I'm 29 male. I work 5-6 days a week. I also workout every 2 -3 days
(muscular workout). I'm really interested in knowing what would be a
healthy amount of sleep to have everyday. It may sound like a stupid
question. Some of you might say, "if you feel tired during the day, get
more sleep" but I think there's more to it then that.

From my experience, the amount of sleep that I get the night before
doesn't always correspond to the amount of energy I'll have on that day.

For example, sometimes I *know* I got enough sleep the night before
(like at least a solid 8+ hours) and I wake up full of energy and still,
later on that day, I feel tired enough to take a half hour nap. And
sometimes it's the opposite. I'll sleep 6 hours and I won't be tired at
all the next day. It just goes to show that there are other factors that
will determine the amount of energy you'll have on a given day. What I
eat is probably one of them. How much sleep I got and how hard I worked
in the last few days is another I would think. When I try to take all
these things into consideration to try to determine how much sleep I
should have every night, it can get confusing.

And to top it all off, I saw something on CNN not too long ago, a
scientific study that seemed to indicate that those who sleep 6-7 hours
nights tend to live longer then those who sleep 7-8 hour nights. That
really surprised me.

Anyway. What would be a healthy number of hours to sleep every night? If
I made an effort to always sleep 8 hours, would that be a good idea? Or
would it be better to just go with how I feel? Like if I feel tired on a
given day to get more sleep that night, and not do that on the days when
I don't feel tired at all?

Thanks for any feedback.

On Wed, 04 Aug 2004 00:48:09 GMT, Shweatyballs <a@a.a> wrote:

I'm not familair with the CNN report. The latest research I know of
says the the optimal amount of sleep for health, immunity, and
longevity is 7-8 hours for men (6-7 hours for women).

The amount of sleep varies widely from person to person though.
Children, teenagers, and older adults need more as well.

Endurance athletes, strength trainers, and generally anyone who works
out hard usually strive for more.

The rule of thumb is, if you fall asleep within 10 minutes of hitting
the sheets, you haven't been getting enough. If haven't fallen asleep
after you've been in bed for 20-25 minutes, you may be getting too
much.

Sleep and be 'stored' in the short term (ie. you can get extra sleep
to make up for a defecit... contrary to popular belief that you
can't).

Of course, lots of things other than sleep affect your energy level -
most notably what you eat/drink, and adreneline.

Note that quality of sleep is important too.