hen it comes to sleep, time is everything. The time you go to bed, the amount of time you sleep, the quality of the time you sleep, and the regularity of your bedtime and waking time all directly impact your physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing, and even affect how long you live.
Disturbed sleep patterns are associated with a wide variety of health problems, from PTSD and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease to diabetes, depression, Alzheimer’s disease, obesity, high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar, chronic pain, gastrointestinal problems, neurological disorders, breathing problems, urinar y tract issues and psychological concerns.1
The standard amount of sleep needed by the vast majority of adults is between seven to nine hours each night—the sleep length recommended by most doctors and health sites for the average adult. But we need sleep in varying degrees at different times of life. For example, infants, children and teens need more sleep than adults.
And sleep research is not an exact science. Yes, the apparent “optimum” amount of
