Does getting less sleep every night, say 6-6.5 hours rather than 7.5-8 hours, reduce one's lifespan significantly? how does lack of sleep affect you in the long run?

not sure, i myself i start to get a little bit pale, as for the rest, i manage, i guess in the long run i’ll learn my lesson and start living a normal life

I’ve read that 7 hours is the optimal amount of hours to sleep. Getting too much more or too much less isn’t a good thing for health. Supposedly a person who sleeps 7 hours will, baring unforeseen circumstances, live longer.

I’m sure it wears you down in the long run. Or maybe your body adjusts to it?
Though you could look at it another way too—you’re increasing your waking hours!
Ooh…how exciting. My first answer with my new non-generic avatar!

It really depends on you. Seven and a half to 8 hours of sleep is a general guideline, however, most people function within about 1.5 – 2 hours of that range.

There’s stll quite a bit of controversy in the scientific community about the ideal sleep pattern for longevity. Most seem to think that if you allow your body to settle into a consistent sleep schedule, then the ideal amount would be however much you naturally sleep without an alarm.

But then a sleep researcher at U.of California, San Diego, Daniel Kripke, came out with a study in 2002 that indicated that 6–7 hours was the optimum for longevity, with a 15% decline at 8 hours.

Those findings have been widely disputed.

It seems to me that the older you get, the less sleep you need. It’s probably a good thing too, because as you age it’s harder to get to sleep.

@scamp:
That’s not true. The older you get the worse your sleep quality gets your brainwaves just do not drop down low enough like they did when you were younger, you actually need more to make up for it.

@asmonet do you have a link to that information? I’d like to read more about this. Maybe it will help me get some more rest.

@scamp: I probably should have said the more restful sleep you need to make up for it. A lot of my information on the subject comes from having had two sleep disorders as a teenager. I went through hell and back and learned a great deal about the sleep cycle in the process. But I’m having a hard time finding some short concise articles on the subject without a broader focus, or a very narrow one, such as ONLY elderly men. So, defeated, I present to you, Wikipedia. There is also some great information at the National Sleep Foundation That’s all I could find before work. Hope that helps. :D

Thanks! I’ll check out the second link. I don’t put a whole lot of trust in Wikipedia. I’ve had trouble with insomnia on and off for years. It seems to be worse as time goes by. Maybe I can find some suggestions there.

In general, a sleep deficit increases baseline stress levels. An increase in stress levels is usually accompanied by an increase in oxidative stress and oxidative damage, which is just another form of aging.