Are 7 hours of sleep really enough? I have noticed a change in my energy level, so I started to think about what has changed. The change started during the height of the pandemic. Yes, I was not sleeping well worried about my patients (was I treating this mysterious virus correctly), worried about my family, and my family-owned businesses. But, even after I managed to get my worry under control I still felt fatigued, different from any other fatigue I have felt in the past. So, begins my research on sleep. What is enough sleep?
It is recommended that you get 7 to 9 hours of sleep because such things as alertness, productivity, and health are impacted by sleep (National Sleep Foundation). However, the difference between 7 or 9 hours is a large difference. So, what is the optimal sleep duration?
A study ( Belenk et al.) investigated cognitive (brain function) performance for different lengths of sleep: 3, 5, 7, or 9 hours time in bed. Participants completed performance tests every day.
As expected,3 hours in bed (2.87 hours of sleep) resulted in the lowest cognitive performance. This was followed by 5 hours of sleep in a bed (4.66 hours of sleep). The 9-hour s (7.93 hours of sleep) showed no decline in cognitive performance.
In the 3 hours in bed group, cognitive performance continued to decline daily. In contrast, cognitive performance appeared to stabilize in the 5 to 7-hour treatment group, but still in a reduced capacity.
Therefore, it is possible that you feel “normal” when you are actually sleep-deprived. Your brain has adapted to the lower amounts of sleep by working at a reduced rate. But since this is your new normal, you don’t feel like you are functioning sub-optimally or may need more sleep.
In conclusion, a lack of sleep results in lower cognitive performance, with even 7 hours in bed (6.3 hours of sleep) being suboptimal compared to 9 hours in bed (7.9 hours of sleep).
So, for me, I need to add 2-3 hours of sleep to my nightly routine. How about you? How much sleep are you getting?
~ ConnieKayA ~
A Southern Girl sharing her passion for living an abundantly blessed life.
Reference:
Belenky, G. et al. Patterns of performance degradation and restoration during sleep restriction and subsequent recovery: a sleep dose-response study: Journal of Sleep Research, (2003).