Really, how many hours should you be getting per night?

I’m thinking that @neverawake gets plenty. =)

You should at least get 8 hours of sleep, so I’ve heard from various…I don’t know. But anyway, if you don’t, you get drowsy later on, can’t concentrate as you should, and it can lower your health, plus a lot of other things.

@jjmah really? how in the world did you figure me out? :)

I figure there’s nothing wrong with a solid 7 hours. It’s what I shoot for, anyways.

It depends on the person, really. If you feel pervasively tired during the day, you probably need more sleep. I personally feel my best when I’ve had 9–10 hours of sleep, but most of the time I get about 7 or 8. Your lifestyle, including what kind of work you do, how active you are, etc., is a factor in this too.

I once took an online test about this, and for fun I put in some false info where I said I was getting only 4–5 hours per night or something. Based on my other answers, the results said I was probably getting around the right amount of sleep!

As for the effects… WebMD has a good site describing how sleep deprivation can negatively affect your health.

It depends on the person.Lately I have been getting about four.Four bad!!.said in the voice of Frankenstein

@ParaParaYukiko – Yay, so glad I’m not the only one. :)

I need 10 hours of sleep a night. I can survive on 9, but anything less and I feel tired all day. It sucks because a) it’s a giant waste of 2 hours, and b) people look down on me for this, like it’s just because I’m lazy or that it’s something I can control. I asked a doctor about it once and they said it was normal. And like @ParaParaYukiko said, how much you need depends on the individual. There are supposedly people who do great on just a few hours a night.

@MissAnthrope I can’t imagine living on less than 6 hours a night! Hooray for long sleepers. :D

Yeah, it’s rather inconvenient needing more sleep than your average person. People like us who would do best on 10 hours but only get 8 or 9 rack up a lot of long-term sleep deficits. When you think about it, when you miss 1 hour of sleep each night for a week, by the end you’ve lost 7 hours of sleep – almost a whole night! It takes a while to recover from that, and when you have a job or something that gives you little free time, it’s hard to make up for that lost sleep, resulting in even MORE chronic sleep deprivation. It’s a vicious cycle, I tell you!

I get about 3½
but really i should get a lot more…. :/

Heh, the question doesn’t say “of sleep”. Any of y’all getting hours of something else?

I think every person is different. If you feel ok on 6 then that’s good. I feel much better on 4 to 5 hours than 7 or 8.

I’m lucky if I get five, but I think it should be eight.

You should experiment with 5–8 hours or so of sleep a night and find out which one makes you most awake during the day.

As for the real answer to your question, check out this source:

http://www.supermemo.com/articles/sleep.htm#Free%20running%20sleep

Our bodies work on a circadian rhythm around 25 hours long, so ideally we don’t “should be getting” per any night as this’ll eventually cycle into day time. However this ofc is impossible if you have any sort of job/school/life, but it appears to be the most natural method (and thus what your body “should” get).

How many hours? If you are talking about sleep, well, between six and nine hours.

Under 6 and I can’t function. I feel sick and am a little discombobulated.

i didnt even notice it didnt say “sleep”
haha xD

@bob_ Ha. Yep, I’m tired.

For me basically I think you should be getting like 7–9 hours of sleep, especially if you are a teen. I usually get 8 and thats enough for me. But remember that if you slep more than 10 hours, you’ll be feeling very tired the next day.

@bob_ That’s the way I read it too. I was expecting more interesting answers here.

I get by with 5 but getting 8 makes me feel a lot better

I’m good at 7, but prefer 8. 9 is even better.

I would say you have to look at your overall health and how you feel. Do you wake up naturally in the morning, before you need to be up? Do you feel rested and energetic? Is your weight optimal for your age/height? Not getting enough can stop you from losing weight.

You need 7 hours (well most people do)....If you get any less your daily performance on tasks requiring cognitive function will suffer. Your body needs sleep to detox your brain, and to repair itself in general. THAT is why if you live off 4 -5 hours of sleep a night for a week or so, you’ll feel ok for a few days then fall in a heap and get sick.

I LOVE SLEEEEEP :)

5 hours a night! Mess with my coffee maker and I will have to KILL you! :O

Yuo need about 9 to 10 hours of good sleep per night.

7.5

@bob_ I see the word sleep at least three times in the OP details and tags.
@jjmah There is no magic number. You just need to get enough sleep so that you don’t feel tired. For some people that is a few as 6 hours, others need at least 9 hours. Experiment and see what makes you feel best. On non-work days, go to bed when you are actually ready to fall asleep, and sleep until you wake up naturally. After a month or so, you will know the answer for you.

@YARNLADY Yeah, that’s why I said question.

I aim for 7, but I have poor marksmanship skills.

On average between 7 to 9 hours however it depends on age. A recent study found that teenagers up to the age of 21 may need up to 10 to 12 hours sleep for them not to feel sleep deprived. Its not because of the partying but rather because of all the physical changes in their bodies and older folks may do well with 6 hours of sleep because they take more micro naps during their day and don’t expend a lot of energy.
Your body actually need a healthy dose of sleep for it to keep up all the repairs it has to do. If you think of it like a car, it would be like driving your car all day, but you let it rest 6 hours a day and during that six hours rest you only fuel it up and make sure it has coolant. Only you never leave it in a shop long enough to get a full check or repair. That car (or body) will break down faster than the one that gets regular attention. Sleep is as necessary as water and food. There are functions that don’t nomally occur during our waking hours and our body is much more effecient while we sleep because it slows down other processes to take care of the repairs.
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