How much sleep do you need to function productivly?

It really depends. I can go about a week getting 3–4 hours and get by, but I don’t function so well. I tend to mess up my words and have a low attention span. Right now 6 hours is my average and I do pretty well with that. Now that school is on break I have been getting 7–8 hours and I almost feel like I’m getting too much. I did at first atleast, now I am loving it and taking advantage of the short time I have to catch up on some Z’s.

So I guess 5–6 hours is ok for me, but I do enjoy those 8 hour sleep-a-thons.

Great q.
7 for functional.
8–9 for highly functional, and happy!

I agree trustinglife…

6 and i’m rough
7 and I’m bearable
8 and i’m pretty on form
9 and i’m buzzing!

I’m an insomniac but would I really be considered an insomniac because I don’t suffer from it and I actually enjoy it! I don’t think of sleep as an extreme necessity but as somewhat of a nice perk! Crazy? I know!

Now, I usually run on about 5–6 hours of sleep, more than that and I become a cranky kitten! I do take naps that last for about 15 to 30 minutes sometimes which is really nice.

Yet, I’ve also have had times where I do a series of naps through out day instead of sleeping for an extended amount of time and I have no idea as to why I do that but it doesn’t bother me because I seem to be more productive when I do this.

I don’t know if you’d feel better getting more sleep because I’m not you but if you’re good with 4–5 hours you may have what I call a “sleep overdose” if you decide to do more; where you get so much sleep that now all your body wants to do is sleep and it’s hard to wake up when you have those! I wouldn’t wish that on anyone!

8 hours or I become a bear after a few days.

I have to function properly at 5–6 hours or even less sleep, because that’s all I can get these days. Even when I specifically go to bed earlier, I don’t doze off til later and then I toss and turn and wake up often and have crazy dreams. I have started taking a hayfever tablet each night before bed because it causes drowsiness, just so I can achieve a good nights sleep.

8 hours is good for me.

A to Zzzzs – How Much Sleep Do We Really Need?

Another reason there is “no magic number” for your sleep results from two different factors that researchers are learning about: a person’s basal sleep need – the amount of sleep our bodies need on a regular basis for optimal performance – and sleep debt, the accumulated sleep that is lost to poor sleep habits, sickness, awakenings due to environmental factors or other causes. Two studies suggest that healthy adults have a basal sleep need of seven to eight hours every night, but where things get complicated is the interaction between the basal need and sleep debt. For instance, you might meet your basal sleep need on any single night or a few nights in a row, but still have an unresolved sleep debt that may make you feel more sleepy and less alert at times, particularly in conjunction with circadian dips, those times in the 24-hour cycle when we are biologically programmed to be more sleepy and less alert, such as overnight hours and mid-afternoon. You may feel overwhelmingly sleepy quite suddenly at these times, shortly before bedtime or feel sleepy upon awakening. The good news is that some research suggests that the accumulated sleep debt can be worked down or “paid off.”

I like the term ‘sleep debt’ ;) I might have to use that more often. “No, I’m not going to get up now. I’m working off my debt!”

I get about 5 hours most nights, and then zero hours on others (last night being one of those nights). It is 6:30AM and I have not been to sleep. I really need more that 5 hours (or NO hours), but can’t seem to manage it until I’ve gone on like this for a week or so, then I’ll sleep for 12 hours. Right now I’m really screwed up. On Friday night I never slept, so was up for 30 hours or so, then crashed and slept for like 18 hours, and now…no sleep again. I will be useless today, for sure!

I need at least 6.5–7 hours of sleep. If it’s a broken sleep I feel terrible the next day. And with a husband that snores and pees all night and a dog that takes a meal at 2am and needs out as much as husband pees, my sleep is usually broken. So I take naps on several afternoons a week.

5 to 6 hours I guess, 8 is refreshing. but if I sleep in till noon with 8 hours im groggy, or if i sleep for more than 8, say for like 12 im groggy too. If im moving around working or something I only need a few, but if I need my brain and sit for long periods a couple more

more than I’ve been getting lately!

I’m on break now so I have been getting around 11 per night, but I’m tired throughout the day. Before break I was doing about 5 or 6 most days, and 10 on the others. Last night I decided I would try to start a good sleeping habit so I went to bed around 12:30 and woke up at 7 a.m. I feel pretty good, had a nice breakfast, and we’ll see how it goes the rest of the day..

I need at least 6 hours or migraine city hits me.

I only need 4–5 hours. Anything beyond that is too much and makes me sleepy during the day.

Six to seven hours is all I need to feel good the next day. If I don’t get that I feel bad all day. When I am tired, I am cranky and not nice to anyone. I don’t even like myself.

7 – 8 is usually my best. We went to sleep later than I like last night, but I slept in this morning!

It really doesnt seem to matter how many hours i sleep, but more what time i wake up at. If i get up anything earlier than 11 im pissed at the world. 11–130 im droggy. If i wake up at 2 or later im golden. But like i can fall asleep at 10pm or 4am the night before and its the same. Odd.

6–8 is what I though for a grown person. My sleeping patterns are on and off, though.

Most people need about 8 hours sleep a night. Whether it’s better to err on the high side or the low side is a hot topic right now. But somewhere around 8 hours should be your goal.

Recent research has shown that there is genetic mutation which allows some people thrive on 6 hours a night. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/08/14/tech/main5241598.shtml

However, many more people get by on 4 to 5 hours. These people suffer short term problems, such as cognitive function impairment (notably short term memory loss) and irritability. Long term, sleep deprivation cause heart disease, weight gain, and mood disorders.

And contrary to popular belief, people need more sleep as they age.

All hale the afternoon nap!

@6rant6 I have been worshiping the nap for years! Love my naps. Welcome to Fluther!