Just How Much Sleep Are YOU Getting?

[Olalah Njenga, Speaker & Author]

On any given day, just how much sleep are you getting?

It used to be that 8 hours was the standard. Now I see commercials for a bed that helps you get "a better 6" as in only six hours of sleep. The other day, I spoke with a client who boasts she gets only 4 - 4 1/2 hours of sleep at night. Sean Combs (music mogul) has a great quote "Sleep Is Overrated". That's easy to say when you are flashing bling and have people doing everything you need, but what about the rest of us?

So tell me folks, is sleep overrated?

Are we eventually going to morph into a society of people who brag about how much sleep they are NOT getting?

Are we going to use not sleeping as some badge of honor or courage?

I need sleep.
I have to give my brain the "off" time, because I think about marketing and planning for clients all day long.

I need sleep.
I have to give this "way past 30 something" body time to heal and rebuild.

I need sleep.
I have 2 teenagers living at home and a husband with an insane job.

I make no apologies for having to shut down early when I need extra rest. I'm up at 5am most days to make sure my teens actually make it to the bus stop with a backpack and their juice boxes - and an umbrella because they never watch the weather report the night before.

What your thoughts? How much sleep are you getting?

[Debby Bruck]

We all need sleep. That includes me, too!

[Karen Tiede]

I've never been much of a sleeper. I don't brag about it; it's simply a fact. I wake up early most days, no matter when I go to bed. I wish it were as simple to not overeat as it is for me to not oversleep.

[Justin Lukasavige]

We do need sleep and I make sure I get at least 7-8 hours each night.

When I make sure to get enough sleep I find that I usually wake before my music sounds in the morning.

[Steve Hand]

As a teenager I needed a lot of sleep but nowadays there is less required. I usually go with five or six hours a night. These are uninterrupted and seems to be plenty. I rarely take more than five minutes to drop off once in bed. If I wake up before the alarm clock I never look at it but go right back to sleep. (My wife doesn't get that. She wants to know if she can go back to sleep--wondering if there is enough time. I don't want to clutter things up with decisions and choices. I just roll over and go back to sleep. If the alarm rings in two minutes I get up. The same is true if it is two hours later.) If on the other hand I wake up before the alarm and don't get back to sleep I just get up and start the day. At any time. It all works out.
I try to meditate two or three times a week. Not optimum, but it works for me.
I also go to sleep when tired and every couple of weeks or so I conk out early. Maybe I am ready at 7PM. If so, I do. Maybe I wake up (completely) at 5AM. If so, I do. My body usually has a good plan. As long as my mind and body cooperate it seems to work well.

[Nyeta Gibb]

I get what you are saying. I am definately sleep deprived since acquiring a husband having children. One is 8, the other is 9 months. I haven't had uninterrupted nightly sleep for 8 hours since August 2007.

I decided over our winter break that I had time off and I was determined to get the baby to sleep through the night and the 8 year old asleep by 8:30pm. Why? So I could shower do few things and manage to get to bed "early". Hasn't happened yet, but the transition is going smoothly. I remember being in college at Clark Atlanta University and running back to my dorm to sleep in between classes. Those were the days!!!!!!

[Tim Moore]

There is too much life going of to spend time sleeping. If I didn't have to sleep to keep going I wouldn't.

There will be plenty of time for sleep when I leave this life, until then I have things to learn and exerience that I might miss if I'm sleeping. So now I'm getting ready to watch the late late show with Graig Fergison.

I am a night owl, Deidre Hughey is an early riser. We like to tell people that Dancing Elephants is open 23 1/2 hours a day.

[Olalah Njenga, Speaker & Author]

Well, It's 12:54am and I'm still awake............... the alarm goes off at 5:10am. I guess I'm answering my own question about whether sleep is overrated or not. Hummmmmm

[Lisa Young]

I too need sleep. I do not know how people are functioning on only four or five hours of sleep each night. I can not do this and I am afraid that I am going to be left behind as a result. I can not stay up late each night to catch up with friends on the regular day to day stuff life brings no matter how much I want to. This is true especially after putting in a full day at the office and then another full day after getting home in the evening with the family.

Sleep is not overrated. I must admit that I do get jealous of those who can function on less than eight hours. I feel like I am getting cheated out of time since I do have to get my full eight hours of sleep to recover basic functionality. I know that I am better with adequate sleep.

I wonder if those who say they don't need a full eight hours would be even more productive and effective after a long stretch of consistent eight hour rest periods.

[Christina Thompson]

Sleep is wonderful! Parts of my job are very physical--to play trombone well, I have to be able to make small adjustments with the tiny muscles of the face AND have the endurance to play for long periods of time. If I don't get 7 or 8 hours of sleep, I sound bad.

But sometimes, I ignore my need for sleep and stay up all night working...or watching Law & Order reruns. ;) I definitely need to get better about consistency from night to night!

[Martin Brossman]

I have experienced a lot of sleep loss with all the challenges of my parents, since Christmas. I seldom sleep through the night when in DC and that just does not work for me. I am glad to see another person that I respect as very smart needing sleep. I need 8 hours of sleep to be my best. It does seem like needing less sleep is a badge of honor but I need sleep. Good question.

[Olalah Njenga, Speaker & Author]

How is the lack of recuperative sleep REALLY impacting you on a daily basis? Are you less alert, less motivated, less patient?

Thoughts?

[Jean-Louis SIARY]

Sleeping is something very specific to each individual, no one has the exact same need. No one is exactly the same, despite our amazing similarity. That is why each of us is a unique human beeing. The though of comparing, and competing is rather irrelevant. As we get older we do need less sleep. I am more concern about waking up rested than how long or little was my sleep. One thing I do enjoy before raising out of bed, is to take advantage of theses unusual few minutes, where the flesh is not fully awake yet the thoughts process and mind are flying, putting everything back into a fresh perspective, like a team of dancers on ice.... Have a good night people....