how many hours of sleep do you have every day?

Singapore
August 2, 2010 11:23pm CST
A US survey shows that everybody should have 7 hours of sleep. If too many hours or too few, you are likely to increase your risk for cardiovascular disease (i.e. relating to the heart). This probably will include heart attacks and strokes. However, those who do not have enough sleep regularly will respond more alertly after they have a good night's sleep. So it is ok to sleep longer if you are deprived of sleep. And not so good if you have adequate sleep. So do you think you sleep enough?
4 people like this
30 responses
@paulybg (126)
• China
4 Aug 10
Now I have about 8 hours of sleep per day, but I still feel very tired these days. I think the problem is in sleep quality. If sleep quality is high, maybe only 5 to 6 hours would be enough for us. To the opposite, maybe 10 hours are still far away from enough. That's just my opinion.
1 person likes this
• Singapore
4 Aug 10
oh yes paulybg, I know what you mean. Indeed if sleep quality is high, one really feels very much better. But even then, i think it happens after 7 hours at night. If afternoon nap, maybe after 3 hours.
• Thailand
4 Aug 10
I sleep 7-8 hours in a day. I feel I have enough sleep. When I woke up I do not feel tired or want to sleep again. I always sleep like that everyday. It is habit of mine. How about you?
1 person likes this
• Singapore
4 Aug 10
whoa octopus, seems like you have no issues with your sleep or sleeping habits. On an average, I do get my 7-8 hours of sleep. I know when I don't have enough sleep if I'm tossing and turning in the bed as if the mind is running a job in the background. Then, plenty of coffee for me and trying to get a catnap at every opportunity.
• United Kingdom
3 Aug 10
I think I normally get about eight hours sleep per night although you can never be sure as when you first get into bed you don't immediately fall asleep, it takes some time. I also meditate every morning and they say that when you meditate on a regular basis this helps in terms of having more energy and then you don't require as much sleep. I have woken up during the night for the past couple of days and I don't know what is behind this but overall my sleep pattern seems to be ok. I'm normally in bed around 11pm in anycase except for when I'm taking in a late night movie. I guess between six and eight hours in an acceptable amount of time for sleep! Andrew
1 person likes this
• Singapore
4 Aug 10
hi Andrew - thanks for your feedback. Seems like you are already keeping your sleeping habits in check. I think meditating regularly helps you channel your energy positively and clear up the stress mentally too.
@p3ks626 (6538)
• Philippines
3 Aug 10
I have tried to respond many times to discussions like this but I always get a notification the day after that this kind of discussion is deleted. I dont know what's with this question why it gets deleted every time. I do hope its not going to be deleted now.
1 person likes this
• Singapore
4 Aug 10
hi p3ks - hope the deleter of your messages is sleeping on his job, haha.
3 Aug 10
I suffer from insomnia so I have a lot of trouble trying to sleep at night. Usually I will only sleep for around 3-5 hours when the minimum should be around 6-8 hours. As a result I do have trouble during the day with my concentration unless I don't have some coffee every now and then. Then during the day I take short naps to catch up on my sleep and get on with daily life or I will literally sleep for the whole day but that doesn't happpen often because my mum would go mad if I go sleeping for the whole day. Even now I just had about 3 hours sleep I slept around 4 and it's now 7:21am. I had no idea not getting enough sleep may increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases that just sort of worries me because I've had insomnia since I was a baby but I'll look into that...
1 person likes this
• Singapore
3 Aug 10
hi parrot, insomnia must be causing quite a lot of upsets in your life. I heard from someone that soaking your feet in warm water (in a pail) before you sleep might help with blood circulation and therefore lead to a more comfortable sleep. You may try this out. Since the US study highlighted the cardiovascular risks, it is really food for thought and we should be mindful of this.
@nmedanich (103)
• United States
3 Aug 10
i sleep about 5 hours a day most times. other times i might sleep for like 8 hours. it seems like when i sleep longer im more tired througout the day. why is this?
1 person likes this
• Singapore
4 Aug 10
hi nmedanich - i think there are times when the more you sleep, the more you want to sleep. You are so relaxed that all the tiredness surfaces I believe.
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
4 Aug 10
hi carpediem I am not getting enough sleep as I have a roomie who is evidently starting on Alzheimer and is acting so weird; she sleeps all day but gets up and prowls around going somewhere and leaving the light on so it wakes me, also worries me as she could get lost, sometimes she does not remember how to find the dining room. any way I get maybe four or five hours sleep. I have resorted to going back to bed after our 7 o clock breakfast just to get a few hours more sleep.
• Singapore
4 Aug 10
It would be good to take short naps in the daytime to replenish your energy. Take care!
@ank_47 (1959)
• India
6 Aug 10
generally i sleep 7 hours per day. but if i feel if i didnt sleep more time in night, or when i am sick,i will sleep in mornings(as i am housewife now and free in house in mornings).
• Singapore
6 Aug 10
thanks ank for responding. I think one tends to sleep more when one is sick. But do monitor your sleeping habits and you wouldn't be at risk of over-sleeping.
• Philippines
4 Aug 10
i usually sleep 5 hours as an average . But, I am a medical technologist in a hospital working shift hours , so most of the time i have long sleep hours when I'm on nights shift . My body clock has been used to it and I don't have any problems of my sleeping pattern. So I guess it wont hurt that bad.
• Philippines
4 Aug 10
Hi , i now i can get more than that.. but most of the times i have to get online and do stuff like myLot..its usually more than 4 hours for me staying online.. i know my sleeping pattern is not healthy.. like I said so far so good for me.. :)
• Singapore
4 Aug 10
hi puddinggirl - thanks for your feedback although I think you can do with more sleep than the 5 hours average. Wonder what is the opinion of other medical professionals on this study though.
• Singapore
3 Aug 10
I have about 6 or 7 hours a day. But I find myself always feeling sleepy in the afternoon after lunch. I always think I do not have enough sleep I'm trying to aim at least 7 hours, meaning I have to go to bed earlier at 10+ or 11pm since I get up at 7am every morning.
• Singapore
3 Aug 10
hi bmp, I try very hard to sleep earlier every night but somehow I always seem to sleep at midnight. Always have the feeling of not having done alot if I sleep too early. Only when I'm sick that I really knock off, thanks to those drowsy medication.
• Singapore
3 Aug 10
Due to the situation with my husband (he has to wake up early and thus sleep early), I have forced to go to bed earlier too but I think it is a good thing. Sleeping at about 11pm is good because that's the time when our organs rest and regenerate, so it's good for us to be asleep by then. On the feeling of not having done alot, I do agree and always feel the same way but maybe it depends on how you define doing things. If you can get yourself sleepy by listening to music or reading a book, then go to sleep naturally, that, is also an accomplishment itself
1 person likes this
@vhings_88 (294)
• Philippines
3 Aug 10
I have 6-7 hours. It depends if go to bed early or to surf the internet until 12 in the midnight, after that whether I'm sleepy or not, I go to bed to sleep.
• Singapore
4 Aug 10
hi vhings and antilove - whoa i guess our sleeping habits are very much dictated by our lifestyles. I am always amazed there are some people who can stay awake for long stretches of hours sometimes. I am not sure which is worse - to be without food or without sleep.
@antilove (191)
• Vietnam
3 Aug 10
Me too. 6 or 7 hours at night. When I go to bed late, the hours can be expanded. A nap in the afternoon is my undeniable habit. If I don't have a nap, I will feel very tired and sleepy all the evening.
• Canada
3 Aug 10
This is a good topic hopefully some people can really learn some useful information here. you dont want to little sleep, and you dont want alot of it. go for 8 hours of sleep and thats it. to little sleep is one of the most unhealthiest things you can possable do for yourself. I was in a bad habbit of OVERSLEEPING. i would sleep atleast 10 hours a day, and just the extra 2 hours really made me fatigued and i had a serious decline in energy. oversleeping is not healthy at all. its best to go to bed early and wake up early.. ive had some interesting sleeping patterns and pretty much they've all been causes by late nights on the computer.
1 person likes this
• Singapore
3 Aug 10
hi diablo, yup, I have experiences of the more you sleep the more you want to sleep.
@Luvers (170)
• United States
4 Aug 10
umm about 6 or so maybe less or more deppends what day and what my lobs like it's different theese days and pluse i go to bed late and some time early.
• Singapore
4 Aug 10
hi luvers, really need to make sure you have the average 7 hours of sleep.
@Luvers (170)
• United States
6 Aug 10
:O you mean it's 7 hours of sleep i thot 6 hours was the average amount of sleep wow...
@xandavon (102)
• Philippines
4 Aug 10
It is correct that we have to sleep for 7 hours every night. Sleeping on daytime won't do. The best hours of sleep is 7-8 hours starting from 9pm or 11pm. 9 hours of sleep will cause you to be sluggish early in the morning and you would have a harder time to sleep at night. 10 hours of sleep is better than 9, but it's still worse than 8.
• Singapore
4 Aug 10
thanks xandavon for the information.
@asiregar (864)
• Jakarta, Indonesia
3 Aug 10
sometimes I feel the lack of sleep is marked every waking body feels weak and less fit then to overcome it is usually my drink vitamins
• Singapore
3 Aug 10
haha, asiregar - seems you are very sleep deprived. Take care and watch your health.
• China
4 Aug 10
Well, most of the time, I'm a regular sleeper having 8 hours of sleep everyday. That's enough for me as I can wake up every morning with a refreshed and energetic mind, and my work is more efficient. But sometimes, I may not be able to have enough sleep if there's too much work for me to do at hand or there's something else needs dealing with. Insufficient sleep not only influences our working efficiency, but also leads to serious diseases as you mentioned. So whatever we do, however busy we are, we should manage to have enough sleep everyday.
• Singapore
4 Aug 10
thanks xiaoyue for your comments. All of us need to be mindful of this aspect now that we know enough sleep does matter.
• India
3 Aug 10
hi carpediem17, i do sleep 9 hours a day......but once it was like 11,,always sleepy head......but now controlled and made it to 9 hours
• Singapore
4 Aug 10
hi jeyakumar - guess sleeping patterns have to be monitored for general well-being
@dsrp82 (676)
• Brazil
3 Aug 10
Sometimes I sleep too much, sometimes I dont sleep at all. My sleep is like my apetite, sometimes more, sometimes less.
• Singapore
4 Aug 10
in view of the US study and the health risk, do take time to consider the benefits of having regular sleep of about 7 hours.
• United States
3 Aug 10
hmmmmmmmmm.....i would say i get around 6 to 8 hours of sleep daily =]
• Singapore
4 Aug 10
hi jesenia, I guess that is consistent with the US study and seems healthy enough.
@babz02 (250)
• Philippines
3 Aug 10
I sleep for at least 7 hours. They say that lack of sleep and oversleeping can cause heart problems. Maybe this article can help... http://health.asiaone.com/Health/News/Story/A1Story20100801-229842.html
• Singapore
4 Aug 10
hi babz, thanks for your sharing. In fact, it was this article that I read triggered this discussion.