• Infants: 14 to 15 hours
• Toddlers: 12 to 14 hours
• School-age children: 10 to 11 hours
• Adults: 7 to 9 hours

Although some people claim to feel rested on just a few hours of sleep a night, research shows that people who sleep so little over many nights don't perform as well on complex mental tasks as do people who get closer to seven hours of sleep a night. Additionally, studies among adults show that getting much more or less than seven hours of sleep a night is associated with a higher mortality rate.

If you experience frequent daytime sleepiness, even after increasing the amount of quality sleep you get, consult your doctor. He or she may be able to identify any underlying causes - and help you get a better night's sleep.

Contrary to popular belief, you cannot train your body to function regularly on less than the recommended hours of sleep. Depending on the amount of energy you expend throughout the day, your body needs between six and eight hours of sleep every single night. And people with a high stress lifestyle often need even more!

Why do we need to sleep?
Our brains need sleep in order to recuperate and regenerate. Without the rest of sleep, it is impossible for us to function at our normal quality.

Sleep deprivation causes many mental health problems. Just to name a few:

• long-term memory problems
• decreased logical reasoning
• longer reaction time
• damage to the frontal cortex - where planning takes place in the brain
• language and communication issues
• decreased productivity

How to fall asleep
There are two main approaches to insomnia cures:

1. In-the-moment exercises for when you're tossing and turning and not sleeping at all.
2. And preparation practices to ensure that when you're ready to sleep, your body is, too.

Preparation Practices:

• Avoid naps. Your body needs to find a natural sleep cycle. Napping will decrease your need for sleep at night, and increase your chances of insomnia.
   
• Take vitamins! Eighty percent of us are experiencing a vitamin deficiency right now. Vitamins are vital to many parts of our health, and have been proven to help us fall asleep.
   
• Fit some physical activity into your day. It's a simple concept, but it really helps. When you tire your body out with exercise, it will crave rest. However, do not exercise three to four hours before bedtime.
   
• It may be difficult, but keep going to bed at the same time every night. Once your body gets into a routine, it will be beneficial to keep it there.
   
• Try not to sleep in. Wake up at the same time every day, and the results will be amazing. Eventually, you might not even need an alarm!
   
• Do not eat large meals or have large drinks within one hour of trying to go to sleep. Maintain a healthy diet. A small snack before bedtime such as milk and cookies, or crackers and cheese, is advised.
   
• Do not drink caffeinated drinks after 2 p.m. The caffeine may remain in your body for hours and impede your sleep.
   
• Don't use your bed for anything besides sleep. Don't read, watch movies, or talk on the phone while you're in bed. Save it for sleep.

 What about the times when you're lying in bed, awake and frustrated for hours?

In-the-Moment Cures:

• Don't try to stay in bed for too long. If you find yourself wide awake and far from sleep after 20 to 30 minutes, get out of bed. Go into a different room and read for half an hour. Then try again.
   
• Try to clear your mind - often we experience insomnia because we don't shut our minds off. Actively try to think of nothing. Picture in your mind a blank chalkboard, or picture yourself erasing a chalkboard.
   
• If you cannot stop worrying about everything you have to do, get out of bed and write a list. Making orderly lists will give your mind a sense of peace.
   
• If you still cannot get your mind off of your worries, try a soothing thought exercise:
• Count backwards from 100.
• Concentrate on relaxing every part of your body. Start at your toes and gradually work up to your head.
• Meditate. Relax your entire body and relax your mind.

Realize that sleep is vital - it's vital for your body and it's vital for your mind.
Insomnia is not a mere annoyance. It can be a danger.

Studies have shown that people who are seriously sleep-deprived often function at the level of someone who is legally drunk. That should horrify you. You wouldn't go to work drunk, would you? And of course you wouldn't operate a vehicle while drunk either.

It's your responsibility to your employer, your co-workers, your fellow drivers, and yourself to make sure you get the sleep you need.

What we can offer you
Affinity Sleep Disorders Services provides help for those suffering from sleep problems. It is an established, diagnostic service, offering objective and systematic diagnosis and treatment of clinical sleep-wake disorders for people age 13 and older. Registered sleep technologists utilize state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment. We focus on personalized care for each individual, and we consult closely with your referring physician. The sleep center offers both night and daytime testing. All patients must be referred by a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant.

For more information, please call (920) 223-1040. 

Now add this to your knowledge of the subject:

(Source: Tepas DI, "Sleep Patterns of Shift Workers," Occupational Medicine - State of the Art Reviews, Vol 5 no. 2)

• The time off between the end of one shift and the beginning of the next one should be at least 11 hours. Remember that rule even when scheduling early morning meetings!
   
• Limit eight-hour shifts to a maximum of seven in a row, and 12-hour shifts to four or five in a row.

Those tips come from CIRCADIAN, a fatigue-risk management system. Please see this Occupational Health & Safety article, "Workers Need at Least 11 Hours Off Between Shifts," for more of their advice. And get to bed on time tonight! 

1. During their bad seasons, allergy sufferers have more work injuries, more Worker Compensation claims, less ability to concentrate and to work without mistakes, and rate their own work performance as being worse. Absenteeism, Worker Comp, and group health claims increase!
    
2. The worse their symptoms got, the worse these risks and impairments became.
    
3. And, when allergy sufferers used sedating antihistamines (allergy medicines that cause drowsiness), their impairment and their risks didn't improve.
    
4. BUT, when allergy sufferers used non-sedating medications, their work performance improved dramatically and was nearly as good as people who had no allergy. Their risk of work injury also dropped to normal!