How Important Is 8 Hours Of Sleep?

I am a person who has never really required very much sleep at night.  I am not a person who requires 8 hours of sleep per night.  There may be days when I am sick or on vacation or "sleeping in" on a Saturday that I get a full 8 hours or more of sleep.  But for the most part I am not a person who requires that much sleep.  I feel just as refreshed with 4-6 hours as I do with the 8 hours of sleep.  

I begin to wonder what is wrong with me?  When people see me up late at night, with no appearance of being tired, they comment:  "My you must be a night owl!"  And I reply "Yes!  as a matter of fact I am"!  Then the following day they see me, and I am untired and quite chipper and they say "I thought you were a night owl, but now it looks like you are a early bird.  What gives?"   And I have never really been able to answer that question.

There have been many studies and research done on this subject and there has not been any definitive answer regarding the "Magic Number".    But one thing is certain, your body has a series of "re-fueling" or maintenance functions that take place while you are sleeping and there is value to getting the correct amount of sleep for your body to do this properly.

I wonder if my lack of sleep over the years has some how caused my increased weight gain?  Because of my ability to go with less than 8 hours of sleep per night, was I actually hurting myself in some way?  Could my reduced sleep have kept my body functions from functioning at their fullest potential?  I am writing this blog at a late hour, and I am now wondering if I have some how been innocently at fault for my obesity?  I started not to post this blog because I don't want everyone to think that I am now going to start following the strict 8 hour per night rule that we were all told by our mothers that we needed.  But I will share some interesting information that I found in my research on the subject. 

What the Research Says About Sleep Duration

The first thing experts will tell you about sleep is that there is no "magic number." Not only do different age groups need different amounts of sleep, but sleep needs are also individual. Just like any other characteristics you are born with, the amount of sleep you need to function best may be different for you than for someone who is of the same age and gender. While you may be at your absolute best sleeping seven hours a night, someone else may clearly need nine hours to have a happy, productive life. In fact, a 2005 study confirmed the fact that sleep needs vary across populations, and the study calls for further research to identify traits within genes that may provide a "map" to explain how sleep needs differ among individuals.

Another reason there is "no magic number" for your sleep results from two different factors that researchers are learning about: a person’s basal sleep need – the amount of sleep our bodies need on a regular basis for optimal performance – and sleep debt, the accumulated sleep that is lost to poor sleep habits, sickness, awakenings due to environmental factors or other causes.

Two studies suggest that healthy adults have a basal sleep need of seven to eight hours every night, but where things get complicated is the interaction between the basal need and sleep debt. For instance, you might meet your basal sleep need on any single night or a few nights in a row, but still have an unresolved sleep debt that may make you feel more sleepy and less alert at times, particularly in conjunction with circadian dips, those times in the 24-hour cycle when we are biologically programmed to be more sleepy and less alert, such as overnight hours and mid-afternoon. You may feel overwhelmingly sleepy quite suddenly at these times, shortly before bedtime or feel sleepy upon awakening. The good news is that some research suggests that the accumulated sleep debt can be worked down or "paid off."

On the other hand, some research has found that long sleep durations (nine hours or more) are also associated with increased morbidity (illness, accidents) and mortality (death). Researchers describe this relationship as a "U-shaped" curve  where both sleeping too little and sleeping too much may put you at risk. This research found that variables such as low socioeconomic status and depression were significantly associated with long sleep.

What Your Body is Saying About Your Sleep Needs

To determine how much sleep you need, it's important to assess not only where you fall on the "sleep needs spectrum," but also to examine what lifestyle factors are affecting the quality and quantity of your sleep such as work schedules and stress. To get the sleep you need, you must look at the big picture.

Though research cannot pinpoint an exact amount of sleep need by people at different ages, the following table identifies the "rule-of-thumb" amounts most experts have agreed upon. Nevertheless, it's important to pay attention to your own individual needs by assessing how you feel on different amounts of sleep. Are you productive, healthy and happy on seven hours of sleep? Or does it take you nine hours of quality ZZZs to get you into high gear? Do you have health issues such as being overweight? Are you at risk for any disease? Are you experiencing sleep problems? Do you depend on caffeine to get you through the day? Do you feel sleepy when driving? These are questions that must be asked before you can find the number that works for you.

I don't know about any of you, but all this talk of sleep is making me tired.  I think I will take my own advise and get a few Zzzzzzzz's.  After all I do not think that a good night sleep has ever hurt anyone.