How much sleep do we need?

doi:10.1053/smrv.2000.0138

Sleep Medicine Reviews

Volume 5, Issue 2, April 2001, Pages 155-179

https://doi.org/10.1053/smrv.2000.0138 Get rights and content

Abstract

There is increasing concern for sleeplessness-related risks in modern society. Some recent epidemiological data seem to support the view that many segments of the adult population have chronically inadequate sleep. On the other hand, some experts have claimed that our core, basic amount of sleep is around 6 h per night, and that the rest of our sleep can be easily curtailed, being unnecessary to fulfill any sleep need. However, experimental data on the effects of both acute and cumulative partial sleep deprivation (PSD) consistently point out that sleep restriction has substantial negative effects on sleepiness, motor and cognitive performance and mood, as well as on some metabolic, hormonal and immunological variables. As chronic PSD may have serious long-term adverse health effects, it should be avoided in the general population. In the short-term, the effects of sleep curtailment seem to accumulate linearly, while the effects of long-term PSD should be further investigated, as the few available studies are flawed by methodological weaknesses. On the other hand, there is evidence that extending sleep by 2–3 h beyond the norm produces only marginal benefits for an average individual. Finally, it is underlined that, as large individual differences do exist in the need for sleep, the search for the sleep need may be vain. A somnotypology, taking into account age, gender and the position in both the sleep–alert and the morningness–eveningness continuum, should help in the search for the actual individual sleep need. 2001 Harcourt Publishers Ltd

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^☆: Correspondence should be addressed to: Michele Ferrara, Ph.DDipartimento di Psicologia, Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza”, Via dei Marsi, 78; 00185 Rome, Italy. Fax: +39 06 44 51 667; E-mail: michele.ferrara@uniroma

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Regular ArticleHow much sleep do we need?☆

Abstract

Soc Sci Med

Neurophysiol Clin

Biol Psychiat

Behav Brain Res

Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol

Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol

Prog Neurobiol

Lancet

Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol

Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol

Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol

Physiol Behav

Brain Res

Neurosci Lett

The cost of sleep-related accidents: a reanalysis

Sleep

The cost of sleep-related accidents: a report for the national commission on sleep disorders research

Sleep

Catastrophes, sleep, and public policy: consensus report

Sleep

An overview of sleepiness and accidents

J Sleep Res

Work hours, sleepiness and the underlying mechanisms

J Sleep Res

Should we be taking more sleep?

Sleep

We are chronically sleep deprived

Sleep

The Overworked American: the Unexpected Decline of Leisure

New York: Basic Books

Are we chronically sleep deprived?

Bull Psychon Soc

The sleep of school children: its distribution according to age and its relation to physical and mental efficiency

J Educational Psychol

Some preliminary findings on physical complaints from a prospective study of 1,064,004 men and women

Am J Public Health

Short and long sleep and sleeping pills: is increased mortality associated?

Arch Gen Psychiat

Mortality risk associated with sleeping patterns among adults

Sleep

The sleep duration and sleep satisfaction of college students: striking changes over the last decade (1978–1988)

Percept Mot Skills

Delaying and extending sleep during weekends: sleep recovery or circadian effect?

Chronobiol Int

Sleep need in adolescents: a longitudinal approach

Sleep

Historical change in the report of daytime fatigue

Sleep

Washington, DC: National Institute of Health

The sleep of healthy people – a diary study

Chronobiol Int

Is society sleep deprived?

Sleep

Why We Sleep: The Functions of Sleep in Humans and Other Mammals

Oxford: Oxford University Press

Dimension to sleepiness

In: Monk H (ed) Sleep, Sleepiness and Performance. John Wiley & Sons

Timing of human sleep: recovery process gated by a circadian pacemaker

Am J Physiol

EEG power density during nap sleep: reflection of an hourglass measuring the duration of prior wakefulness

J Biol Rhythms

Sleep restriction

In: Monk H (ed) Sleep, Sleepiness and Performance. John Wiley & Sons

The effects on subsequent sleep of an acute restriction of sleep length

Psychophysiol

Sleep during and after gradual sleep reduction

Psychophysiol

The effects of a chronic limitation of sleep length

Psychophysiol

Repeated partial sleep deprivation progressively changes the EEG during sleep and wakefulness

Sleep

The dynamics of chronically restricted sleep and recovery sleep

Sleep

The effects of a restricted sleep regime on the composition of sleep and on performance

Psychophysiol

Effects of different sleep duration on delta sleep in recovery nights

Psychophysiol

Sleep: effects of a restricted regime

Regular Article
How much sleep do we need?☆