Lowest mortality is observed for those who sleep for 7 hours a night. Sleeping 8 hours or longer increases mortality more than sleeping a short interval (5 to 6 hours). Im lucky to get ANY SLEEP! Sleep less, live longer? I have to take ZZZSLEEP and even then it takes forever it seems to fall asleep!! How do you guys sleep??
I had an incident at work that totally upset my career path. I had to take ambian just to get any sleep after that because I was so angry. That was over 20 years ago. Since then I got off the ambian and started using over the counter sleeping aids. Now I don’t use anything by choice but I only get about 5 hours average a night. Once I wake up it’s almost impossible to get back to sleep. I’m now comfortably retired. Just wish I slept better. Just out of curiosity, where do you get this information from? I’ve always been led to believe baby’s and growing children require more sleep than adults. But I’ve also heard 7 to 8 hours sleep is ideal. While your in REM sleep your body burns fat which is also a good thing.
A few years back, I had terrible insomnia and it was making me crazy, stress of the job, you name it. I tried everything....(sex always helped, but that was a bit impractical for the good sleeper).. blackout curtains, background noise, sleep mask, earplugs, weighted blanket, nothing worked - I couldn't get to sleep, and if I did, it wasn't for long and I couldn't get back to sleep. When I don't sleep, everything else goes to hell, too. So, at my physical, I said to my doc of 20+ years, I'm not leaving without a prescription for a sleep aid.... I had taken Ambien occasionally when I travelled or to re synch if I had a few restless nights and I had taken it around the period of my back surgery....so I knew it worked for me with no strange side effects. So, I take 5mg (half a 10mg) every night. I get to sleep after a while - but I stay asleep through the night - usually until the alarm goes off. Sleeping 6-8 hours a night is simply heaven. I feel so much better. Doc says it's a risk for dementia, but we have to weigh that against going crazy from lack of sleep. So, it works for me. I thought after retirement, I would wean myself off of it and see if I could get on a regular sleep pattern but I am not worried about it.
I eat homemade cannabis laced cookies or brownies for my insomnia. I fall sleep fast and sleep for 7-8 hours and wake up with a smile!
I used to swear by eight hours being the “gold standard” too, but over time I realized it’s more about quality than the number. Seven hours of deep, uninterrupted sleep often leaves me feeling far better than eight hours of tossing and turning. A lot of that comes down to your setup — good pillows and proper bedding make a huge difference. Upgrading my mattress and pillows from places like bed bath and beyond https://bed-bath-and-beyond.pissedconsumer.com/review.html actually helped me settle faster and improve sleep cycles. Comfort plays a bigger role than most people admit. What works for one person doesn’t always work for another.