Hours needed to stay healthy?

Factual Questions
1

I was told that 6 hours of sleep is basically all the body needs; any more is not As necessary and makes you drowsy.
However I have also been told that 8-9 hours(or something, i was told a while ago) is what a growing boy needs.

I’m 16 and suffer from a slight case of insomnia.
I sleep anywhere from 4-6 hours on a given weekday.
Which theory about sleeping is right? (or is closest to being)
And how much sleep SHOULD I be getting? (assuming that no naps are to be taken in the day… I couldn’t nap to save the world)

2

Most adults need 7.5-8.5 hours of sleep each night to really get rested and function at their best. But this varies consideably - it can be perfectly normal and healthy to need as little as 5 or as much as 9.

Teens usually require 1 or 1-1/2 hours more than full adults, but seldom get it (except for maybe on weekends.)

In YOUR case – you need enough sleep so you don’t feel drowsy the next day. If you “can’t” nap - if you sit or lie down in a quiet place for 20 minutes or more and don’t fall asleep - you’re not drowsy and probably getting enough sleep for you

I should point out that over consumption of caffeine (or other stimulants) can throw this off. The above is correct only if you aren’t sucking down immense amounts of coffee or soda or whatever.

3

(slight hijack)

My fiancé also swears that he learned in school

[Q]Every hour you get of sleep before 10pm is worth two hours of sleep.[/Q]

That just doesn’t make sense to me. I’d love to get the straight dope on that one.

4

Me too, 'cos I’ve heard the exact same thing!

5

So does that work if I lay in until noon? That’s before 10pm right.

6

Everyone has different sleep needs. During highschool I got about 3.5 hours of sleep because I worked afterschool, and had to get up for zero period (the period before school actually starts). It was hard before I acclimated.

I graduated highschool, and right now I’m not in school and unemployed. I sleep 8-9 hours…every other night. So while most people stay up 16 hours and go to sleep for 8, I’m staying up 40+hours and then falling asleep. shrug

7

Yeah, my parents would tell me weird stuff too, like “you get more rest if you go to bed before midnight.” I asked if it mattered if you were in the habit of getting up at 8am, and they didn’t have a real answer. Somehow, two college-educated professionals just believed this.