http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18155047
The article basically says that people who sleep little are glorified, and sleeping over 5 hrs a night is a waste. I’ll be 31 in a week, and its a bad night if I don’t get minimum 6.5 hrs, but shoot for 7+. I have one “no alarm” day per weekend, and will typically get 8-9 that night. I also found that I needed 7.5-8.5 per night when at the highest volume of IM training. What kind of shuteye do you guys get?
I am old… 45 I try to get at least 7. I fall asleep on the couch most night and take a nap before bedtime to get that. Once IM training really starts to build I need 8+ or I feel like crap. Weekends I try to get more and will nap Sat and Sun.
I can function fine on 6 hours. But, my recovery has started to suffer if I don’t get 7+ Actually, I just started having more issues with “recovery” lately, and I’m only 38! In 30 more years, sure, I’ll get 5. Till then, I’ll take the Japanese study that found 7.5 hours the “optimal” sleep time.
I MUST HAVE 7-8 hrs a night to function properly.
I MUST HAVE 7-8 hrs a night to function properly.
Same here. I also love sleeping, so 9 hours is what I’d consider optimal.
"so 9 hours is what I’d consider optimal. "
Agreed. That’s why we have weekends. 
Unless I have a reason to get up early on Saturday or Sunday, well, then I don’t.
I usually get 10 on the weekends to catch up. I only get about 8 on weekdays.
Dave
I try for at least 7 hours of sleep a night. It didn’t happen last night and I’m exhausted… I soooo almost fell asleep in class today. Good thing there was cold pool water to wake me up in the afternoon, though I very nearly skipped the swim and napped. Just that thought → TC must be SUPER tired!
I often lay down in the afternoon for an hour or so to rest too, which is just one of those luxuries of being a college student.
Count me in for 9 being optimal as well. I’m 28 and have always preferred 9 hours so it doesn’t have anything to do with age in my case.
Anything more than 6 is a luxury. Attempting to sleep in at my house is a waste of time with a 3 and a 4 year old. Even on the weekends I feel better when I sleep in til 6 and go for a run or get on the trainer than when they wake me up at 7 and I did nothing.
I agree with Chris, I’d kill for more sleep and I’m sure it would help. But I have a very busy job that (because of covering many timezones) usually requires some late night work and I also have a 5 and 1 year old. 6 hours is pretty normal. 7 is awesome and less than 5 occurs more often than I’d like to admit. I tracked my sleep along with weight last year in Trainingpeaks, but stopped midway through the year. I knew it was less than optimal, but the data started to bum me out and I knew it was probably not going to get any better. As I write this, I’m at a conference in Vegas. I’ll probably finish my last beer around 11 or 12 tonight with my customers, but I’ll be on a treadmill at 5 am tomorrow.
Is what it is…
“The article basically says that people who sleep little are glorified, and sleeping over 5 hrs a night is a waste.”
Not the point of the article at all.
From article:
*In our fast-paced, global society, many people consider it a big plus to need as little sleep as possible. But almost every sleep researcher will tell you that most people need at least seven hours of sleep for biological and psychological health. So there is a glaring disconnect between what the messages in our culture say about sleep and the messages we receive from scientists. *
**
“Sleeping over 5 hours feels like a waste of time” was an example of one person’s misconception about the need for sleep, as pointed out by the sleep expert.
I cycle between 5 days of 10 hours and 5 days of 8 hours. I am still tired all day long no matter how much sleep I get.
What about the method Kramer used in Seinfeld. What was it, 2 hours awake, 30 minute nap?
I listened to that on the radio, and I thought:Anyone who thinks that sleeping is a “waste of time” probably goes through life sleep-deprived and making poor decisions. I try to make sure that I have 8 hours of uninterrupted rest on weeknights, and no alarm clocks on weekends. Very, very few people can function well on less than 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night. Many (but not all) that say they can are probably slamming the caffeine every morning.
Spot
Right now I’m getting about 5-6.5 per night. It’s definitely not enough as I know it affects me at work. But right now I just have to deal with it. I definitely shoot for 8+ on the weekends if I can manage it.
I cycle between 5 days of 10 hours and 5 days of 8 hours.
Wow, that’s a lot of cycling, no wonder you’re tired all day long…
I function best at 8 1/2 per night. My body usually wants more, and if I cave in, I am sluggish that day.
I have monitored myself for the last couple years and found the overall average is 6.5 hours. A bit more in the winter and summer and a bit less in the fall and spring … I have found that I do much better during a week when I get 6-8 (with an average of 7 hours) than during weeks when I have a couple 5-hour nights, which brings the weekly average down to 6 hours.
I have time for 8 hours a night, but it is often difficult for me to fall asleep: Far more difficult than training, my job or eating right. Its something I struggle with. It also annoys me when people brag about how much or how little they sleep.
I have lived all over the world and found that sleep is important or prized in very few societies. Its always much cooler to stay up all night, whether working or for social reasons. People who sleep are considered weak.
People like to stay up late at night because they hate their lives and don’t want it to be the next day
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53 YO male; I need 8 hours at night AND at least 40 minute nap every afternoon. No caffeine; I figure that if I’m tired, I need to sleep, not override my body’s message.