Meeting the ideal bedtime is something that everyone needs. The reason is, there are so many benefits that can be felt, ranging from maintaining an ideal body weight, supporting growth and development in children, to reducing stress.
Although the ideal bedtime provides many health benefits, sometimes there are still some people who do not apply it. The reasons range from work to being under stress. Conditions like this should not be left for too long because the impact can be detrimental to the health of the body.
Ideal Bedtime Based on Age
Sleep needs vary depending on age. As you get older, the need for sleep decreases. The following is the recommended ideal bedtime based on age:
- Infants aged 0–3 months: 14–17 hours per day.
- Infants ages 4–11 months: 12–15 hours per day.
- Infants aged 1–2 years: 11–14 hours per day.
- Preschoolers aged 3-5 years: 10–13 hours per day.
- School age children 6–13 years: 9–11 hours per day.
- Youth ages 14–17: 8–10 hours per day.
- Young adults ages 18–25: 7–9 hours per day.
- Adults aged 26–64 years: 7–9 hours per day.
- Seniors who are over 65 years old: 7–8 hours per day.
Factors That Can Disrupt Sleep
A study shows that women tend to be more prone to sleep disturbances than men.
The reason is because female hormones tend to continue to change, so that it can affect the quality of sleep, especially during menstruation, pregnancy, or before menopause.
Some other factors that can interfere with sleep are:
1. Allergies and breathing problems
Allergies, colds, and respiratory infections often make it difficult for a person to breathe. This condition can be uncomfortable and interfere with the quality of your sleep throughout the night.
2. Nocturia
Nocturia is the term for excessive urination at night. People with nocturia condition usually will often go back and forth to the bathroom to urinate at night, so it really interferes with the ideal sleep time.
3. Chronic pain
Pain that occurs continuously can also be a major problem for someone having trouble sleeping. This pain is usually caused by chronic or long-standing illnesses, such as arthritis, chronic headaches, low back pain, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and inflammatory bowel disease.
4. Stress and anxiety
People who experience stress and anxiety, whether it's because of work, love, or family problems, can have a negative impact on sleep quality. This is because stress and anxiety make a person continue to think about the problem, so that the muscles of the body can unconsciously tense up and find it difficult to relax.
5. Bad lifestyle
A poor lifestyle such as consuming excessive alcohol can also affect the quality of sleep. Drinking alcoholic beverages can indeed make a person drunk and fall asleep, but the quality of sleep is not good because alcohol disrupts the sleep rhythm in the brain and can cause sleep apnea.
So, even though it's time for bedtime to meet the ideal bedtime, alcoholics can wake up tired and unfocused, like they haven't slept. In addition, the pattern of working night shifts and consuming caffeinated drinks in the afternoon can also make you not sleepy when it's time to sleep, so sleep time is reduced.
In an effort to meet the ideal bedtime, there are some tips that you might be able to follow, such as implementing consistent bedtime and waking hours, creating comfortable room conditions, avoiding alcohol and caffeine consumption before bedtime, and turning off sleep. gadgets and other electronic devices before bed.
However, if you are still having trouble getting to sleep, either because you don't get enough sleep or if you sleep too long, and this has been going on for a long time, let alone it has affected your daily activities, consult a psychiatrist for safe and appropriate treatment.