How Much Sleep Do You Need?

You don’t need eight hours of sleep a night! That’s according to a new report from the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care. The Institute analyzed a range of scientific studies on sleep and insomnia to come up with some new recommendations for the one of every five adults in industrial countries who has trouble sleeping at some point.

The Institute found a few surprises:

Sleep medication is used less nowadays. Sleeping pills, whether herbal or prescription, are being used less often than they used to be in countries like Germany. According to the Institute’s director, Peter Sawicki, this is a good thing. "Prescription sleeping pills can be important in certain situations, but they can cause a lot of adverse effects and are not a long-term solution. For older people, sleep medication can increase the risk of falling, as well as interfering with other medicines," he warns.

Certain habits can help you get a better night's sleep. Clinical trials have shown that many people could get to sleep a little sooner if they used relaxation techniques that helped them "switch off" at bedtime. According to the Institute, the following habits help people sleep better:

• Go to bed only when you are tired and ready to sleep.
• Reading and watching TV in bed actually makes it harder to fall asleep. Don’t do it.
• If you can’t sleep, it’s actually better for you to get out of bed and do something else rather than focusing on trying to sleep.
• Getting up at the same time every morning can help.
• If you’re having issues with insomnia, napping during the day could be making it harder for you to sleep at night. Don’t do it.
• Drinking caffeinated beverages and alcohol in the evening isn’t going to help your sleep situation. It’s not just caffeine keeping people up—alcohol is actually one of the major causes of a bad night’s sleep.

Eight hours’ sleep a night may not be necessary for everyone. The studies the Institute reviewed showed that as we get older, we actually need less sleep on average. Children and teenagers generally need the traditional eight or more hours of sleep a night, while those 40 and over usually need only seven hours a night, according to the Institute report.

For more information on the report, visit informedhealthonline.