We've all been there - awake at 3am, unable to get back to sleep, tossing and turning...
How Much Sleep Do You Need?
Whilst we would love to give you an easy, definitive response - the answer to this question is complex and depends on the individual.
For some people, less sleep can be sufficient in helping you feel rested and recovered. For others, however, more sleep is essential.
People who have manual, physical jobs where you are on your feet most of the day, your body will need more time to recover from a long day’s work.
This applies in the same sense to professional athletes, or those who regularly participate in sport. If you are training for a marathon, for example, and completing a high weekly mileage, your body will need more time to rest and recover.
Equally, those with occupations that can be taxing on the brain require more sleep.
Students, for example, will need as much sleep as possible around exam times. Your brain needs as much of a chance as possible to consolidate information, helping you remember those important facts.
Those who work in busy office jobs will also need plenty of sleep: not only will it keep you sharp in meetings but, similarly to students, your brain needs that chance to consolidate your learnings from the day and apply them to your 9-5.
When we asked our in-house sleep specialist, who also consults elite athletes on improving their sleep performance, his guidance was that the average person needs 7-9 hours of sleep per night.
This remains broad, though - and should be used as an early guideline before taking into account your own individual circumstances.
Is 5 hours of sleep enough?
Starting from the bottom - 5 hours of sleep is certainly not enough.
Whilst there are a small percentage of people out there who can get by on less than the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep per night, 5 hours will almost certainly be too few.
During our interview with Nick, he recounted a story of a man who came to his clinic concerned that he was only sleeping six hours per night - but he never felt tired or groggy throughout the day.
It turns out that this man was just an extreme outlier, and his body was fine-tuned to operating on just six hours of sleep.
But this was a complete anomaly, an almost medical phenomenon.
To then remove a further 15% or so of sleep on top of that, we can see just how unlikely it is that someone would be able to perform optimally on such a low level of sleep.
There will be people out there who sleep five hours per night and tell you that they are fine. However, the long-term impacts of this could be severely detrimental to their health, and it could be likely that they are relying on high volumes of caffeine and other stimulants to keep themselves awake during the day.
Whilst it may reap some short-term benefits if you are going through a busy period at work or school, 5 hours of sleep per night in the long-term could have huge repercussions.
Is 7 hours Sleep Enough
You might then be wondering if the minimum of that 7-9 hours of sleep guidance is enough - but even then, for most people it will not be.
Whilst 7 hours of sleep falls within that guideline range, it is at the complete bottom of it - and still reflects the amount of sleep needed for only a tiny percentage of the population.
For most people still, relying on 7 hours of sleep per night would still result in a need to rely on caffeine or other stimulants to remain awake during the day - something that can have repercussions on your health later down the line.
If you are only sleeping for 7 hours per night, and wake up feeling tired or groggy - you must aim to get more rest.
Nick Witton suggests that you should increase your hours of sleep until you feel fully rested and recovered each morning, likely closer to the 8 hour mark.
Is 10 hours of sleep too much?
While the recommended amount of sleep for most adults is typically around 7-9 hours per night, getting 10 hours of sleep or more isn't necessarily a cause for concern for everyone.
If you’re recovering from a long, physical day at work for example, you may need an extra hour or so in bed to allow your body to return to its peak. Similarly, a heavy gym session the day before will have the same effect.
As mentioned earlier, teenagers and young children should also be aiming for much more sleep than the average person - which can often exceed 10 hours.
Whilst you’re young, it can be difficult - and frustrating - when your parents tell you to go to bed earlier than them. However, those years are vital to the development of your body and, arguably more importantly, brain - meaning adequate sleep must be something that comes of utmost importance.
As also mentioned earlier, other periods of life, such as pregnancy, the menopause, or illness, can mean your body needs more rest than the ‘average person’ - and it will certainly find ways of letting you know this.
As you’ll see at the end of this article, women are particularly affected at different stages of life when it comes to sleep.
However, if you are an average person with no medical reason for sleeping more than 9 hours per night - you may be oversleeping.
Is too much sleep bad for you?
Can you have too much of a good thing?
Whilst not getting enough sleep is (obviously) a bad thing for your health - so too can be oversleeping.
According to the Sleep Foundation (linked below), oversleeping is defined as sleeping more than 9 hours within a 24-hour period.
For most people, oversleeping is typically a symptom of a separate health issue.
Often this is substance-related. Heavy drinkers, or those recovering from a heavy drinking night, will likely find that their body needs more time at night to recover, leading to them sleeping in later throughout the day.
Oversleeping can also be caused by mental health issues, such as depression or anxiety. Depression especially can cause feelings of drastically low energy, whilst anxiety can stop you sleeping initially - but then cause you to oversleep when your body tries to recover those lost hours.
There are also a range of sleep disorders that can cause this, such as sleep apnea, insomnia, and narcolepsy.
In some cases, oversleeping is a symptom of another issue that needs addressing - so don’t worry, it’s your body needing extra rest. Focus on solving that initial cause and don’t worry about your sleep.
But if you aren’t struggling from any of the above, or another issue - you may need to look into what is causing your oversleeping.
However, it is important to take into account your personal circumstances before worrying about whether you are sleeping too much. As mentioned, children, teenagers, pregnant women, those recovering from an illness and dozens of other groups will naturally feel more tired and sleep longer - and getting those extra hours of sleep each night is beneficial to their health.
Whilst it is important to seek professional advice on oversleeping, some other strategies to combat it can be:
Setting a regular sleep schedule
Building out a sleep routine by reading a book, having a warm, decaffeinated warm drink, or anything else that helps you get to bed at the correct time
Keep a sleep diary
(Logging the time you wake up, the time you fall asleep, how well you slept). Whilst you must avoid this if it causes extra anxiety that makes it even harder to keep a healthy sleep schedule, this can be extra helpful if you feel the need to consult a medical professional.
Ensuring you give yourself the best possible sleep environment
If possible, invest in a top-quality pillow (such as the Kokoon Nest Pillow) and mattress, keep your room tidy, and try to avoid working or studying within your room when possible. Make it your sleep haven.
Do women need more sleep?
According to the Sleep Foundation (link below), women need on average an extra 11 minutes of sleep per night. Whilst on paper this may not seem a lot, there are significant periods within a woman’s life when she would face issues related to sleep.
Sleed FoundationFor many women, menstruation is of course the leading cause of gender-specific sleep issues.
The Sleep Foundation state that as many as a quarter of women aged 18-24 suffer from sleep issues related to premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
Pregnant women are also much more likely to experience sleep issues, especially within the initial 12 weeks according to the NHS. In the latter stages of pregnancy, uncomfort and nightmares can become common, making it extra hard to get that good night’s rest.
The menopause is also is leading factor in the disparity of quality sleep levels between men and women, with more than half of women aged between 45-54 suffering severe sleep issues as a result.
Further research has also suggested that outdated societal roles may also impact women’s sleep. Women may take more responsibility for childcare, for example, which can have a drastic impact on their ability to get a good night’s rest.
Conclusion
In summary, 7-9 hours of sleep is what the average person should be aiming for. However, there are a plethora of different reasons as to why this may be different for different people.
As Nick Witton says, the goal of your sleep should be to feel rested and recovered in the morning, giving you the best chance to make the most of your day.
Experiment with getting more sleep and see how much brighter it can make your day!