Evie Summers
Sleep requirements vary from person to person and are influenced by factors such as age, gender, genetics, and individual sleep patterns. While the average adult needs around seven to nine hours of sleep, women tend to sleep slightly longer than men, by about 11 minutes. This difference may be attributed to biological factors such as hormonal changes and gender-based responsibilities. Additionally, infants, young children, and teenagers require more sleep to support their growth and development. Understanding individual sleep needs is crucial for maintaining overall health and well-being.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Age | The amount of sleep a person needs varies with age. |
| Newborns: 17 hours a day | |
| School-age children: 9-11 hours a day | |
| Teenagers: 8-10 hours a day | |
| Adults: 7-9 hours a day | |
| Older adults: 7-8 hours a day | |
| Gender | Women tend to sleep slightly longer than men, by about 11 minutes. |
| Women are also 40% more likely to have insomnia than men. | |
| Hormones | Hormones affect sleep patterns. Women experience more hormonal changes, which can increase their need for sleep. |
| Pregnancy | Women in the first 3 months of pregnancy often need several more hours of sleep than usual. |
| Genes | Some people need more sleep than others due to their genes. |
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What You'll Learn
Sleep requirements and gender
Sleep requirements vary across age groups, with newborns requiring the most sleep at 17 hours a day, and the recommended amount of sleep decreasing as people age. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society recommend that adults get seven to nine hours of sleep, but this can vary depending on individual factors such as activity level and overall health.
When it comes to gender differences in sleep requirements, studies suggest that women need slightly more sleep than men, by about 11 minutes on average. This may be due to various factors, including biological differences such as hormonal changes and pregnancy, as well as gender-based responsibilities like caregiving, which more often affect women's sleep duration. Women are also more likely to experience insomnia, depression, and anxiety, which are strongly associated with disrupted sleep. Additionally, gender differences in sleep may be influenced by genetic factors, as suggested by a study on fruit flies that found that sleep duration could be influenced by a wide variety of biological processes.
While the effects of gender on sleep requirements are not dramatic, it is important to consider the cumulative impact of these small differences over time. Sleep disruptions can have significant consequences on overall health and well-being, including increased risk of depression, slower reaction times, a weakened immune system, and higher chances of conditions like high blood pressure and obesity. Therefore, it is crucial for individuals to prioritize their sleep and practice good sleep hygiene to ensure they are getting the amount of sleep they need.
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Sleep and pregnancy
Sleep is an essential part of prenatal care. Pregnant women need a few more hours of sleep each night or should supplement nighttime sleep with naps during the day. However, getting 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night becomes more difficult the further along they are in their pregnancy. There are many physical and emotional obstacles to sleep during this stage.
During the first trimester, you may feel drowsier than normal due to a spike in progesterone, a hormone made by the ovaries and the placenta during pregnancy. In addition, pregnancy lowers your blood pressure and blood sugar, which can make you feel tired.
During the second trimester, you may experience some relief from fatigue. However, in the third trimester, it can become hard to find a comfortable sleeping position. At this stage, high levels of estrogen can also cause some women to develop rhinitis (swelling of the nasal tissue), which can be associated with snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.
The most common sleep disorders that tend to occur during pregnancy are obstructive sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, and gastroesophageal reflux disorder.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Weight gain and nasal congestion lead many women to start snoring during pregnancy, which may be a risk factor for high blood pressure. Some women may go on to develop obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a sleep condition characterized by snoring, gasping, and repeated lapses in breathing that disrupt sleep quality. OSA may impede oxygen flow to the fetus and increase the risk of preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and cesarean sections. It is thought to affect as many as 1 in 5 women during pregnancy.
Restless Legs Syndrome
People with restless legs syndrome (RLS) have an uncontrollable urge to move their legs while at rest. This condition can make it difficult to fall asleep, as the symptoms are more severe when the person is at rest. RLS is thought to affect up to one-third of women in their third trimester of pregnancy.
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disorder
Gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD), also known as heartburn or acid reflux, causes an uncomfortable burning sensation in the esophagus, especially when lying down. It is a common cause of insomnia in pregnant women across all trimesters, thought to affect one-quarter of pregnant women in the first trimester and as many as one-half in the third. Long-term GERD may damage the esophagus.
Strategies for Getting a Good Night's Sleep During Pregnancy
- Keep a cool, dark, quiet bedroom and limit the bed to sleeping and sex.
- Prioritize sleep and stick to a consistent bedtime, scheduling naps earlier in the day so they don’t interfere with nighttime sleep.
- Read a book, take a bath, or indulge in another calming activity in preparation for bedtime.
- Use a nightlight to make it easier to get back to sleep after bathroom breaks.
- Avoid caffeine, spicy foods, and heavy meals too close to bedtime to reduce the risk of GERD.
- Avoid taking technology into the bedroom, and turn off screens at least an hour before bed.
- Get regular exercise earlier in the day.
- Drink plenty of water throughout the day, but reduce liquid intake before bed to reduce nighttime bathroom breaks.
- If you can’t sleep, get out of bed and do something else until you feel sleepy.
- Write down thoughts in your journal, or seek help from your partner, friends, doctor, or childbirth classes if you’re feeling stressed.
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Sleep debt
You are also at a higher risk of developing certain conditions if you have a sleep debt. These include hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and other cardiovascular diseases.
To avoid sleep debt, it is important to learn how much sleep your body needs and improve your sleep hygiene. Keeping a sleep diary, developing a nighttime routine, and making your bedroom more sleep-friendly can all help. Most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep per night, while children and teens need nine to eleven hours and eight to ten hours, respectively.
If you are unable to get enough sleep during the week, you can try to make up for it by taking short naps or sleeping more on the weekends. However, this may not fully reverse the effects of sleep debt, and it can upset your body's sleep-wake rhythm.
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Sleep disorders
Sleep is a basic human need that is critical to both physical and mental health. Sleep disorders (or sleep-wake disorders) involve problems with the quality, timing, and amount of sleep, which result in daytime distress and impairment in functioning. There are more than 80 different types of sleep disorders, with insomnia being the most common.
Insomnia
Insomnia involves difficulty falling or staying asleep. Insomnia is more common among young adults, while problems staying asleep are more common among middle-aged and older adults. About one-third of adults experience insomnia symptoms, with 4-22% meeting the criteria for insomnia disorder. Insomnia is often comorbid with other mental disorders, with around 40-50% of individuals with insomnia also having another mental disorder.
Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a breathing disorder characterised by interruptions in breathing during sleep, which can cause snoring, snorting, gasping, or breathing pauses. Sleep apnea is typically diagnosed through a clinical sleep study and is more prevalent among men, older adults, and certain racial and ethnic groups.
Restless Leg Syndrome
Restless leg syndrome (RLS) involves an urge to move one's legs, accompanied by uncomfortable and unpleasant sensations such as creeping, crawling, tingling, burning, or itching. RLS typically affects individuals in their teens or twenties, with up to 3% of the population experiencing it.
Circadian Rhythm Sleep-Wake Disorders
Circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders occur when a person's sleep-wake rhythms (body clock) become misaligned with the external light-darkness cycle. This misalignment leads to significant sleep problems and extreme daytime sleepiness, causing distress and functional impairment. Circadian rhythm disorders can be caused by internal factors, such as a person's body clock differing from the light-dark cycle, or external factors like shift work or jet lag.
Hypersomnolence Disorder
People with hypersomnolence disorder experience excessive sleepiness even when getting at least seven hours of sleep. They may have difficulty waking up in the morning and may feel grogy, confused, or combative upon awakening. This disorder typically begins in the late teens or adulthood and is diagnosed when symptoms occur at least three times per week for at least three months.
Narcolepsy
Narcolepsy is characterised by periods of an irrepressible need to sleep, resulting in multiple lapses of sleep within the same day. People with narcolepsy also experience cataplexy, a brief sudden loss of muscle tone triggered by laughter or joking. Narcolepsy is a rare disorder, affecting an estimated 0.02-0.05% of the adult population, typically beginning in childhood, adolescence, or young adulthood.
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Sleep and genetics
Sleep is a complex biological process that remains one of the least understood phenomena in biology. However, it is clear that genetics plays a significant role in regulating sleep and various sleep disorders.
The Genetics of Sleep
Several genes have been identified that influence sleep quality and duration. The gene FABP7, for example, has been found to regulate sleep in both humans and mice. A study of 300 Japanese men revealed that a variant of the FABP7 gene was correlated with more fitful sleep and frequent awakenings. Another gene, CRY1, has been linked to delayed sleep phase disorder, causing nighttime sleep delays of more than two hours. This disorder is associated with an increased risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer's.
The gene DEC2 has also been implicated in sleep regulation. A mutation in this gene allows some people to function normally with just four to six hours of sleep per night instead of the typical seven to eight hours. DEC2 helps control levels of orexin, a hormone involved in maintaining wakefulness. The mutation in DEC2 leads to increased orexin production, resulting in longer wakefulness.
In addition to these specific genes, circadian clock genes also play a crucial role in sleep regulation. Mutations in these genes can alter sleep architecture and duration, although the effects may be independent of their role in circadian rhythm. For example, mutations in the CLOCK and BMAL1 genes have been associated with changes in total sleep time.
The Genetics of Sleep Disorders
Genetics also influences various sleep disorders, including insomnia, breathing disturbances during sleep (sleep apnea), movement disorders during sleep (such as Restless Leg Syndrome), and sleep-wake state dissociation disorders (such as narcolepsy). In the case of narcolepsy, the majority of cases are caused by the loss of specific hypothalamic neurons rather than single-gene mutations. However, specific genetic variants, such as those in the HLA and TCR genes, increase susceptibility to narcolepsy.
Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) is another sleep disorder with a strong genetic component, affecting up to 60% of cases with affected family members. Genetic studies have identified several loci associated with RLS, including the MEIS1 locus, which has shown the strongest association.
In summary, while the precise mechanisms of sleep remain elusive, genetics plays a crucial role in regulating sleep and various sleep disorders. Further research and larger genetic studies are needed to fully understand the complex interplay between genetics and sleep.
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