How Many Hours of Sleep Do You Need?

“How many hours should you sleep a night? It’s a great question. The answer for most adults is somewhere between six and eight hours a night, but this is variable. Everyone knows someone who gets five hours a night and does perfectly fine. But most adults need between six and eight hours a night to be functional. And that’s the key: How functional are you? If you feel like you’re sleep deprived, you’re tired, you’re not functioning well, then it’s important to look at how you’re sleeping. What’s most important about sleep is maintaining a routine, something we call sleep hygiene, as best as you possibly can. So you want to try to avoid things that can disrupt your sleep cycle. What can disrupt your sleep cycle? Well, lots of caffeine late at night, which is a stimulant. Eating late at night can give you heartburn and wake you up. Certainly alcohol as we all know can give you a bad night’s sleep, as well. There are other medications which routinely interrupt your sleep cycles as well. So trying to maintain consistent habits – that’s really, really important. Anytime you start altering your habits, you alter your sleep cycle, and often times you’re not going to feel well-rested the next day. If you have any questions about your sleeping habits or you’re having difficulty with your sleep habits, by all means, please make an appointment with your primary care physician or with myself or any of my colleagues at Mount Sinai Doctors in Brooklyn Heights.”