8 hours.

I hear this number flung about in any study involving how much sleep a person needs.

Then I've heard that numerous well-known historical figures have gotten by on a lot less. Eintein? Five hours.

Me? Hmmm. I never really kept track. I just sleep when I feel tired. My current job means I have to be up at 5.30am every week day morning. I can't remember the last time I went to bed before midnight. So for the past two weeks I've kept track of when I went to sleep. This is a fairly average two week period - indicative of the last two and a half years at least.

I averaged 2.5 hours of sleep a night. Now I thought maybe I was making up the difference at weekends. The longest sleep I had over those two weekends was 5 hours. Now every day at work, I functioned to the best of my ability. I was sharp, I felt good, I did well. At meetings, I was on the ball. Basically, I functioned just fine.

I should add - I like coffee, but during the week, I probably drink a cup a day, max. Weekends, maybe two or three cups over the course of a lazy morning. I.e., not that much and certainly not enough for me to rely on keeping me awake.

So. I'm worried I might keel over and die at random one day.

So how much do you sleep?

I tend to go to bend no earlier than midnight. From that point on I try to get as much sleep as dad will let me.

There's a difference between functionality and healthiness, I think. 7-8 hours is a healthy number, give or take an hour. You might be able to function on less for long periods of time, depending on any number of factors like diet, metabolism, and genetics. It can't be healthy, though.

I used to try to get 8 hours, but I've discovered that for functionality the time I wake up is more important than how much sleep I get. I have trouble functioning when I wake up before 9:30 a.m., but inevitably have to for classes. And I can't wake up much later than 10:30 a.m. without feeling as bad. I still try to get 7 hours, even if I can function just as well with 5 or 6.

see a doctor. you're not getting enough sleep and that is very dangerous. I get 9 hours of sleep every night and I'm as healthy as a horse.

Since I work 3rd shift, my sleep times are so varied it's crazy. Over this weekend, I got 4 hours of sleep on Friday morning, slept another 5 friday night and then went to bed at 7pm Saturday and slept till 10 am this morning. I usually don't do the 4 and 5 hour thing on the weekend, it's more or less 10+ hours usually. During the week it's usually 6 on average..sometimes 3-5, sometimes 8-10. Just depends really.

I haven't been on a regualr sleep schedule in a couple year, so I couldn't tell you what I get vs. what I need.

I know that back in my younger years (cue Archie and Edith) I would need 9 hours of sleep when I was lifting weights; less if I wasn't.

Over the past 7+ years with 2 newborns, getting a degree, student teaching with a family, trying to pull as many subbing hours, waking up in the night to stoke the fire, etc....I've run on as little as 4 hours sleep per night for a work week. I can function, but I'm not jovial and a zombie come Friday. I typically get around 7 hours now, but that doesn't seem like enough.

I do konw that I haven't gradually awakened because I'm slept out in a lnong time...

I'd say I need 5 quality hours of sleep. Emphasis on the quality part. I generally don't get quality sleep due to some mild apnea, but make up for it by sleeping longer (generally getting 7-8 hours of sleep

Everyone is different in their need for sleep, though I doubt you're doing yourself good by working on just 2.5 hours of sleep.

I'm going do an experiment - this week, Monday through Friday, I'm going to go to bed at 10pm on the dot. Getting up at 5.30am, that gives me a potential 7.5 hours of sleep. I'm going to see how my performance and mood compare to usual.

Yah, 8 hours is the healthy number, anything less than that and you're most likely damaging your body, whether you realize it or not. Also, with only 2.5 hours of sleep, you're only in deep sleep for an hour or so, and that's when you grow, heal, etc.

That being said, I'm not meeting that 8 hours either on weekdays, maybe 6 hours each night. But, on weekends I sleep for 12 hours. Minimum.

The 8 hour number is far from hard-set, the right amount of sleep differs from person to person and for some sleeping 8 hours is too much and will only negatively effect their ability to perform. Also oversleeping on the weekend doesn't do you good or make up for poor week sleep (that said, sometimes it still feels good just like how that artery-clogging food still tastes good even if it isn't )

Me, I'm a life-long early riser. Drives me bonkers, but there's nothing I can do about it. My mom and dad were the same, as is my brother. Heck, he often wakes before me! By early I mean early....sometime between 0130 and 0330 is the norm. As you can imagine, I'm not an evening person. Never have been. I do try and keep awake until 2200 and even later. But no matter if I don't fall asleep until midnight I'll still wake at my accustomed time.

In my younger days I'd wake bright eyed and bushy tailed, rarin' to go. Not so any more, but then I'm in my sixth decade.

I'd like to get more sleep than I do, but it seems impossible. I have absolutely no problem falling asleep at night. I generally nod off within a few minutes of going to bed, whether I want to or not. It's staying asleep that defeats me. Sleeping pills don't help much (I take them only rarely, a couple of times a year, no more than one per month). At most they let me sleep until 0500, but 0330 is more like it. The problem is, of course, that they are wearing off by the time I need them to be most effective. I think they are geared for those who have trouble falling asleep, which isn't my problem.

-Decrepit-

When younger I was fine on 5-7 hours of sleep, regular basis. These days I tend to want 7-8 hours of sleep, but I have regular insomnia and no rigid, set schedule, so I typically go to sleep when I can't stay awake anymore and wake up when I wake up (no alarm)...which is around the 6-8 hour range.

Re:health - I think that depends somewhat on individual - whether you get a lot of REM during your sleep or little - and perhaps on metabolism rates as well as one's overall health at the time. I've read of cases where the person - with no apnea or other such - would still rarely hit REM sleep even with 8 hours a day, so they were still tired. And cases where ppl who slept only 4 a day were in REM almost that entire time.

Between 4 jobs to make ends meet and full time at school, I have been noticing I only get about 5 to 6 every night. That partly is my fault since I really want to actually do something for myself and I stay up watching tv, surfing the web, or... watching tv... I have felt fine all throughout the semester until now... My lack of sleep finally caught up to me, I have gotten sick, and have almost no energy or motivation to keep pushing forward. The only reason I do is the light at the end of the tunnel... The light... the sweet... bright.... light.... I'm almost there..

If I dont get a good solid 9- 10 hours Im a serious mess the next day. I even take sleeping pills to make sure I get to sleep right away.

I sleep when I need sleep. That usually means about 5-6 hours average. My body wakes me up if I go further than that. My work/school schedule varies quite a bit and sometimes I have to be up early but that still doesn't affect when I fall asleep. I can rarely fall asleep before midnight.

I need around 12 to 18 hours a sleep a day. Ideally I would sleep all night and most of the day, wake up eat something maybe get a work out in and go back to sleep.
How much sleep do I get, never enough. Depends a lot on what sort of work I'm doing and other people. Sometimes I'll go a week or two with an average of a very nil hour of sleep, sometimes I get my ideal amount. Usually ends up somewhere in the middle.

Every night at 12:01 midnight. Anyone who wakes up in the same day and goes to bed in the same day is a quitter~~Fortune cookie
So from 12:01 to 7:50 in the morning.

I don't get much. I'm a very light sleeper; usually I can't even sleep through rain. I'm extremely sensitive to light, and won't stay asleep long after sunrise, even with blinds and dark curtains blocking the windows. On a good night I'll fall asleep in under an hour...on an average night I'll be writhing around in bed for two. When I do sleep, it's rarely without interruptions and even more rarely what could be called a "deep" sleep. So, while I give myself time for 8 or more, on average I get probably about 4-6 hours a night.

What I need, hard to say. When I do get a lucky phase of full 8-hour nights, I feel pretty much the same through the day.

This weekend I will have sleep deprivation...

due to Guild Wars 2

I like 10 huours. Can deal with 8 for school, 4 for huning, 6 for "school" when it doesnt' count.

For me 8 hours, anymore and im ive way overslept and then i wont sleep the next night, or it affects me psychically, way to many times ive had to survive on 4 hours or less, and its had some serious affects on my body and mind, but 6 hours is survivable without any real detrimental effects. Also a constant sleep helps also, waking and sleeping isnt good rest.

Sunday through to Thursday I usually get 6 to 7 hours(the drudgery of work).Usually about 8 to 9 hours on my days off.I get by fine on 6 hours I do not feel any worse for it.

since I've had what ever bug (cold?, flu?) going around in my area I've been getting about 4 hours at a time but I still get 8 a day

It varies. Today I went to sleep at 3:30am and woke up at 7:30am. I may feel tired, but there were things I wanted to do, so I dont really think it matters much.

I doubt it would have any negative effects, if it was always around that time sure there may be issues. But I think at that point my priorities would shift to getting more sleep. Not really worried about my current sleeping habbits.

Go to bed at like 2 in the morning, wake up at 2 in the afternoon. Coffee, smoke, internet...I need a job...