We are impressed by the information about how much Napoleon slept. Some people dream of an extra hour of sleep in the morning, and some cannot force themselves to get up even after they have overslept for more than 9 hours. So how much sleep do you need after all?
If you turn to Orthodox asceticism, you can see that it is recommended to spend 4-5 hours sleeping on it. However, this is more likely the norm for a student on the night before the exam, rather than the number of hours of sleep for normal health. In principle, people are able to sleep so much, but this is the limit of possibilities. In general, asceticism was created primarily for monks, and not for people in the world, so this example I give only for reference. If you need to work at night, 4-5 hours of sleep is a necessary minimum. A night without sleep can be allowed no more than once a month (as German scientists say). Therefore, all types of night work is a very unhealthy practice.
In Soviet times, the medical standard was the "law of three eights." This means you need to sleep, work and rest for 8 hours a day. A reasonable rule, but not everyone can afford to rest so long. And 8 hours of sleep is a luxury. Although if you live like that, then you will feel very good. That is, this is a law for those who can afford to regulate their schedule, for example, freelancers.
Although how much you need to sleep per day, each person ultimately decides individually, on average, women need 1-2 hours more sleep than men. This is how the female brain works. By the way, sleep is a special state of the brain, a special mode, it is at this time that information is analyzed and reorganized, while layers of information are formed in long-term memory. So if you sleep systematically, then memory problems will begin. Therefore, students are better off not mocking their brains with frequent nightly parties. Otherwise, the productivity of work will fall, and even the time cut out for study will not be enough.
How much sleep do you need for a cheerful mood? The classic recommendation is at least 7 hours for a man and 7.5 hours for a woman. Although an experiment conducted in Oxford on excellent students says that regardless of gender, ideal students sleep 7 hours and a quarter. But this norm cannot be recommended to everyone, because elite students were selected for the study, which may differ from the average person in the intensity of the ongoing nervous processes and productivity.
But you need to discuss the second side of the norm of sleep. Yes, more than 9 hours of sleep is undesirable. If you already sleep more, this may indicate the onset of diabetes. If you sleep a very long weekend, subject to normal sleep for a week, then you need to contact an endocrinologist to check the condition of the pancreas and thyroid gland. By the way, those who sleep for a long time tend to be obese several times more often. Of course, there is no direct relationship, just a long sleep signals an abnormality of processes in the body. And this is not laziness, but simply the state of the body. It is clear that most adults are able to force themselves to get up to work in the morning. We are “betrayed” by the duration of sleep on weekends and on vacation.
Is it worth it to sleep during the day? If there is such an opportunity, then it’s worth it. And you need to sleep not after dinner, but after four hours. Optimal - two hours. Personally, I feel very good when I sleep 5 hours at night and then two hours during the day. Then after sleep, my working capacity sharply increases and after 6 I feel great. At the same time, there is no impossibility to fall asleep at midnight. This is just a personal experience, how much you sleep personally, you will decide. There are always lifestyle features to consider.
How much sleep do you need to feel great? Hours 7-9, and these hours can be divided into 2 or even 3 intervals. If you can sleep during the day, do not neglect it.