How much sleep do you need?

Zee Media Bureau/Udita Madan

New Delhi: Everyone likes to sleep. Especially in the present times, when we all lead a fast paced life, so much so, that a good night's sleep is hard to come by.

That feeling of lying down in your cosy bed, closing your eyes and drifting away into dream world and then waking up all energized and rejuvenated. Ah, bliss!

According to a 2015 study, 93% Indians are sleep deprived. As per the study, 72% of Indians woke up one to three times per night and 87% of them said that lack of sleep was affecting health. On the impact on productivity, the study revealed that more than 58% of Indians believe their work suffered due to lack of adequate sleep whereas 38% confessed to witnessing a colleague falling asleep at work.

Excessive fatigue, or idleness is a part of the stressful life we lead and only those who have suffered thus, can realize what the desire of much-wanted sleep may feel like.

What difference could an extra hour of sleep make in your life? Well, if we go by what experts say, then quite a lot! Studies show that the lacuna between getting just enough sleep and getting too little sleep may impact your mood, your health, your weight and even your sex life.

However, too much of anything, like they say, is never good for you and that includes sleep as well. Once again, we come to the question, that how much sleep is too much? Most of us are aware that 8-10 hours is the basic amount of time, one needs to sleep for. But did you know that the number of hours of sleep varies from people of all age groups?

Below, we mention the number of hours of sleep requisite for people of all age groups, beginning from infants till the elderly. Have a look!

• Infants (3-11 months) need 14-15 hours
• Toddlers (12-35 months) need 12-14 hours
• Preschoolers (3-6 years) need 11-13 hours
• School age (6-10 years) need 10-11 hours
• Adolescents (11-18 years) need 9.25 hours
• Adults need an average of 8 hours
• Elderly adults may need less