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How Much Sleep Do We Need?

© Gretchen Malik

How much sleep do you really need? One out of three Americans gets by on six -- or fewer -- hours of sleep a night. Thirty years ago, we'd be snoozing by 9 p.m. Tonight, we're up watching late night television or surfing the Net resulting in almost a quarter less sleep than our grandparents. So, how much sleep do we really need? No standard answer exists. With too little sleep, people feel sluggish. With not enough sleep people feel sluggish.

Over the past 20 years, we've added roughly 158 hours annually to work and commute times. Moreover, many Americans tout "Who needs sleep?" Today an estimated 68 million Americans are at least moderately sleep-deprived. We're becoming a nation of zombies.

Researchers agree that "optimal" sleep is the amount that leaves you feeling awake and alert all day long. Most people need a full eight hours; some do well on six. Try this "sleep quotient" experiment from Cornell University psychologist James Maas: For one week, go to sleep a full eight hours before you need to get up. If you rise rested and ready to go - and feel that way throughout the day - you've gotten enough sleep. If not, try changing your bedtime by adding to (or subtracting from, if necessary) it by 15 to 30 minutes for a week. Eventually, you should discover the amount of sleep that works for you.

Try keeping a sleep diary. Keep a record of the time you sleep and how you feel the next day to find the best sleep pattern. When your snooze schedule reaches perfection, you'll wake up in the morning at the right time, even without an alarm clock.

Your sleep style is partly genetic. Several "clock" genes influence your natural sleep/wake cycles, or circadian rhythms. At night, when it's time to rest, these genes start winding your body down, increasing drowsiness, lowering your temperature and heart rate. Tuning into your natural rhythms may be the secret to blissful sleep - and busy days. It doesn't really matter when you go to sleep or wake up, researchers say, as long as you're consistent. Bounce bedtimes around, and you're more likely to feel grumpy and drowsy. Sleeping in on Saturday morning also can short-circuit your sleep cycle by making it difficult to fall asleep that night. You cannot make up for large sleep losses during the week by sleeping in on weekends.

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