Not everyone needs a lot of sleep, but some people just don’t function without their eight hours a night: Where sleep is concerned, there’s a big disparity between individuals and what they need.
“The spectrum is very broad,“ says sleep researcher Hans-Guenter Weess. “With Einstein it was probably 10 hours; with Napoleon, maybe only three.”
Weess, a board member of the German Sleep Society (DGSM), says the general recommendation of seven or eight hours of sleep a night just doesn’t work for everyone. He suggests that people should determine for themselves how much sleep they really need.
There are some clear signs to look out for. If, for example, you are woken every morning from a deep sleep by your alarm clock, you should think about going to bed earlier. “That’s a clear indication that your sleep requirement hasn’t been met,“ says Weess.
However, going to bed earlier is not the right solution for everyone, as there are big physiological variations at play.
Broadly speaking, there are two types of people: “larks” tend to be early-to-bed, early-to-rise types, while “owls” thrive on being awake longer into the night.
“Get to know which type you are and arrange your life to suit it,” suggests Weess. “This can go as far as your choice of career.”
That might not be entirely straightforward. The ideal time for “owls” to go to bed is between 1 am and 2 am - if they need their eight hours, fitting in school, university or work could be a challenge. - dpa
