How Much Sleep Do You Need?

The cost of this alteration to our body’s innate need for sleep did not come without a cost. When we choose to ignore our natural sleep patterns, we see an increase in accidents, an increase in physical health complaints and a decrease in mental capacity. If we knew of a chemical in our environment that caused the same problems as not getting enough sleep, we would have banned it many years ago.

The right amount and timing of sleep for each of us is as unique as the size of our feet. Sleep should not be compared to falsely held myths and unrealistic goals someone else sets for us. People who study sleep often quote that adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep, teenagers need 8 ½ to 9 ½ hours and infants need up to 18 hours per day. One of the most widely held misconceptions about sleep is that we supposedly need less sleep when we are in our 60’s as compared to when we are in our 30’s. As we age, we still need the same quantity of sleep as when we are younger. However, due to changes in the quality of our sleep, we may need to remain in bed longer to get the same quantity.

How do I know what is the right amount and timing of my sleep. First, let’s get the amount of sleep correct and the timing will take care of itself.

• Do you use an alarm clock to wake up? Do you fall back to sleep immediately after hitting the snooze button? If you do, you are most likely not getting the sleep you need. 
• To get an estimate of the amount of sleep you need: Without using an alarm, try sleeping in on a day that you do not have to get up; on the weekend for example. The next time you have to wake up with an alarm, calculate the amount of sleep you were able to get on a weekend night and go to bed at the time needed to get that amount of sleep. For example, if you got 9 hours on the weekend and you need to wake up at 7:00 AM, go to bed at 10:00 PM. Go to bed at that time and wake up at that time for 2 full weeks. This should include the weekends as well. It is important that you go to sleep and wake up for 14 days at the same time.
• If the alarm is still waking you from a sound sleep, and you are still falling asleep after you hit the snooze button, begin adding 30 minutes to your sleep schedule by going to sleep 30 minutes earlier. Again, use this schedule for 14 days prior to making any further changes. 
• If you are waking up prior to the alarm, and you feel fully refreshed, you can begin decreasing your amount of sleep 30 minutes by staying awake later at night. Do this for 14 days prior to making any further changes. 
• Once you find the amount of sleep you need that allows you to feel refreshed upon awaking with an alarm that only “reminds” you to wake up, you need to maintain that schedule of going to sleep and waking up all week long. Any changes to this schedule will alter your sleep pattern and could potentially cause long term problems.

Once you find the individually unique timing of your sleep, it should not be chronically altered to fit your bed partner’s schedule or a demanding social or work schedule. Remember, our sleep is as unique as the size of our feet; so, we should not be forced into wearing a size 8 ½ shoe, just because that is what the average person wears.

By Dr. Robert Oexman