A sleep duration between six ynd eight hours per night is ideal. But, how does the actual sleep duration look like even when we are aware of the amount of sleep we need? And do factors like age, gender or season influence our sleep?
First off: basically we lack one hour sleep per night on an average. Men tend to go to bed later than women and have about half an hour less sleep. One reason might be that women often haven to combine job and family – these multiple stresses lead to the fact that women often are tired earlier and hence go to bed earlier. Furthermore, it has been known for some time that the female sleep is more prone for disturbances.
Less surprising: young adults go to bed later than older ones, often after midnight. About from retirement age on, older people get up later than working persons. Of course, this also might be due to the cease of professional duties.
The sleeping phases of elder people are different, too. The REM-phases remain about the same but the phases of deep sleep become shorter. This automatically leads to a prolongation of phases of light sleep and to significantly more arousals. A power nap at lunch time is especially important for this group. But, be careful! Pay attention that you take your nap early enough, best, before 3 p.m. and that it doesn’t take longer than 30 minutes. Otherwise, problems to fall asleep might appear in the evening!
But, not only age is influencing our sleeping habits, the season does as well. The longer the sun shines, the fewer we sleep.
Imagesource: @SAMINA
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