Be Sure You’re Getting the Right Amount of Sleep

The amount of sleep that a person need in a daily basis depends on several factors which particularly include age.

• An infant requires about 16 hours of sleep a day
• Teenagers requires about 9 hours of sleep a day
• Adults need an average of 7 to 8 hours of sleep a day
• Women during the first trimester of pregnancy, needs some more hours of sleep than the usual

According to experts, if you feel sleepy during the day, even during strenuous activities, it simply means that you are not getting enough sleep.

It should be noted that the amount of required sleep of a person increases as he or she had been deprived of sleep in the past few days. Having inadequate sleep from the previous days will demand the body to repay the sleep shortage. Apparently, people don’t adapt to getting less sleep than the body requires. Although a person may get used to a sleep-depriving schedule, the individual’s judgement, reaction time, perception and other functions are still impaired.

Below are several consequences that a sleep deprivation may bring into a person:

• Memory gap
• Depression
• Weakening
• Higher risk of disease
• Increase in perception of pain

Many studies in fact pointed out that sleep deprivation is dangerous. In a study, sleep derived people were tested using a driving simulator or by performing a hand and eye coordination task. The study found out that sleep-deprived people are as worse as intoxicated ones.

Also, sleep deprivation increases alcohol’s effect on the person’s body. Therefore, a stressed person who drinks alcohol will be more likely to become impaired than someone who is well rested.

According to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), sleepy drivers are responsible for about 56,000 vehicle accident and 1,500 deaths every year.

Drowsiness is the last step of the brain before eventually falling asleep. As a result of which, driving while drowsy can often lead to a disastrous occurrences. Even caffeine and other stimulants cannot overcome the effects of severe sleep deprivation.

The National Sleep Foundation said that a person has the following signs and symptoms, then, he or she is too sleepy to drive safely.

• Having trouble keeping eyes focused
• Can’t prevent yawning
• Can’t remember driving the last few miles

In such instances, it is strongly recommended for sleepy drivers to refrain from drowsy driving since many studies have already suggested that sleepy drivers are as risky as drunk drivers.  Therefore, to avoid getting inadequate sleep, always seek enough time to have a complete sleep. For people who find it hard to fall asleep, there are lots of natural sleep remedies available to end your sleepless nights.