How Much Sleep Do You Really Need to Work Productively????

Every one of us, on average, will be sleeping for 24 years in our lifetime. Still, there are many unanswered questions about sleep and how much we need of it. With this post, Leo Widrich sets out to uncover what the most important research has taught us about sleep. And of course, how you can use this knowledge to create an unbeatable daily routine. 

One of the biggest problems I've discovered is that sleep is such an overly-talked about topic. We get the general idea that we know all about it: how much we need of it, how it impacts us, and why this or that happens when we sleep. Once I took a step back to really think about where our knowledge about sleep comes from, I realized that nearly all of it is based on hear-say or what my mom told me when I was in elementary school.

Eliminating the 8 hours per night sleep myth...

Every one has an answer to "how much sleep do you need"? A common one—and one that I have given on many occasions—is to respond "Oh yes, I need my 8-9 hours of sleep every night, I know that."

It turns out, that might not be true after all.

One of the most acclaimed sleep researchers, Daniel Kripke, said there's never been any evidence to back the 8-hour rule. In his most recent study, Kripke found that "people who sleep between 6.5 hours and 7.5 hours a night, live the longest, are happier, and most productive."

What's even more interesting here is that sleeping longer than that might actually be worse for your health.

Personally, as an 8 hour/night sleeper, this definitely opened my eyes and I have started to experiment by decreasing my sleeping time slightly to see if 7.5 hours makes a difference.

Of course, the general idea about the "one-fits all sleeping amount" is particularly odd, as Jim Horne, one of Europe's most acclaimed sleep experts mentions in his book: