How much sleep do you really need?

Options
245

Replies

  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
    Options
    I normally get 8 hours (10pm-6am). But right now I've been having a hard time on less than 9, but I'm pregnant.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
    Options
    I have a 4 and 6 y.o...my eldest does fine, but my youngest has never been a good sleeper...so we aren't either. Between the two of them, I don't think my wife and I have had a good nights sleep in about 6 years...
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    Options
    I lay down at 10 PM, asleep in maybe 30 seconds, up at 4:10 AM, so just a bit more than 6 hours. I don't use caffeine.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Options
    I do well on about 7.5 hours. I have a bad habit of staying up late reading so I don't get that much sleep during the week often but then I get a bit more than that on the weekend.

    I used to need 8.5 hours but it seems to have declined a bit as I aged. When I was in college I was crazy strict about getting my 8.5 hours. I can remember living in a 2 person dorm room and climbing into bed in the middle of the TV show ER to go to sleep while my roommate and her friends watched TV a few feet away.
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
    Options
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    According to expert panels from the National Sleep Foundation, the average adult functions better with at least 7 hours of sleep.
    I know lots of people who get less, along with a lot of my clients. Many insist that they are fine with 6 hours of sleep, yet are dependent on caffeine and are tired much of the time.
    So how do you fair? I get 7 hours or more of sleep a day.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    I usually get 5-6 hours and am tired and run on coffee 90% of the time. LOL
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,948 Member
    Options
    Always shoot for at least 8, most of the time get 7 and every now and then between 5 and 6...
  • Cylphin60
    Cylphin60 Posts: 863 Member
    Options
    I get 3-5 hours a night. I've had all the tests done, no sleep apnea or other apparent issues, low coffee intake yada yada. 8 hours a night is a fantasy for me lol. On rare occasion, if I'm awake more than 18 hours, I'll actually sleep for 6 or so. I catch a nap here and there, but it's not the same as uninterrupted sleep.
  • laur357
    laur357 Posts: 896 Member
    Options
    8.5-9.5 hours is my sweet spot. Longer leaves me lethargic and with a headache. Waking up naturally helps too (without an alarm), and I'm 100% not a morning person.

    Sadly, it's usually 5-7 hours during the week. Lots of coffee, perpetually sleepy, sometime cranky. If I go to the gym before work, I have to wake up at 5:15 AM. Getting home at 6:00 PM doesn't leave much time to get *kitten* done if I try to go to bed at 9:00 in an attempt to hit 8 hours.
  • kschwab0203
    kschwab0203 Posts: 610 Member
    Options
    I usually get 8 hours. I can function on 7, but anything less I'm dragging and not focused.
  • WickedPineapple
    WickedPineapple Posts: 698 Member
    Options
    I try to get a minimum of 7.5 hours, but no more than 9. Since I've struggled with insomnia, I put a priority on sleep. When I don't get enough or quality sleep, everything suffers. I'm moodier, tend to not exercise, eat poorly, etc.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
    Options
    I can function on 4 hours , do okay with 6 hours, but about 8 hours of sleep is the best for me.
  • Mary_Anastasia
    Mary_Anastasia Posts: 267 Member
    edited December 2016
    Options
    These days, I feel best at 9. I usually get 7-8. I used to feel best at 12, but then I got on proper medication. I can survive on 6 per night but it will give me a headache and nausea and heavy-skin feeling after 2 nights of that.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    Options
    I get an average of 6 - 6.5 hours on the three days of the week that I work out before work, the other two I get usually close to 8. On the weekends I'll get 7-8, sometimes more. So I probably average 7 all together.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Options
    I can manage on 4, feel okay on 5-6, but my ideal is 7-7.5. When I was marathon training last year, I felt like I needed 8-9 to feel my best.
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    Options
    I have always been a 4-6 hour sleeper. That said, I do feel better if I can be more towards the 6 or so hour mark more often than not. Never got into caffeine and such until after college. Now I only have caffeine in the morning. I am naturally wired as it is and caffeine late in the day messes with what little sleep I get.
  • PhilP0wer
    PhilP0wer Posts: 76 Member
    Options
    For me it depends. With no exertion I'm fine with 6.5. On lifting days I need 7.5 - 8 and on the Saturdays that I ride my bike for 4 or 5 hours I end up needing 9 hours to feel ok.
  • not_my_first_rodeo
    not_my_first_rodeo Posts: 311 Member
    Options
    Chronic insomniac here.

    Ideally 8 hours to function, but I haven't had that consistently in years.

    I weep with joy and fall to my knees in gratitude at 7.

    I can barely function at 6.

    With the onset of perimenopause, it's lucky now if I get 4 consecutive hours.

    I am a shadow of myself. I can't speak for other people, but I NEED 6.5-7 to feel like I am functioning.
  • robininfl
    robininfl Posts: 1,137 Member
    Options
    I need either 7.5 or 9 hours to feel really good. 7.5 is fine for weekdays, usually I will wake up after that much sleep, but on weekends I can just keep sleeping until 9 hours and it feels so good and refreshing. Any longer is not good for me, any shorter than 7.5 makes it hard to run in the morning, my knees hurt.

    I try to eat well, too, but personally I'm healthier with a crap diet or not enough food, and enough sleep, than with a good and healthy diet and not enough sleep. Sleep is an enormous factor for me, health wise.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    Options
    jemhh wrote: »
    I do well on about 7.5 hours. I have a bad habit of staying up late reading so I don't get that much sleep during the week often but then I get a bit more than that on the weekend.
    .

    Reading is like a very strong sleeping pill for me. A book lasts me a very long time, I'm lucky to get to 10 pages before i zonk out (i read in bed at night).

  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    Options
    Oh dear.. I definitely do not sleep enough. Lately it has been a bit better, 6h of broken up sleep works for me.. but not long ago I was on 4-5h, sometimes less uchhh :( . My 10 month old loves to wake up and eat a lot at night, but I know this phase is (hopefully) temporary. On top of that I can't drink TOO much coffee or else it gets into the milk and then the kid and then he won't sleep. SO ... yea.. *falls asleep as I'm typing this*

Categories