A study led by researchers at the University of York has shown that good-quality sleep can bolster resilience to depression and anxiety. The study was published in the journal Cortex.

In a separate study published in Sleep Medicine, researchers associated poor sleep quality with impaired quality of life as some participants reported depression or anxiety.

You might be getting enough hours of sleep, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting the most restful type of sleep.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, most adults need somewhere between seven and nine hours of sleep at night – but a lot depends on what is happening during those hours.

Good-quality sleep ensures that you get the essential emotional, mental and physical benefits you need from your slumber.

Sleep quality goals

The following items provide an overview of sleep quality goals. You need to be familiar with these four items that are generally assessed to measure sleep quality.

It is important to note that there are some individual and age differences in these factors. For example, it’s common to wake up more frequently during the night as we get older. As long as you return to sleep quickly, this won’t hurt your sleep.

Sleep latency

This is a measurement of how long it takes you to fall asleep. Drifting off within 30 minutes or less after the time you go to bed suggests that the quality of your sleep is good.

Sleep waking

This measures how often you wake up during the night. Frequent wakefulness at night can disrupt your sleep cycle and reduce your sleep quality. Waking up once, or not at all, suggests that your sleep quality is good.

Wakefulness

This refers to how many minutes you spend during the night after you first go to sleep. People with good sleep quality have 20 minutes or less of wakefulness during the night.

Sleep efficiency

The amount of time you actually spend sleeping while in bed should ideally be 85 percent or more for optimal benefits.

Together, these four elements can help you assess the quality of your sleep. They contribute to an overall sense you have of your sleep being “satisfying” or not.