Sleeping is a very important component to our health and wellness. There are two important factors to sleep:
- The amount of hours we sleep
- The quality of the sleep
Concerning the amount of sleep required for optimal health: This is age-dependent. Here is a breakdown of the amount of sleep recommended depending on the age:
For most of you fellow baby boomers out there, you and I have noticed that we sleep much less during the night than we did in our youthful years. People also vary in the amount of sleep they need to function at optimal performance. As an aside, reports are that Albert Einstein required 10 hours of sleep a night, Oprah is good for 8 hours and Elon Musk is way under 6 hours.
The quality of sleep is every bit as important as the quantity of sleep: Those people with untreated sleep apnea can attest to the daytime fatigue they experience despite having 8 hours or more of sleep per night.
Poor weight control leads to lesser quantity and quality of sleep. Stress and concurrent medical conditions may impact sleep as well. For those younger folks out their raising families especially with newborns in the house, you know that finding good quality and quantity of sleep is quite challenging.
If you feel that your sleep patterns are not healthy and you are experiencing daytime somnolence, get an appointment with your doctor to discuss what can be done to help the situation. Good quantity and quality of sleep are important contributors to good health.
And how did the term “Mr. Sandman” come into existence describing sleep? The first appearance of the Sandman seems to come from 18th-century Germany when the expression “der Sandmann kommt,” meaning “the Sandman is coming” became a popular way to describe someone who looks very sleepy. This saying stems from the idea that someone who is tired looks like they had sand poured in them.
We will end this with a real oldie: The Chordettes singing “Mr. Sandman”.
