How much sleep is "normal"?

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WhisperAnne
WhisperAnne Posts: 453
in Chit-Chat
Maybe this is the wrong place to ask this, but it doesn't fit in with weight. I sleep 4-6 hours each night, and have been for months. Is this bad for me? I hear so many mixed things such as humans need 7-8 hours of sleep but I find if I sleep more than my normal I feel super tired and sluggish most of the day..can someone give me some insight to this? My father is the same as me. He sleeps maybe 4 hours a night and has his whole life and he is healthy. I think i'm healthy too also.

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  • DWolf99
    DWolf99 Posts: 39 Member
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    For me, 6-7 hours is normal... my body can't keep with 8--9 hours...
  • ParamoreAddict
    ParamoreAddict Posts: 839 Member
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    Well I try to get my 8 in but that doesn't happen too often. If you wake up well rested, I really don't see a problem. I've been on this site for hours upon hours now though so you might want to take my words with a grain of salt lol
  • WhisperAnne
    WhisperAnne Posts: 453
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    For me, 6-7 hours is normal... my body can't keep with 8--9 hours...

    Same here. If I get more than 6 hours the most I'm very sluggish for the rest of the day.
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
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    My body only want 6 hours a night. As in, I wake up just before the alarm clock, and have no issues being up and about. If I go to bed too early, I will wake up hours before the alarm. This happens no matter where I am in my caffeine cycle (I cycle through from only 2 cups a day to ridiculous amounts during my insane period at work), and I've been this way since I was 12.

    If it's a recent change for you, maybe go get checked out just to rule anything out?
  • WhisperAnne
    WhisperAnne Posts: 453
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    My body only want 6 hours a night. As in, I wake up just before the alarm clock, and have no issues being up and about. If I go to bed too early, I will wake up hours before the alarm. This happens no matter where I am in my caffeine cycle (I cycle through from only 2 cups a day to ridiculous amounts during my insane period at work), and I've been this way since I was 12.

    If it's a recent change for you, maybe go get checked out just to rule anything out?

    Same here! if I set my alarm I always wake up 30 minutes to an hour before it goes off and I'm wide awake. Most mornings I'm awake by 7 or 8, even if I go to sleep at 1 or 2 am. I've been like this for awhile. I don't remember exactly when it started. But I do feel fine no matter how much sleep I get. I can function on no sleep, but I know that isn't good for you lol.
  • WhisperAnne
    WhisperAnne Posts: 453
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    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1380958/The-women-thrive-just-hours-sleep.html

    Maybe this explains it
  • FP4HSharon
    FP4HSharon Posts: 664 Member
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    Maybe this is the wrong place to ask this, but it doesn't fit in with weight. I sleep 4-6 hours each night, and have been for months. Is this bad for me? I hear so many mixed things such as humans need 7-8 hours of sleep but I find if I sleep more than my normal I feel super tired and sluggish most of the day..can someone give me some insight to this? My father is the same as me. He sleeps maybe 4 hours a night and has his whole life and he is healthy. I think i'm healthy too also.

    The best way to determine how many hours you need is to go to bed at the same time every night for a week, not set an alarm, & see how many hours you sleep before you wake up. When I was NOT exercising on a regular basis, I would wake up without an alarm after 7 1/2 hours. But when I started exercising on a regular basis, I started waking up like clockwork after 6 1/2 hours, yet feeling completely rested. But if you're getting regular sleep and NOT feeling rested, then you should probably check w/a doctor.
  • stt43
    stt43 Posts: 487
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    There isn't really a normal. I can't remember the science behind it, so I'm going to try to explain the random parts I remember and hope that what I come out with isn't complete nonsense.
    During sleep were go through cycles of different types of sleep. Each night you need a certain amount of cycles. For each person, these cycles take a different amount of time. If you don't sleep enough you won't get enough cycles and will feel bad. If you sleep too much you'll probably be waking up part way through a cycle, which will make you feel bad too.
    Basically, ignore all that because it's probably wrong. Your body will tell you if you need more sleep as you will feel tired (although, of course, you may feel tired/not tired for other reasons). If you feel fine on the amount you get and aren't having any negative effects as a result then you are probably all good, there isn't a set rule.
    You're lucky, I have so much to do but can happily sleep almost 12 hours a night.
  • Groovyca2022
    Groovyca2022 Posts: 21,378 Member
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    Usually 6 a day and I'm good to go.
  • WhisperAnne
    WhisperAnne Posts: 453
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    Maybe this is the wrong place to ask this, but it doesn't fit in with weight. I sleep 4-6 hours each night, and have been for months. Is this bad for me? I hear so many mixed things such as humans need 7-8 hours of sleep but I find if I sleep more than my normal I feel super tired and sluggish most of the day..can someone give me some insight to this? My father is the same as me. He sleeps maybe 4 hours a night and has his whole life and he is healthy. I think i'm healthy too also.

    The best way to determine how many hours you need is to go to bed at the same time every night for a week, not set an alarm, & see how many hours you sleep before you wake up. When I was NOT exercising on a regular basis, I would wake up without an alarm after 7 1/2 hours. But when I started exercising on a regular basis, I started waking up like clockwork after 6 1/2 hours, yet feeling completely rested. But if you're getting regular sleep and NOT feeling rested, then you should probably check w/a doctor.

    I feel 100% rested most days on the sleep I get. I'm just worried because people tell me it isn't good for me to sleep so little but then I see health articles saying everyone has a cycle that is normal for them.
  • FP4HSharon
    FP4HSharon Posts: 664 Member
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    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1380958/The-women-thrive-just-hours-sleep.html

    Maybe this explains it

    Good article, thanks for sharing.
  • Inkratlet
    Inkratlet Posts: 613 Member
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    I get 7 or 8 a night and NEVER feel rested. Even if I've had 10 hours sleep, still don't feel rested. Less than 7 feels worse. So yeah, don't know what to do. I have made some improvements, I definitely sleep more soundly without caffeine and I have a SAD lamp that helps me stay awake during the day. I used one of those sleep monitoring apps on my Android for a while which had me somewhere between 30% and 60% deep sleep

    I can't remember the last time I woke up feeling well rested
  • Sinisterly
    Sinisterly Posts: 10,913 Member
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    I honestly wake up randomly and it pisses me off, because I usually can't go back to sleep, so I lie in bed tossing and turning like an idiot, getting annoyed at my lack of rest :(
  • DMZ_1
    DMZ_1 Posts: 2,889 Member
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    I feel good with 8 hours of sleep, great with 9.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1380958/The-women-thrive-just-hours-sleep.html

    Maybe this explains it

    Good article, thanks for sharing.

    I'm pretty sure the daily mail isn't a very reputable source...nor is any newspaper usually for medical facts. Best to ask your doctor if you're concerned about it. Or maybe even participate in a sleep study.

    Somewhere around 7 hours works for me. Sometimes 5 is plenty (like last night), sometimes I need up to 10.

    OP, your age may also have something to do with it as our biometric rhythms change through the phases of our lives. I used to stay up late and get up early and still be ready and raring to go. Now that I'm nearly 40, I can't stay up past 10 normally and if I don't get enough sleep, I feel groggy and need lots of coffee to get going.

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