Kayleigh-Ann Clegg , PhD | Clinical Content Specialist and Psychologist , HumanaCare

We all struggle with sleep from time to time . Maybe you ’ ve experienced utterly sleepless nights and days survived solely on caffeine . Maybe you ’ re on a first-name basis with your sheep and are intimately familiar with every irregularity in your ceiling . You ’ re not alone — and there are ways to help .

How Much Is Enough ?

Sleep is an essential human need for physical and mental well-being and plays a critical role in cardiovascular health , immune system functioning , mood and emotion regulation , learning , attention , and memory . When we don ’ t get enough sleep , it can affect how we function — but how much is enough ?

While most adults need an average of six to nine hours of sleep per night , there ’ s no magic number . Different people need different amounts of sleep , which can fluctuate depending on our current life circumstances . For example , we need less sleep as we age — infants require a whopping twelve to sixteen hours and teens require eight to ten hours — and sleep tends to get less efficient as we age .

We may also need more or less sleep depending on how active or stressful ( physically and mentally ) our days are and whether we are managing other , longer term physical or mental health stresses . What really matters is sleep quality and whether we wake up feeling rested . So , how can we improve the quality of our sleep ?

54 | arta . net DREAMS FOR THE FUTURE