I know… you wanted the magic number… a benchmark — a norm that you could compare your hours of sleep to what the scientists say is normal. Sorry, it doesn’t work that way.
You see, there is…”no magic number” for sleep. There is of course a range that most scientists agree on and that is from 7-9 hours each night seems ideal. In a recent study published in Science 14 August 2009, the authors found that sufficient sleep is necessary for optimal daytime performance and well-being, yet there is a large difference in how much sleep people need, ranging from less than 6 to more than 9 hours. People at all points along this range exhibit no noticeable differences in health and waking performance.
The amount of sleep you need for health is called basal sleep. This is the amount of sleep you need to be your best. If you have sleep problems, such as sleep apnea, the quality of your basal sleep is what concerns your doctors the most… not the fact that you may be falling asleep at work.
Think of basal sleep as a “bank account.” When you do not get enough sleep to keep your bank account full, and start making withdrawals, you have incurred a “sleep debt.” This is the amount of sleep lost because you spent extra hours on a project, the kids were sick, you were sick or you had to work a lot of overtime. In other words, this is the accumulated amount of sleep you did not get that you need in order to stay healthy.
Making up the sleep debt is not always necessary. The more pronounced it is, the more likely you will need to sleep additional hours in the upcoming nights to make up for the loss. Researchers believe that you can make up your sleep debt by getting additional sleep in the days following.
Not getting enough basal sleep slows your reaction time, which can lead to an increased risk of motor vehicle accidents. Chronic lack of sleep can lead to increased appetite, depression, and anxiety, increase risk of diabetes and heart problems.
I hope this has been helpful. Until next time, sleep well.
Dr. Hilton
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