I’ve never been an eight-hour sleeper.
I’ve tried.
If I go to bed early enough to get eight hours, there’s a pretty good chance I’ll simply wake up early and lie there wondering why I’m awake.
Over the years I’ve paid attention to this.
For me, somewhere around six and a half to seven hours often seems to be the sweet spot.
I wake up.
I’m done.
So whenever I hear somebody say “Everyone needs eight hours of sleep”, I get curious.
Does everyone?
Eight Hours Isn’t Actually the Recommendation
This surprised me.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society recommend that healthy adults regularly get seven or more hours of sleep per night.
Not exactly eight.
And not “every human being needs precisely the same amount.”
The recommendation is based on a large body of evidence showing that regularly sleeping too little is associated with higher risks of several health problems, impaired performance and accidents.
Other large observational studies have found something interesting too.
Both very short and very long sleep are associated with worse health outcomes, with roughly seven to eight hours often sitting around the low point of that curve.
That doesn’t mean seven hours is magic either.
It means sleep matters.
And apparently humans remain annoyingly unwilling to fit into one perfect number.
Quality Matters Too
This is where the original eight-hour conversation can become too simple.
Two people can both spend eight hours in bed and have very different nights.
Sleep moves through different stages, including deep sleep and REM sleep. Those stages serve different functions, and sleep architecture changes throughout the night.
So how well you’re sleeping matters along with how long you’re sleeping.
Alcohol is a good example.
People sometimes use a drink to help themselves fall asleep.
It may actually do that.
But falling asleep faster isn’t necessarily the same thing as sleeping better.
A recent systematic review and meta-analysis found that alcohol changes sleep architecture and reduces REM sleep. The researchers found REM disruption even at relatively low doses, around two standard drinks, with larger effects as the dose increased.
That’s worth knowing.
Not because I’m going to tell you never to have a glass of wine.
I don’t drink anymore. That’s my choice.
You get to make yours.
But if you’re struggling with sleep, what happens in the hours before bed might be worth looking at before simply deciding you need another hour under the covers.
I Pay Attention to the Next Day
This is probably the most useful thing I’ve learned from experimenting with my own sleep.
I don’t obsess over the clock.
I pay attention to Dave.
Did I wake naturally?
Do I feel rested?
Am I alert?
How’s my energy during class?
Am I dragging by afternoon?
Am I falling asleep unintentionally?
Do I need three gallons of coffee and an emergency nap just to remain pleasant to Peggy? 😂
Those are clues.
They’re not perfect medical measurements. Persistent fatigue, snoring, breathing problems during sleep or consistently poor sleep deserve more attention than simply saying, “Well, I got seven hours.”
But your own experience matters too.
Don’t Turn Eight Into Another Health Test
This is the part I object to.
Health advice has a strange habit of becoming a pass/fail test.
10,000 steps.
Eight hours.
A particular amount of protein.
A particular eating window.
Hit the number and you’re good.
Miss it and apparently you’ve failed Health Class for the day.
I don’t think bodies work quite that neatly.
Guidelines are useful.
They tell us what tends to work across large groups of people.
You still have to figure out the person sleeping in your bed.
For me, that appears to be somewhere around six and a half to seven hours most nights.
I’m not recommending that amount to you.
I’m telling you what I’ve observed about me.
Your answer may be eight.
Maybe a little more.
Maybe you discover you’re chronically underslept and feel dramatically better after giving yourself another hour.
Good.
That’s useful information.
Pay Attention
For the next week, don’t try to achieve perfect sleep.
Just notice it.
When did you go to bed?
When did you wake up?
Did you wake naturally or did an alarm drag you out?
How did you actually feel during the day?
Did alcohol, a late meal, stress, exercise or something else seem to change the night?
Don’t draw enormous conclusions from Tuesday.
Look for patterns.
Because I don’t think the goal is to become really good at sleeping exactly eight hours.
The goal is to wake up rested enough to go live your life.
And if your body consistently tells you something isn’t right, listen to that too.
Sometimes the smartest experiment is getting some help figuring out why.