6 or 8 hours’ sleep is always a controversial topic these years. According to a report on Daily Mail, Sarah Chalmers, who is 46 years old attended a sleeping experiment. The following photos show the contrast of her face when she sleeps for 6 and 8 hours.
It’s not hard to see that when Sarah sleeps for 8 hours, she is in fine fettle. While the right side picture, which shows her face after 6 hours’ sleep looks like she is listless and obviously needs more sleep. This photo encourages people have 8 hours’ of sleep for health. We hear an old saying all the time that people spend about 1/3 of their life for sleeping. Based on this saying, it may seem better that if we have 8 hours for sleep (24/3=8). More people suggest 8 hours’ sleep because less sleep may cause cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, further threatens people’s health.
But is that true? 8 is better than 6?
A report called ‘Forget eight hours of sleep a night-we only actually need SIX, scientists declare’ is also posted on Daily mail. This report, rather than the previous one, suggests that people should have 6 or 7 hours’ sleep instead of 8 based on the study on hunter-gatherers. These hunter-gatherers in tribes sleep for 6 or 7 hours but they’re in better health condition than normal people. But draw a crude and rush conclusion just based on merely one study? I really hold my doubt. Because there may be third effect (confounding variables) affects the experiment result like hunter-gatherers innately have better health than normal people as they exercise a lot or the high-nutrition food they eat.
We still can’t tell 6 or 8 hours for sleep, which one is better. However, choosing a healthy lifestyle such as not stay up too late or combine exertion and rest is quite essential for college students. Remember that health is wealth.
Im sure pretty much every college student can relate to this, as most of us struggle with getting enough sleep. I know I find myself waking up still very tired a lot of mornings and then feeling fatigued throughout the day. I hope I can start getting closer to eight hours of sleep so I feel more awake.
I can completely relate to this post because I used to have so much trouble sleeping at night, and I could see it taking over every aspect of my life. I was less productive with my school work, working out, and even less social. Thankfully, my sleeping habits have improved and regularly have 8-9 hours of sleep per night. I have so much more energy, and also notice that I have been eating so much better than I used to. When you are overtired you tend to eat food that contain a lot of sugar to compensate for your lack of energy. In order to be all around a healthy person, it is necessary to get the recommended amount of sleep!
http://www.health.com/health/condition-article/0,,20232959,00.html
I figured I’d comment on yours since it is currently 1:36 in the morning and I am exhausted and wishing I was sleeping right now. College students always complain about how little they are able to sleep. My brain personally works better in the morning so I scheduled my classes as at 9 am but now am regretting that since I don’t even get to bed until about 2 am. If I were able to sleep 8 hours a night I would be way healthier. I would not only feel better, but I would have more energy, I would be able to productively study, which would improve my test scores and in essence improve my grades. In the study you provided, I believe 8 hours of sleep is better than 6. Many studies have shown that sleep is beneficial. Us college students need sleep!!