Commentary: How much sleep do you need? Forget the eight‑hour rule

Estimates of optimal sleep duration are based on averages, and the average person does not exist, say these professors.

When it comes to sleep, is eight hours really the magic number? While adequate rest is undoubtedly an important component of human health, how much sleep we need isn’t necessarily the same for everyone. A new review from Brain Medicine challenges the notion that all adults require eight hours of sleep per night to be h

Mafi R/Shutterstock.com For decades, the answer to “how much sleep does an adult need?” has been simple: eight hours. The idea dates back to the mid-19th century when the notion of eight hours of work, eight for recreation and eight for sleep first took hold. But growing evidence suggests that eight hours may not be t