nm) precisely that of morning light resulting in less REM stage sleep and waking up groggy in the morning. Sleep is more critical to our health than we imagine. Night lights should be those that emit longer wave lengths (red light) which are less disruptive to sleep.
• Complete darkness is not really a must, as we have evolved to sleep even under starlight and moonlight.
• Sleep apnea and snoring will reduce as you lose weight and become fitter. However, severe cases do need special treatment and you should consult your Physician.

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