How many hours of sleep do you personally require to be well rested?

@rocketj1 (6955)
United States
January 26, 2009 9:14am CST
I know that we do not always get the amount we need. And I also know that we do not all require the same amount. I am simply wondering about your requirement for sleep. How many hours would that be? Are you able to get enough? What keeps you from it? What happens when you don't get enough sleep? Do you fall asleep at work? Do you get more emotional? Angry? Frustrated?
19 people like this
102 responses
@yuna15 (2706)
• Philippines
31 Jan 09
At least 6-7 hours of sleep is good for me. During my rest days from work I am definitely able to but during work days sometimes I'm able to get enough sleep sometimes I don't. Now that I will be in the night shift (at summer time! tsk tsk) it would be extremely difficult for me get enough sleep. I sometimes fall asleep at work, for like 10-15 minutes or so. We honestly cannot fall asleep especially if there are a lot of phone calls are coming in. It's also prohibited to sleep even we are not getting any, but most of us does that . It's a pretty normal scene in the office especially for the night shifters. I get more emotional, restless, and impatient when this happens. To control my impatience, I usually try to grab something to eat or just in front of the computer and do my online hobbies like myLot.
2 people like this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
26 Jan 09
I need the eight hours. I would prefer to get it all at night, but unfortunately I am lucky if I can get six hours of sleep and so I have to make it up by taking frequent naps during the day. I am considering having someone with a rubber hammer knock me out because I am wary about taking sleeping pills. And I sure hate it when I am watching my favorite show and I fall asleep before they give the vital clues as who the killer is.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
12 Feb 10
You're welcome. I do get a lot of vivid dreams though and I figured the rubber hammer would just work. I mean it works in cartoons so why not in real life?
@mgmagana (3618)
• United States
26 Jan 09
i require at least 10 to feel good throughout the whole day, any less then i have to take a nap around 1pm. i always tell people i have TB (tired blood) i was told once to take B12 vitamins, i just haven't gotten around to getting them, every time i go to the store i forget.
1 person likes this
@rocketj1 (6955)
• United States
26 Jan 09
Thanks:) I wonder if B12 is for memory too! I require about 9 hours myself and most of the people I know say a lot less. But I guess we're all different. But it's definitely good to know our limits. I enjoy a good nap occasionally too.
26 Jan 09
As many as possible Running around after kids it doesn't seem to matter whether I get 4 hours or 10 hours I'm still just as tired by the end of the day! I'd say I can comfortably survive on 7 or 8 hours a night. But if I do get overtired then I can get very emotional! The kids know to steer clear of me then!
1 person likes this
@rocketj1 (6955)
• United States
26 Jan 09
Ah... smart children, right? Thanks:)
@Daffodil20 (1754)
• India
26 Jan 09
I need about six-seven hours of sleep but don't mind getting one hour extra too. I usually do manage to get the required hours of sleep. If I don't then I feel tired and easily irritated. lol
@rocketj1 (6955)
• United States
26 Jan 09
Good for you! Thanks:)
• Malaysia
28 Jan 09
I'll automatically wake up after 10hrs of sleep. But i usually get only 6hrs of sleep as i go to bed quite late and i have to wake up early for classes. And its so hard for me to get out of bed :p partly i feel the reason is that i lack discipline. But if i have only 3hrs of sleep, then i won't be able to wake up. Sometimes, i do sleep in class during short breaks that we're given. But sometimes, i do get irritated and frustrated faster when i don't have enough sleep :)
1 person likes this
@zweeb82 (5653)
• Malaysia
30 Jan 09
Lazy, lazy, excuses, hahahaChinese New Year those few days also sleep so long, hahaha
@oldboy46 (2129)
• Australia
30 Jan 09
It actually depends on what I have been doing. For example if I am working on our small farm that is hard physical labour and often it is very hot too, so those days I will sleep about 8 hours, unless I have to get up during the night or early morning to switch the irrigation system over to another section. Also if it is really hot, then we start work early when the sun comes up and then when it gets hot, we knock off till early evening while it is still light but hopefully a bit cooler. If I am feeling tired during the day, I might have a nap knowing the I will get less sleep during the night. If I am driving the truck then I will only sleep 5-6 hours, depending on where I am and what time I am scheduled to have the load delivered. Truck driving is not really physical work in the sense but I do have to be alert all the time and conscious of other road users and what they are doing. However every couple of hours I will stop for a short break, get out of the truck, check the load is secured and get some fresh air into my lungs. At the same time I am getting some exercise as I walk around the truck checking the load. Although that is not sleeping, it is giving me a rest and refreshing me at the same time. Interestingly enough I tend to sleep for longer in the winter months. That is probably because there is less work to do on the farm at that time of the year. Also there are times when the body obviously thinks it needs more rest because I might wake up but then roll over and go back to sleep again. I don’t right it but accept that it is a message from my body screaming “need sleep”. No I don’t get emotional or upset when I do not get a lot of sleep. If I am driving and start to feel tired, then I just pull over and get some sleep because it is too dangerous to continue driving if I am having trouble staying awake.
@mialei23 (2385)
• Philippines
26 Jan 09
Hi there, well as of now I have a hard time sleeping at night. I prefer to have at least 8 hours sleep and that's good enough for me. And If I wasn't get enough sleep, for sure I'll be moody and can't do my house hold chores and work. But If it's very important that I have to attend to some thing and I need to wake up early I can sacrifice it. I will just take a nap in the afternoon so I can rest.
1 person likes this
@rocketj1 (6955)
• United States
26 Jan 09
I love naps for catching up too! Thanks:)
@vicky30 (4766)
• India
5 Feb 09
I need eight hours of sleep to be well rested.If i don't get enough sleep in the night i don't sleep at work.I sacrifice my sleep.There were times i did the night shift in office.If there was no work over there.I would go to sleep.
• India
30 Jan 09
according to scientific researches they have proved that for a hunman being at maximum of 5-6 hours of sleep is more than enough.any person having sleep more than 6 hours is waste of time.
1 person likes this
• United States
11 Feb 09
I think I generally need about 6 to 8, though sometimes it can be 10. Mainly what keeps me from sleeping is that I enjoy spending time with my partner, and after he returns, I am more eager for us to be awake together. When I do not get enough sleep, I feel mentally worn down, and become overly emotional. I do not get angry much, but frustrated easily, and will cry often.
1 person likes this
• India
31 Jan 09
amount of sleep changes from person to person. i need to sleep minimum 6 Hr. in a day.
1 person likes this
• China
30 Jan 09
yes,we always cann't get the amount we need,such as sleep time,as a adult 7 or 8 hours is enough. if you have a job,you often cann't get enough sleep,but you should try your best to take enough sleep for your health.fortunately,now it is our holiday,so i have enough time for sleep.hehe.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
30 Jan 09
well as far as i know, there is a require amount of sleep which is 6-8 hours but its depend of how much your body require to get fully rested that your energy loss in a day so better get sleep when you feel drowning. if you don't have enough sleep you may feel tired and restless, you may not complete your desired work in a day.
1 person likes this
@Shaun72 (15959)
• Palatka, Florida
9 Mar 09
With me it all depends on what I have done during the day. I have multiple sclrosis also and that causes my body to get tired faster and require more sleep then most people need.
• Philippines
22 Nov 09
Hi there rocketj1! The amount of sleep I get depends on a lot of different factors. Like there are instances when even if I wanted to get more, if I really need to sleep late and wake up early the next day, I don't get any choice. However, with regards to the number of hours that I would really need to be well rested would be at least 8 hours. I often get it only during the weekends.
@yanzalong (18987)
• Indonesia
27 Jan 09
There are no fixed figures regarding how many hours one should sleep to be well rested. There are people who only need 3 hours, some others need more than 7 hours. I guess it all depends on one's physical condition. There is no valid data that says that one will die of shortage of sleep.
@rocketj1 (6955)
• United States
27 Jan 09
All very true, but what about you?
@forslahiri (1042)
• India
27 Jan 09
Hi, According to Textbook, an adult require 6-7 hours/day sleep, a baby MORE. Sleeplessness can cause all types of problems including Fatigue,nervousness, anger generation, loss of concentration etc. =Lahiri,Kolkata
• India
27 Jan 09
ya rite.. forslahiri i too hav a same kinda opinion.. abt 7 - 8 hours of ssleep is enough for a human. less than that like 4-5hrs can screw up 'the awake life' at morning..;)
• United States
28 Jan 09
well during the school year i get up at 6 30 but ill have to get up sonner thatn that soon i usualy got to bed at around 9 - 1 depending on what i have to do like finish home work and stuff but sometimes i fell tired they say your body will wake you up when you have had enough sleep but idk if thats true i can go to bed realy early and wake
• United States
28 Jan 09
i ment to put wake up late at the end insted of just wake
@thewayis (646)
• Bulgaria
14 Dec 09
I can sleep from 1 hour to 48 hours. It really depends on what day/week you had. The more tired I am the more sleep my body requires.