Sleep Quality is More Important Than Sleep Duration
New research implies following the 8-hour sleep rule isn’t enough
It’s hard to be healthy if your body isn’t getting regular, quality sleep. As a physical therapist, I can personally attest to the detrimental effects poor sleep habits have on pain, recovery, and overall health.
While muscles and joints get most of the attention in physical therapy, sleep remains a cornerstone of my patient education and treatment approach. Every month, additional studies come out supporting that perspective.
I often focus on the short-term benefits when discussing sleep with my patients, focusing on the improvements in pain perception, physical performance, and healing. But it’s also important to acknowledge the long-term health benefits of high-quality sleep.
Note, I am focusing on high quality here, not sleep duration.
The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults aged 26–64 get 7–9 hours of sleep per night, while those aged 65 and older may only need 7–8 hours. But simply being in bed for more than 7 hours, or even racking up a total of 7–9 hours of time asleep isn’t enough. You need the 7–9 hours to be continuous.
You need high-quality sleep. You need to focus on sleep regularity.
