Sleep Myth 1 You need to sleep for eight hours per night
31-12-2012
There are a number of myths that surround sleep, many of which are totally wrong and are actually harmful. It is time that these myths were stopped dead in their tracks and the truth was exposed. In this series we will destroy some of the most pernicious yet popular myths about sleep.
The first and worst myth of sleep is that you need to sleep for eight hours per night, that eight is the magic figure when it comes to sleep. NOT TRUE. In fact, a recent study involving over a million people, one of the largest and longest running health studies of all time, discovered that it is far better to sleep between 6-7 hours. They found that people who slept eight hours were 12 percent more likely to die young than those who slept between 6-7 hours per night. Oversleeping is not good for short term concentration and it is even worse for your long term health prospects.
It is also important to note that the ideal sleep period will change for an individual during their life as well. Teenagers need more sleep, then as you get older your body needs progressively less, then when you enter your 70s and 80s, you will need more again.
Let’s put that myth to bed for good.
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