Sleep - How Much Do You Need and How Much Do You Get?

I really need 8-9, but usually get 6-7 during weeknights. I can function, but am often tired, especially if work is full-on. I get about 9-10 hours on the weekends, so I guess I make up for it then!

I function best on about 9 hours

Unfortunately I have a daughter with a sleep disorder who sleeps 2 hours a time tops and a baby boy who some nights wakes every 30 minutes to feed so I'm lucky if I get 5 hours of broken sleep

I need at least 8 hours, but I feel my best when I get 10 or 11.

7 is good but usually only happens on my days off or Sunday nights when I work later on Mondays. Usually it's about 5.5-6.

I can go on 6-7hrs most days during my off season. During higher volume training times in spring and summer, I need 8 hrs or more.

Me personally: I have for years noticed that I got 4-6 hours sleep each night. I blame it on losing a good job in 2013. I got another decent job a few weeks later. There are numerous times on my news feed and in these discussions I've said something like "I get 5 hours sleep". I never knew why, really. Here's what has happened. I got my weight down to 165 lb last Summer by (Amazing, isn't it?) eating less and moving more. Then I chose to stop trying so vigorously to lose and started gaining. I gained 30 lb. Since I gained the 30 lb, I've noticed that my sleep has expanded to 7 -8 hours now. I'm feeling good each day, stay awake all day, manage to stay comfortably within my calories most days and find time to do some of that "move more" stuff several times a week.

I had asked my long-time physician for her advice about my sleep difficulties. She suggested I use some OTC night-time meds such as benadryl, acetaminophen PM, or NyQuil. I did use 2 tablets of benadryl each night, and didn't notice much improvement. When that bottle was empty, I bought some acetaminophen PM and now each night take 2 of those. That seems to do the trick, as I do go to sleep and sleep soundly for 7-8 hours. Often I drink a quart of water late in the day, and usually have to rise in the middle of the night to visit the toilet, but I'm able to get back to sleep and re-enter deep sleep.

I think my body needs about 7.5 to 8 hours a day, although I usually get about 6 hours on the weekdays and 7-8 on weekends.

I feel best with 8 hours.
I get 6-7 hours often.

Maxxitt wrote: »

I find that 8-8.5 hours is pretty optimal and that's what I aim for. I am retired, and so I don't have an early schedule. For a while, I had morphed my day into going to bed around 2 AM and sleeping until 10 or 10:30. Same eight hours, right? But with that schedule I was sedentary more hours during the day (I don't usually do much in the evening). So I am now getting to bed by midnight and up a bit after 8, which adds a couple of active hours and I feel a lot better.

I need to do this!

I think if I get about 7 a night I'm pretty good normally anymore an I feel groggy. I have a rather broken sleep pattern though. Normally I wake up a few times a night, between 2:30am and 3:30am most of the time.

I rarely have a good nights sleep. Wake up many times. Sometimes cannot get to sleep until the early hours. Usually get to the point where I am exhausted then can occasionally have 10 hours.

Someone went "woo" crazy on just about every post,maybe they're tired and cranky?

drmarctagon wrote: »

I'm not asking the general or clinical answer. Because we're all different, I want to hear about you personally.


For me, 6-7 hrs is optimal. I get 5 hours (from 11PM-4AM or 12AM-5AM) and usually a nap during my commute to or from work or both.

I'm pretty much the same. Do best with 7 hours, typically end up closer to 5-6 hours most days and try to make it up with a nap or on the weekend.

I need 7, like having more, but it's not been happening.

Usually I go to bed at 9.30pm and my dog wakes me up between 5 and 6.30am. To be honest, how I feel 100% depends on when in my sleep cycle the dog woke me up. Sometimes I feel awesome after 6 hours of sleep, others I feel horrible after 8!