Do You Really Need 8 Hours of Sleep Every Night? | Body Stuff with Dr. Jen Gunter | TED

When you can't sleep, you're desperate for help. And there's a booming industry waiting to tell you all the ways a lack of sleep can ruin your health -- and to sell you fancy gadgets to help you finally doze off. Shedding light on this flawed doomsday messaging, Dr. Jen Gunter explains why you shouldn't lose sleep over sleep -- and what to do instead. (For more on how your body works, tune in to her podcast, Body Stuff with Dr. Jen Gunter, from the TED Audio Collective.)

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[hawsh]

I experienced a lot of sleep routines to try and fix my low energy and mild depression, I tried sleeping 10, 8, 4... I found the best for me is 4-6 hours a night, waking up at sunrise, and taking a 0.5 to 1.50 hour nap mid-day or 5 to 6 hours after waking up. So everyone is different in the end.

[allinone-qzgi]

Dr. Gunter hit the nail on the head - at least for me. Worrying about how much sleep I was getting was causing me anxiety and causing me to lose even more sleep!

[RanUlfran]

I love how we're talking about sleeping less than 8 being fine. And here I am feeling like I need 9 hours every night or I'm exhausted

[nijiiro]

Personally even slight changes in how I thought about sleep before and after watching a YouTube video (so behavioral therapy) helped me way more than I thought it would. The advice was don’t look at a clock or think about how much sleep you will get and just focus on getting the sleep you can get by just going 💤 right now :)

[MishelFayad]

I need 8.5 hours night sleep + a nap during the day, but most people think it's too much. I think it's absolutely ok. Unfortunately social pressure can make you think there's something wrong because you deviate from the norm...

[fear_less_]

Thanks for the video. This was really needed. The worry of not getting enough sleep indeed causes lesser sleep and more worry.

[sugarshush]

I am really conscious about how much of sleep hours I get every night. I always make sure that I have at least 7 hours of sleep every night. Yet I tend to wonder most of the time why I still feel sleepy throughout the day even though I have the suggested "required" amount of sleep. Thank you Doc for enlightening us even more.


It's not about quantity, it's about the quality!

[jlvandat]

This information aligns very well with my experience. I seldom sleep more than 6 hours, but it's always high quality sleep and I never become drowsy through the day. So, Dr. Gunter's advice is a real breath of fresh air. THANK YOU!

[estebanpar]

Finally some thoughtful advice on how to embrace sleep. In the past I got insanely obsessed with falling asleep and i would get anxious for every minute that passed still awake. I fell vicitm to those articles they mentioned about the consequences of poor sleep and in the end, I figured out by myself that the best solution is not to force the moment of falling asleep but rather do calming activities like reading or meditating while your body feels ready for rest.

[claradahlberg-garde]

The amount of sleep you need also varies, depending on what you do during the day. For example, if I've been very physically active, if I've cycled a lot and trained 2-3 hours in the gym, I know I need at least 9 hours of sleep to feel well rested the next morning

[robertcopter]

Thank you for this video. I've been worried, because I'm fully rested with only 6 hours of sleep.

[CuriosityIgnited]

This video is so informative and entertaining! I love how Dr. Jen Gunter debunks the myths and fears about sleep and gives practical advice on how to improve our sleep quality and quantity. She is such a great communicator and educator, and I can’t wait to listen to her podcast. Thank you, TED, for this amazing series! 👏👏👏

[caothianhthu]

Thanks to TED producer, I am trying to enhance my vocabulary ranges by listening to TED videos everyday. I hope that in the nearby future, I can listen to it without discription...

[samuelzev]

Sleep problems are prevalent these days because we live in a culture that glorifies the night life and if you’re working or studying such sleep problems are glorified and considered a badge of honor that signifies hard work but it really signifies poor health.

[harppen]

I just get home from school on the evening, so i always sleep late for practicing my drawing skill at night. People told that can cause serious diseases, but i feel genuinely fine every day. This video is a relief :D

[mehdiazad]

This video was a sigh of relief for me cause i have been obsessed with sleep tracking and when to wake
Cause when i slept for 5 hour i always felt i'm lacking something or i started to say to myself, OMG i didn't sleep enough. While i was genuinely fine during the night.

[sst-dubz]

What about those who sleep more than 8 hours? I need to sleep 10 hours in order to feel rested. I’ve always had people telling me that’s not normal, but genuinely feel sleep deprived if I only had 8 or 9 hours

[fireaza]

I just wanna say how shockingly smooth the 2D animation in this video was. It goes way harder than a 4 minute video on sleep needed to!

[reidy]

I watched a lot of Matthew Walker, a scientist that talks about sleep who stated that anything short of 8 hours is one step closer to long term damage. As a result I became obsessed/anxious, which then made me get less sleep with the end result in me becoming an insomniac. In time, I learned to reassure myself that getting 6 (which is what I was originally getting) is absolutely fine and was optimal for me. This video is very reassuring to the worriers out there. Make time for your sleep, but certainly don't obsess over it and ignore this 8 hour nonsense. You will have those bad days, we all do and thats ok. You're going to be fine!

[alyamakesmusic]

this is such a relief! I am often super worried about the amount of hours I'm gonna get when I go to bed. if it's even a little less then 8, I start to get anxious and think about how it might ruin my day tomorrow. though I do feel tired during the day, it's because I go to bed a bit late cause of school work.
I've also been worried about taking naps, as they might be bad for ur night sleep etc. but I think we all should listen to our body and find what feels good for US!