How Much Sleep Does A Person Need? How Much Sleep Do You Get?

When I really think about it, sleep is little more than an inconvenience. We spend a third or more of the precious little time we’ve been given each day unconscious. When we don’t get enough of it, it robs us of hours of productivity throughout the time we’re awake. I would like to have the ability to not need to sleep and not feel tired. Everybody else can still choose to sleep if they wish, but I’d be pulling all-nighters with no negative consequences.

This raises a question: How much sleep does a person really need? Or more specifically, how little time can I spend on sleep and not feel tired and still be healthy?

According to the national sleep foundation, a person of my age and health should be getting 7 – 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night. Uninterrupted being a key word here. According to Dr. Oz’s website, RealAge, the quality of sleep is often more important than the quantity. A person who sleeps 5 hours undisturbed will most likely have a more productive day than the person who sleeps for 8 hours but is intermittently woken up. As a parent of two little ones I’m in the later category… so that’s a strike against me.

But then there are rumors that history’s greats, people such as Thomas Edison and Winston Churchill, made do with only 4 – 5 hours of sleep a night. This seems ideal, but I’ve had nights where I’ll get just 6 – 7 hours and I’m a zombie the whole rest of the day. Additionally the health side effects from not sleeping enough are serious. Lack of sleep has been linked to heart problems, increased risk of psychiatric problems and the inability to think straight and function normally.

I seem to do better getting up earlier than staying up later, so I think I’m going to try and shift my sleep cycle so that I’m going to bed between 9 – 10 and getting up between 5 – 5:30. Honestly, the earlier I could get up the happier I’ll be.

I’m also wondering if changing other aspects of your life style (diet, work out routine, vitamins, etc) would supplement the need for sleep? That is, could a person with a healthier life style do with less sleep than a person with a more sedimentary lifestyle? I’m not sure if it works that way…

Anybody have any advice for me?