# How many hours of sleep do you get per night? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 4, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-hours-of-sleep-do-you-get-per-night/559505 "2010-11-04T20:34:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-hours-of-sleep-do-you-get-per-night/559505/21 "2010-11-04T22:11:14Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I was reading an article recently about the sleeping habits of our recent ancestors- those who lived on farms before electric lighting. Not surprisingly most went to bed soon after sunset (8pm-9pm depending on time of the year) but what was surprising is that they rarely slept straight through the night. They would often wake up around midnight and do anything from pray to read to housework to, if they lived in town, go visiting neighbors who were also up. This 8-midnight or thereabouts was called “First Sleep”. After being up for a couple or three hours they’d go back to bed and sleep until daybreak. > > I knew that at most monateries and convents the monks and nuns went to sleep for a while after sunset then woke to say midnight prayers, but I didn’t realize that they were probably just following the same sleep habits as their family back at the farm. It is also called segmented sleep, and unfortunately I have it. Previously when perfectly healthy and unmedicated for anything, I have my entire life woken up at 2 am and back to sleep at 4 am. Used to drive the nanny and my mom insane. Amused the guy at the sleep study that I could literally sleep in a totally dark silent room, and wake up and go back to sleep on cue. I go to bed at 11. I wake up at 2, go back to sleep at 4. Wake up at 5, take meds and eat breakfast. Back to sleep about 6 for an hour then back up. Meds at 1, asleep about 2 until 3, back awake. Meds at 5, luckily none of them are the oens that cause drowsiness so I am actually awake until 11. Evening meds are at 9. 5 of the 11 or so meds I take cause drowsiness. And to top it off, I am on a cough syrup to superss coughing so I dont blow a lung again and it has hydrocodone in it. Yay. _another_ drug with sleepies as a side effect. Excuse me while I just change into different jammies, I haven’t been awake for a normal day in over a week. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-hours-of-sleep-do-you-get-per-night/559505/22 "2010-11-05T14:19:15Z")
Usually I get 6, often 7, so voted 6.5-8. I never nap. Some nights I only get 3 or 4, simply because I don’t feel like going to bed even though I have to get up in the morning. Sleep comes easily to me - too easily I think sometimes. I’m out about 1 minute after I lie down usually. I used to have huge problems with oversleeping and napped a lot, but that was mainly because of my eating habits - my energy levels during the day, and my ability to get up in the morning, are pretty directly related to what I put in my body, not as much to do with how much sleep I got the night before. Oddly I feel much, much better on two little sleep, rather than too much. More than 8 hours, I feel hungover when I wake up and it can last for hours (body aches, nausea, headache). But I can do just fine for quite some time on 2-4 hours per night, as long as I get some. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-hours-of-sleep-do-you-get-per-night/559505/23 "2010-11-05T14:28:19Z")
I usually go to bed late and wake up early. So, while I said 6.5 to 8, it’s rarely ever even close to 8. But generally not less than 6, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-hours-of-sleep-do-you-get-per-night/559505/24 "2010-11-05T15:40:38Z")
This “segmented sleep” thing fascinates me. I’m _always_ awake between about 5 and 6:30 am, which means invariably I tryandtryandtry to fall back asleep, and finally conk out … about fifteen minutes before my alarm, so then I’m dragged back up out of a sound sleep, which leaves me groggy. It blows. I need to start embracing the fact that I’m just gonna be _up_ at that hour, and find something quiet to do (so I don’t wake up the Other Shoe) until I can fall back asleep. Of course, that’d be a helluvalot easier if I didn’t have to be dressed and in an office about the time I’d naturally wake up for good… that whole stupid “being employed” thing… ---
**Author:** ![LegsAkimbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f1d935/32.png) [@LegsAkimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LegsAkimbo)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-hours-of-sleep-do-you-get-per-night/559505/25 "2010-11-05T17:38:14Z")
Depends on whether I’m home or away camping solo. When I camp alone (which I love), I eat dinner around 6:30 and am in bed with lights out around 9. I then wake up naturally at about 8:15. Mr. Legs is completely inflexible about his schedule and so at home we eat dinner at 8:30 (or 8:45) and lights out at about 11:30 (I can’t sleep (a) with his light/booklight on, or (b) knowing he will wake me when he comes to bed, so no point in turning in earlier). I still wake up naturally at 8:15. When camping, I have energy; when home, I am tired and often have to nap to compensate for less night sleep. Mr. Legs is so resistant to change that he is not physically capable of altering the routine at all (which was in place until 15 years ago because of my odd work schedule at the time…15 years later he still has to adhere to it). So, ideally I guess I sleep a lot…in reality, rarely enough. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-hours-of-sleep-do-you-get-per-night/559505/26 "2010-11-05T17:56:34Z")
I shoot for 8 but it never happens. The cats are always up before I am, you see. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-hours-of-sleep-do-you-get-per-night/559505/27 "2010-11-05T18:08:43Z")
Anywhere between six and ten hours. The length doesn’t seem to matter; I always wake up refreshed ever since giving up caffeine. I used to wake up with a headache no matter how long I’d been asleep. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-hours-of-sleep-do-you-get-per-night/559505/28 "2010-11-05T19:02:12Z")
I get around 8-9 a night, but I really don’t know how much sleep I actually need. I’ve never gone to sleep and just _slept_ until I felt like I needed to wake up. If it’s the weekend, the voice in the back of my head saying ‘you went to bed at 10pm, it’s now 11:30am, get your ass out of bed like a civilized person’ makes me get up. I’d like to find out if I have a genuine sleep problem or if it’s just a combo of many factors - depression/anxiety meds, obesity, lack of exercise… ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-hours-of-sleep-do-you-get-per-night/559505/29 "2010-11-05T19:16:48Z")
4-5 hours - bed at 1:30 or 2AM, up at 6AM on a weekday. On the weekend, I sometimes lie in until 8. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-hours-of-sleep-do-you-get-per-night/559505/30 "2010-11-05T20:42:48Z")
Typically around 6.5 hours. Somewhere around 6.5-7 is my ideal. Eight or more hours makes me feel pretty crappy. Less than six long-term does the same. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-hours-of-sleep-do-you-get-per-night/559505/31 "2010-11-05T21:20:00Z")
I almost always go to bed between 11 and 11:30. But when I wake and can’t go back to sleep is a crapshoot. Anywhere between 3 and 8 AM. And I cannot figure out why it isn’t constant. I’m retired so hardly ever have to get up at any particular time. Probably most often wake between 6 and 6:30 so I checked 6.5–8. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2010, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-hours-of-sleep-do-you-get-per-night/559505/32 "2010-11-06T00:32:37Z")
I usually sleep a little more than 10 hours. However, sleeping longer is not uncommon. Yesterday, I slept for about 36 hours. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2010, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-hours-of-sleep-do-you-get-per-night/559505/33 "2010-11-06T01:02:35Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > I usually sleep a little more than 10 hours. However, sleeping longer is not uncommon. Yesterday, I slept for about 36 hours. Dreams? What did you feel like when you woke up? Can you wake yourself up using an alarm clock? ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2010, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-hours-of-sleep-do-you-get-per-night/559505/34 "2010-11-06T01:07:12Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > Dreams? What did you feel like when you woke up? Can you wake yourself up using an alarm clock? I had a series of dreams during my long sleep. I felt roughly normal when I woke up. I also felt the need to pee. I can be woken up using staggered alarm clocks (one set ten minutes after the other), but they must be very, very loud. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-hours-of-sleep-do-you-get-per-night/559505.md?page=1)