For years, eight hours of sleep has been considered the gold standard for a good night’s rest. But eight hours does not mean that a person can wake up feeling refreshed.
Dr Wendy Troxel, a senior behavioural and social scientist at RAND Corporation, has emphasized the importance of looking beyond the number of hours spent in bed. She has pointed out that people report getting seven to eight hours of sleep, but wake up tired or unrefreshed. “About one in three adults have non-restorative sleep,” Troxel said.
That is not to say eight hours a night is unhealthy or unnecessary. But sleep needs vary from person to person, and quality of sleep is just as important as the length.
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Eight hours is a guideline, not a universal rule.
There is no single number of hours that works perfectly for every adult.
The US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute says sleep requirements change throughout life. For adults aged 18 and older, general recommendations are 7 to 8 hours a night; for teenagers, 8 to 10 hours.
Other sleep-health advice usually places healthy adult sleep in a more general range of 7 to 9 hours. The Sleep Foundation's current advice, based on the current guidance, which is reviewed medically by a board-certified sleep physician, is that people's sleep needs vary.
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That is, someone who naturally feels so much better after eight hours should not necessarily have to keep in bed until they’ve reached seven. Likewise, a person who needs nine hours to be fully rested might need more than that.
The important question is not simply, “Did I sleep for eight hours?” but also, “Did I get enough good quality sleep to function well the next day?”
Sleep Quality Is More Important than the Number of Hours on the Clock
A person can spend eight hours in bed without getting eight hours of restorative sleep.
Sleep can be repeatedly disrupted by noise, light, temperature, stress, alcohol, certain medicines, or an uncomfortable sleeping environment. Some interruptions may be so brief that a person does not remember waking up, but they can still affect the overall quality of rest.
Dr Troxel has particularly highlighted non-restorative sleep as a reason someone can feel exhausted despite apparently getting enough sleep.
Medical professionals also point to sleep disorders as another possible explanation.
For example, sleep apnea can cause repeated interruptions to breathing during the night. You may not always fully wake up every time you breathe, but those interruptions can interfere with your normal night’s restorative sleep and lead to daytime tiredness. Other sleep disorders—insomnia, restless legs syndrome, narcolepsy, and hypersomnia—may also play a role in how tired a person feels.
Why You May Still Feel Tired After 8 Hours
There are a number of possible reasons for waking up tired when you have stayed in bed for 8 hours.
1. Your Sleep Is Frequently Interrupted
Snoring, sleep apnea, noise, an inappropriate room temperature or other disturbances can repeatedly interfere with sleep.
Even if you do not remember waking up, these interruptions can reduce the quality of your rest.
2. Stress Can Affect Sleep
Stress and anxiety can keep the brain alert when it should be winding down. This can make it harder to fall asleep and may also contribute to disrupted sleep during the night.
3. Your Sleep Schedule May Be Irregular
Going to bed and waking up at such different times from one day to another can interfere with the body’s sleep-wake rhythms.
Maintaining relatively consistent sleep and wake times can help establish a more predictable routine.
4. Your Sleep Environment May Be Working Against You
Light, noise, and temperature can all affect sleep quality. Excessive light at night can interfere with the body’s natural production of melatonin, and an uncomfortable or noisy environment can lead to repeated awakenings.
5. There Could Be an Underlying Health Issue
Persistent fatigue is not always a sleep problem.
Medical conditions, hormonal changes, thyroid problems, and vitamin deficiencies can also contribute to tiredness. Cleveland Clinic notes that people who consistently feel exhausted despite getting sufficient sleep may need to talk about the issue with a healthcare professional.
Should You Try Sleeping More or Less Than 8 Hours?
There is no reason or intention to make yourself sleep less because eight hours is not the ideal number.
If you always feel well-rested and well-functioning after about 7 hours after the day ends, your own sleep requirement may not even be as much as somebody who needs eight or nine hours.
At the same time, sleeping too little should not be taken as personal preference. Chronic sleep deprivation can build up into “sleep debt,” and the NIH says that regularly losing sleep can have adverse effects on health and daytime functioning.
Likewise, if you sleep more than eight hours every night but still wake up tired, that may be something to discuss with a doctor instead of spending time in bed. The NIH advises people who sleep more than eight hours but don’t feel well to speak with a healthcare professional, as there might be some underlying sleep disorder or health issues.
The Takeaway: Work on Restorative Sleep
Eight hours is still a good figure for adults to measure themselves, but it is not a magic number for good health or for perfect energy.
Individual sleep needs differ, and the quality and consistency of sleep matter, as well as the number of hours we sleep. Someone who only sleeps 8 hours but wakes up a lot during the night might not feel as good as someone who has less uninterrupted restorative sleep.
The goal shouldn’t be to be worried about getting eight hours of sleep every night. It is to check whether you’re getting enough sleep for your age and individual needs, whether you sleep reasonably consistently, and if you feel rested during the day.
If you regularly wake up exhausted even when you sleep enough, particularly when you snore heavily, wake gasping, frequently wake up in the middle of the night, and feel very sleepy during the day, a healthcare professional should discuss the symptoms with you.
Note that this article is of general interest for medical diagnosis and not individual medical advice.
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