Personally, I need a minimum of 8 hours, but to really feel my best I need at least 9 hours. It's not rare for me to sleep 10-11 hours on the weekend either.
I answered 9 hours on the poll.
I've always been a big sleeper and envy those who can get away with less sleep time.
I like to get 8 hours, if possible. As I get older, I realize the adage "every hour before midnight is worth 2" holds true. I also love a good 15 min nap when I can.
I function on 5-6 but would LOVE 8 hrs or more. Unfortunately I don't typically sleep in on weekends either - my body is just wired to wake-up once I get into a routine. On the occasions where I do end up getting more sleep though, I do feel much better.
I am also a believer in the 15-30 min power-nap if you can get that bit of down-time - especially if you plan to be up late or are going out etc.
Quote by Dancing_Doll I function on 5-6 but would LOVE 8 hrs or more. Unfortunately I don't typically sleep in on weekends either - my body is just wired to wake-up once I get into a routine. On the occasions where I do end up getting more sleep though, I do feel much better.
I am also a believer in the 15-30 min power-nap if you can get that bit of down-time - especially if you plan to be up late or are going out etc.
I can function on 5-6 as well. 6ish was probably typical in college. I haven't really been able to break that habit too much.
I generally think 7.5 hrs is best. Sleeping in is terrible. Sleeping in for me means staying up super late and still getting my 7.5 hrs. Anything more than 8.5 screws up my internal clock. Too much sleep and I'll start lacking energy for the next day or two.
I also learned the benefits of the power nap in college. Doing college coursework, combined with journalism, you learn to operate on little sleep and have to be able to get a nap in at any time and any place.
Funny thing though. I kinda miss being a kid. You could operate on a ridiculously small amount of sleep. Or at least, I could. I'm talking 8-18ish, particularly on the low end.
I could wake up like clock work at 6am on Saturday mornings without the need of an alarm for cartoons. It was awesome.
I am also a believer in the 15-30 min power-nap if you can get that bit of down-time -
Oh yeah, naps are great...my problem is a lot of times I take a nap thinking I'll wake up a half hour later, only to wake up about two hours later...
I think it has something to do with me only getting about four hours sleep during a normal weekday...just don't really have the time otherwise to get stuff done...would love to get about six hours though, forget what that's like...
I've always worked swing shifts. So I have irregular sleep habits. I typically get some where between 2-4 hrs sleep when working; off days, I'll get 7-9 depending. The last day of work, I typically get none. So for example: I worked fri, sat, and sun nights. I slept 8 hrs thur night, 4 hrs sat day, 5 hrs sun day. None Monday, tues morning 8 hrs.
I need at least 6 hours of sleep or I'll probably be sleepy and grouchy all day. Most of the time I don't get as much sleep as I would like to. When Im not busy on weekends I might sleep for like twelve hours!
I'm a 6 hour sleeper, but the wife is an 8-9 hour gal. We go to bed together, but I'm up 2+ hours before her every day, even if the alarm doesn't go off.
I suffer from bouts of insomnia as a result of my job and major projects to manage that have my name all over it. I'm a perfectionist and therefore tend to over-think and over-analyze every detail which means I have lists running through my head at all hours of the night. During these times, I can go 2-3 days WITHOUT any sleep or what I refer to as surface sleeping - where you're eyes are closed, you're exhausted but you are all too aware of every second that's counting down on the clock.
Thankfully, those sleepless bouts have become pretty predicable which means I know when it's about to happen and have learned how to deal with it as best as I'm able. When those stressful moments are over, I definitely catch up on my sleep and like to get about 6-7 hours and maybe 8 hours on the weekend if I don't have any pressing commitments.
Damnit, I envy people here so much. I really feel like a slug if I don't get my 8 hours of sleep. Plus I lift weights, and need extra sleep time to recover.
Maybe I just have an overactive brain and get things accomplished in less waking hours. Albert Einstein used to sleep 10-12 hours every night.
I have for years slept 6 hours a night, though my body naturally wants a few hours more - this is evident with my afternoon naps on the weekends .... those are usually between 1.5 and 3 hours of sleep ... and I wake up ready for life again.
people who can do a 15-25 min power nap astonish me ..... I'd be fucking cranky if someone woke me up after 15 mins. very fucking cranky. best to leave me sleep - honest ... it's for everyone's benefit!!
When I went to college I needed to work 2 full time jobs to be able to afford it. I carried 2 full semester loads and a full summer school and wound up with 2 degrees, electrical engineering in one and business and political scienc in the other. I slept 3 hours max at a time and napped for 1 hour between classes and did it all in 5 years. I'm 71 now and I do 4 to 5 hours a night now. Any more and I feel groggy.
I figure I've added about 8 awake years to my life so far in the last 50 since I started at 21.
Quote by SereneProdigy How many hours of sleep do you need per night?
I'm simply curious to know.
Personally, I need a minimum of 8 hours, but to really feel my best I need at least 9 hours. It's not rare for me to sleep 10-11 hours on the weekend either.
I answered 9 hours on the poll.
I've always been a big sleeper and envy those who can get away with less sleep time.
You have a rather unhealthy sleep pattern that at some point is going to backfire on you. I had a similar one to what you have, sleeping at all kinds of hours and my shrink gave me a very thourogh explenation of why that is going to fuck you up. There are two different theories regarding sleep. One is that we have four different stages of sleep; REM, Alpha, Beta and Delta sleep. REM is when you dream and your brain is very active, while Delta is when your brain is more or less shut off and it's only keeping your vitals alive. I'm sure I'm not the only one that has woken up one hour before the alarm clock and felt refreshed and then thought "I can sleep an hour more!" and then woken up pretty much ruined despite having one hour more of sleep. This is because if you wake up during REM then your brain is pretty much switched on and it only need a few more switches to become 100% functional. However if you go from Delta to fully awake then it's like starting an old engine in 30 degrees below zero.
The second is that you have a section of your sleep called Nadir. This is usually at around 4 AM if you go to sleep at around 10-11. Switching this around so that at one stage it's 5 AM and then suddenly 3 AM and so forth fucks you up and you'll wake up feeling exhausted. The most effective way for this not to happen is basically just keep a set sleeping pattern all week, e.g. to bed at 12 and up at 7, even through the weekend. They've done quite a bit of research on it.
They also say that more than 7 hours of sleep a night is unhealthy and that you'll actaully die younger if you sleep 9 hours a night versus 6 hours a night.
Personally I have been able to function on 3 hours of sleep, as long as my brain is occupied. That's the important thing for me. If I do something boring and mundane, like sitting on a long bus trip, then I'll be exhausted even after 9 hours of sleep. What happens when I'm awake is more important than how long I sleep for me to function.
My experience mirrors what elitfromnorth said in the first paragraph. For the most of a pretty long life I often had to function on an average of 4-5 hours a night and pulled many an all-nighter while still functioning at a high level. It took an hour or two to become functional but that's showering, dressing, eating and driving. I know it took a toll on my body. After cutting back and being able to often get 8 hours I still found the first hour or two after waking to be tough. Never woke up feeling rested. I finally had a sleep apnea test. Turns out my blood oxygen level averaged 87% during the night - not good at all. I now am on a cpap machine and wake up after 7-8 hours very rested.
If you have sleep issues - get tested for sleep apnea!
You have a rather unhealthy sleep pattern that at some point is going to backfire on you. I had a similar one to what you have, sleeping at all kinds of hours and my shrink gave me a very thourogh explenation of why that is going to fuck you up. There are two different theories regarding sleep. One is that we have four different stages of sleep; REM, Alpha, Beta and Delta sleep. REM is when you dream and your brain is very active, while Delta is when your brain is more or less shut off and it's only keeping your vitals alive. I'm sure I'm not the only one that has woken up one hour before the alarm clock and felt refreshed and then thought "I can sleep an hour more!" and then woken up pretty much ruined despite having one hour more of sleep. This is because if you wake up during REM then your brain is pretty much switched on and it only need a few more switches to become 100% functional. However if you go from Delta to fully awake then it's like starting an old engine in 30 degrees below zero.
The second is that you have a section of your sleep called Nadir. This is usually at around 4 AM if you go to sleep at around 10-11. Switching this around so that at one stage it's 5 AM and then suddenly 3 AM and so forth fucks you up and you'll wake up feeling exhausted. The most effective way for this not to happen is basically just keep a set sleeping pattern all week, e.g. to bed at 12 and up at 7, even through the weekend. They've done quite a bit of research on it.
They also say that more than 7 hours of sleep a night is unhealthy and that you'll actaully die younger if you sleep 9 hours a night versus 6 hours a night.
Personally I have been able to function on 3 hours of sleep, as long as my brain is occupied. That's the important thing for me. If I do something boring and mundane, like sitting on a long bus trip, then I'll be exhausted even after 9 hours of sleep. What happens when I'm awake is more important than how long I sleep for me to function.
I have issues with this. Shift Worker sleep Disorder.