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Everyone knows that sleep is a necessary part of life. Getting enough sleep makes you feel energized and ready to take on the world. Though, learning what the right balance of sleep duration is, can be a challenge for those that rarely get the right sleep they need. Everyone needs different amounts of sleep and finding what your perfection duration is can make a huge impact on your health.

Most health magazines and editorials will say that getting at least 8 hours of sleep is crucial to your health. This isn’t necessarily true for everyone. According to several studies, and one by the American Cancer Society, 7 hours of sleep is usually the perfect number. Getting more than that can significantly increase your risk of mortality, and much less can impair your ability to function and decrease your health.

Of course, sick people and very young children do need extra sleep. Most of the time elderly people are content and healthy with just 6 hours of sleep each night. Adequate sleep allows the body to repair and prepare itself for the upcoming day. When a young healthy adult gets too much sleep, the muscles become fatigued and performance isn’t as strong in areas related to physical fitness and mental fitness.

If you were to get too little sleep one night, you might notice a migraine, dizziness, irritability, and feeling miserable overall. This is your body’s response to the lack of sleep. Oily skin and bad breath are also pretty common in those that do not get enough sleep during the night.

But what if you sleep for the perfect amount and still feel lethargic? This could be a sign of an underlying sleep problem. Having an active imagination during the night, or an uncomfortable bed can all lead to getting a lower quality of sleep. Duration is equally as important as the quality, and getting a perfect balance of both is very important to your healthfulness.

In the end you should aim for the amount of sleep that makes you feel great and well rested. Only you know how your body will respond to too much sleep or too little. If something feels off or you are never rested, you may have an underlying health problem that is affecting your sleep quality each night. There are a number of ways to fix this and go on to having a great night’s sleep again.