No matter who you may be, having enough sleep is a key component of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. But when life gets hectic, it can become one of the first activities to be disregarded or given up.It is unfortunate that getting enough sleep is just as essential to good health as eating nutritiously and exercising.

Sleep is the cornerstone of wellness. Not only is it a period of respite for your body and psyche, it is also when your body repairs itself. Muscles that were weakened during the day are replenished and harmful toxins that accumulated while you were conscious are removed. Memory retention also heavily depends on getting enough sleep.

Having enough rest is essential in controlling your emotions. Experiencing a single night of inadequate sleep can boost your emotional response to negative feelings by 60%. Additionally, lack of sleep can affect your body's capacity to regulate essential functions such as appetite control, your  body weight, metabolism, and immune system.

The circadian rhythm, or internal clock, is highly dependent on sleep. It operates on a 24-hour cycle and is responsible for the sleep-wake cycle, as well as metabolism, inflammation, and how the body handles stress. Suboptimal sleeping patterns, irregular sleep times, and bright light exposure at night can all interfere with this internal clock and the functions it controls.

Besides the quantity of sleep, the quality is also significant. There is no one precise method to determine the quality of sleep, however, it could be established by how quickly it takes you to fall asleep, how often you wake up in the night, how alert you feel the following day and the amount of time you spend in different stages of sleep. As sleep is vital for many aspects of good health, it should be a major concern.

The quantity of sleep you necessitate is contingent on a few factors. Everyone has distinct necessities and likes, and individual sleep requirements are no exception. Nonetheless, your age is the primary factor in deciding how much sleep you should get every night.

Suggested sleep times according to age are:

Ages 65+: 7 to 8 hours

Ages 18-64: 7 to 9 hours

Ages 14-17: 8 to 10 hours

Ages 6-13: 9 to 11 hours

Ages 3-5: 10 to 13 hours, plus naps

Ages 1-2: 11 to 14 hours, plus naps

Ages 4-12 months: 12 to 15 hours, plus naps

Ages 0-3 months: 14 to 17 hours

It's essential to not only prioritize getting enough sleep, but also quality sleep. Furthermore, various sleep conditions can detrimentally impact your sleep quality, such as sleep apneaTrusted Source. If you experience persistent issues with restful sleep or persistent exhaustion without an apparent cause, it would be prudent to consult with your healthcare provider.