The great sleep debate has been going on for years. It has been said repeatedly that people need 7 to 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep to function at their peak level and be completely rested. However, studies are beginning to report that at least 20 percent of the population actually does function perfectly normal with four to five hours rather than the recommended eight. While most of those people that we meet who boast that they do not need more than 3 hours of sleep are just bragging, a small percentage may be telling the truth. So how do you know how much sleep is enough for you?

The Rest Test

Try this little test the next time you do not have to get up for work for a week or long weekend. For three days or so, fall asleep naturally and stay asleep until you feel refreshed so that you wake up without the alarm clock buzzing or children crying for breakfast. After several nights of this, you will know how much sleep you need to wake up completely refreshed and recharged. Look for these signs if you need to know if your current allotment of sleep is enough.

– Are you able to focus for long periods without becoming drowsy?
– Are you tense or irritable during the day?
– Is your memory functioning well or do you forget short-term ideas or events?
– Do you need coffee to get going in the morning?

Peppy Or Poorly

If you answered yes to any of these questions above, you may not be getting enough sleep. If you are a generally happy person, have great short term memory, have plenty of pep and energy, and only drink coffee because you like coffee and you could do without it, you are getting enough sleep. People are different and so are their sleep requirements.

The Annoying Ones

Some studies have found that the 20% of test subjects that claim to need less sleep and pass all the tests actually sleep deeper when they do sleep. This seems to indicate that the quality of sleep plays a role in how much sleep is actually needed. Do you know someone who can fall asleep in less than a minute and bounds out of bed like there is no tomorrow 3, 4, or 5 hours later? Some people can do just that. These are the folks that sleep very deeply and very soundly when they sleep.

Sleep Ages

Age also has an effect on the amount of sleep we need to stay healthy. When we were children, we slept very well. As young adults, demands on our time and the stress of life sets in and our sleep is interrupted. When we get older, we often find ourselves staring at the ceiling for hours believing that we need sleep when we may actually need less. The problem here is that there is nothing stimulating to do in the wee hours of the morning.

The No Noise Zone

If you are one of those lucky people who need much less sleep than everyone else, well-more power to you. As for the rest of us, (pun intended) our immune systems need all the rest we can get, so keep it down, would you?

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Category: Wellness, Fitness and Diet
Keywords: immune systems ,stay healthy,Rest Test,Sleep,Health