How Much Sleep Do We Really Need?!

[Gfresh404]

... according to some studies only between 6.5 hours and 8 hours.

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One of the reasons I like to publicize these facts is that I think we can prevent a lot of insomnia and distress just by telling people that short sleep is O.K. We've all been told you ought to sleep 8 hr., but there was never any evidence. A very common problem we see at sleep clinics is people who spend too long in bed. They think they should sleep 8 or 9 hr., so they spend [that amount of time] in bed, with the result that they have trouble falling asleep and wake up a lot during the night. Oddly enough, a lot of the problem [of insomnia] is lying in bed awake, worrying about it. There have been many controlled studies in the U.S., Great Britain and other parts of Europe that show that an insomnia treatment that involves getting out of bed when you're not sleepy and restricting your time in bed actually helps people to sleep more. They get over their fear of the bed. They get over the worry, and become confident that when they go to bed, they will sleep. So spending less time in bed actually makes sleep better. It is in fact a more powerful and effective long-term treatment for insomnia than sleeping pills.

This sounds a lot like a lot of the people here in the forum, including myself. Maybe we're just trying to get too much sleep. If you read the article it also goes on to say that they found that people that lived the longest only got between 6.5 and 8 hours of sleep. It's also interesting to note that they claim that sleeping 8.5 hours could be just as bad for the body as sleeping 5 hours.

I found this to be a pretty interesting read. I'm going to start shooting for only 7-8 hours a night and see how it goes. Let me know what you guys think.

[soulcurrent]

The amount of sleep I need varies. I know for a fact that I go through cycles. It is incredibly helpful to get into a routine. I used to have lots of sleep problems but once I setup a routine my body adjusted and now I rarely have trouble.

[Anna and Marie]

I need so much more! For some of us who have very low immunity, it takes a lot. Like ten hours on a good day.

Anna

[summerteeth]

Through trial and error, I found that I need 9. If I get less, I am sluggish. Sometimes I need more, though. If I am glutened, it is pretty much guaranteed that I will need an extra two hour nap.

[Ariauna]

Generally I sleep 7 to 8 hours although there are times that I have needed 9 and felt GREAT after getting it. When I sleep about 8 hours I wake feeling ready to go and rested, 7 hours I may have to kick start with a hot hot shower and a good gluten free breakfast!! I think overall if we listen to our bodies it will tell us what we need.

[jackay]

I'm really frustrated. I tried the ideas of staying up late, setting the alarm to get up earlier, getting up and doing something if I can't sleep and none of them work. Some nights the anxiety is really bad and some nights I feel pretty relaxed. I've also tried counting backwards, listening to relaxation tapes and countless other things. Last night I didn't sleep at all. The night before it was a couple hours.

I was advised to just try resting and not put pressure on myself to sleep. Rest just doesn't do it for me. I NEED SLEEP DESPERATELY. For a while about every three nights I was getting some significant sleep but I haven't had a night like that in a couple weeks.