Exact Answer: 8 Hours
Sleep is essential to almost all living beings. Thousands of organisms depend on sleep to restore their energy. We can define sleep as a state in which a person is in the absence of wakefulness. It is a natural process where a living being is subjected to take rest automatically if being too tired.
In humans, when they work for so much time, they will experience a state called Somnolence which is a state of an extreme desire for sleep. However, whether a person is working or not, he indeed requires a particular amount of sleep. The amount of sleep a person needs depends on factors related to human physical and mental conditions.
How Many Hours Does A Average Person Sleep
A person naturally sleeps during the night for nearly eight hours. When we sleep at night time generally, we experience five or six sleep cycles during one night. These are known as REM sleep cycles. one sleep cycle is 90 to 100 minutes. The initial stages of sleep are called light sleep. The 3rd and 4th stages are known as deep sleep. The last stages are called REM cycles. Here we experience dreams and increased heartbeat.
If we go through these stages, then it can be understood as we got enough sleep. The whole process takes place for nearly eight hours. It is the time required by a person to have a sound sleep. In the busy schedule of today’s world, many get hardly 5 hours of sleep. If a person gets such sleep daily, he may experience many health issues in the long run. They include sleeping disorders, insomnia, etc.
It takes nearly seven minutes to get to sleep for an average adult. If a person is too tired, he may fall asleep in almost two minutes. If a person is suffering from sleeping disorders, it takes more time to get sleep. Generally, an average adult person requires seven to nine hours of sound sleep. For babies under age five, the time taken to sleep will be 11-14 hours per day.
| Age Group | Hours of Sleep Required |
| New Borns | 14-17 Hours |
| Teenagers | 9-11 Hours |
| Adults | 7-9 Hours |
Why Does A Average Person Sleep That Long
Sleep is helpful for humans to enhance overall health. It helps the brain to release toxic waste while sleeping. It also increases glycogen levels in the brain. Sound sleep will improve the overall functioning of the brain. We indeed sleep to give some rest to the brain to refrain from thinking.
Sleeping is also associated with the repairing of blood vessels and the heart. If we get enough sleep, there are fewer chances of prone to diseases. Moreover, concentration levels also increased with a good rest in living beings, including humans.
In this world of busy schedules and less rest, one might be prone to several health issues. From many studies, it is evident that most of the working people are getting only five or six hours of sleep. It will create long-term health issues like diabetes, cardiac diseases, and many more.
Many people who are deprived of sleep will experience depression, emotional breakdown, absence of peace. These problems, in turn, affect the working capabilities of that person. Generally, a person requires enough sleep such that the brain functioning is normalized after being too tired.
The time taken for an average person to perform all the activities during sleep may be considered eight hours. Hence an average person needs to sleep for eight hours of sleep. If he is deprived of sleep, then he is mainly prone to physical or mental illness. Infants too require too many hours of sleep because they require a lot of energy.
Conclusion
However, the sleep required may vary from person to person. Not all require seven hours of sleep. Some may require eight hours, or some may even require five hours of sleep. When we get enough sleep, we feel fresh and peaceful when we wake up in the morning. It indicates we got sufficient sleep at night.
Suppose a person suffering from sleep deprivation can do exercise for a bit or go for a walk daily. Physical activity yields the result of tiredness, and hence we can get sleep with ease. Sleeping disorders may occur due to irregular sleeping patterns of sleep, mainly in workers who regularly shift their working time.