So how much sleep do you actually need?
Is 6-7 hours enough?
The amount of sleep you can get by on and the amount you need to work optimally are drastically different. The typical adult sleeps fewer than seven hours a night, according to the National Institutes of Health. Six to seven hours of sleep can seem adequate in today's fast-paced society.
In fact, it's a surefire way to end up with chronic sleep deprivation.
Just because you can function on six or seven hours of sleep doesn't mean you wouldn't feel happier and do more if you stayed in bed an hour or two longer.
Though sleep needs differ widely from person to person, most stable adults need seven to nine hours of sleep a night in order to work optimally. Much more is expected for children and adolescents. Despite the common misconception that our sleep requirements decline when we grow older, most older people do need at least seven hours of sleep. Daytime naps can help fill in the gaps with older adults who have difficulty sleeping this late at night.
The easiest way to determine whether you're getting enough sleep is to assess how you feel during the day. You'll stay energized and alert all day long if you get enough sleep, from the moment you wake up until your usual bedtime.
Still believe that six hours of sleep is sufficient?
Think again. Some people have a gene that allows them to perform better with just six hours of sleep per night, according to researchers at the University of California, San Francisco. This mutation, on the other hand, is very unusual, occurring in fewer than 3% of the population. Six hours isn't quite close to being enough for the remaining 97% of us.
