How Much Sleep Does a Person Need? Experts Share the Right Amount of Sleep for Women
The importance of sleep to one's health and wellbeing cannot be overemphasized. Sleep allows the body and brain to recharge and store energy to function optimally, keeping that person alert physically, mentally and psychologically the next day.
One little-known fact about sleep is that women need more sleep than men. This is because men have testosterone that protects them from the negative effects of lack of sleep. When men don't get enough sleep, their testosterone levels rise, which has an inflammatory effect that lowers stress hormones.
Having said that, women ought to know how much sleep they need, and it varies according to age. For young children, the duration is 14–17 hours a day from birth to three months, 11–14 hours for toddlers and 10–13 hours for preschoolers. School-aged children need nine to 11 hours of sleep.
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By the time they reach high school, ladies need to sleep eight to 10 hours. Lately, however, sleep disorders are being noted among teenagers because of the internet. A paper published in the Journal of Youth Studies indicates that one in five young people are losing sleep over social media.
The same study states that girls are more likely to spend the night on social media than boys, leading to waking up late in the morning as well as less enthusiastic and lethargic performance in school. Sleep analyst Dr. Amy Reynolds recommends turning off electronic gadgets at night and to prioritize sleep.
Women aged 18–60 years need seven to nine hours of sleep, but many of them find this hard to do because of their lifestyle. Reynolds advises college students and young workers who are 18–25 years old to cut back on coffee after lunch as caffeine stays in the body for hours.
For mothers who are 26–60 years old, she suggests making it a point to finish all tasks early to have more bedtime. For women above 60 years old, seven to eight hours of sleep is enough to keep them healthy. She advises old-aged people who can't sleep soundly to consult their doctor.
