The 8-hour Sleep Myth

You are told from the time you enter grade school, maybe even earlier, that your body needs 8 hours of sleep a night. This 8-hour sleep myth is one of the most common falsehoods we are told about our bodies and is routinely and commonly accepted as fact.

What happens then to those who only sleep 6 or 7 hours? What about 9?

The truth is, every human body is different, and as a result, may need more or less than 8 hours of sleep nightly to feel optimal. Multiple factors determine how much sleep YOU need to feel your best: age, activity level, health, and personal biology.

Clinical Insomnia

According to the National Sleep Foundation, more than 75% of Americans will suffer from insomnia symptoms during their lifetimes. Sleep disruption can happen during times of stress, trauma, grief and loss, life change, or illness. Of those, more than half will go on to develop chronic sleep difficulties, otherwise known as clinical insomnia. More will report that their sleep quality is inadequate, even if they can sleep through the night.

You might not know there is more than one form of insomnia. When you think of insomnia, you might think of tossing and turning all night, FIGHTING to try and sleep. There are actually three ways people experience clinical insomnia: difficulty falling asleep, difficulties staying asleep, and early morning waking.

Trying to Cope

One of the most common ways people try to cope with sleep disruption is by sleep compensation. Sleep compensation means you try to make up for the sleep you didn’t get the night before by napping or sleeping in on the weekends.

The truth is, this is part of the insomnia cycle. No one likes to feel tired. Addressing the underlying causes of sleep disruption is only part of the solution. In order to truly recover from insomnia is to stop the insomnia cycle, one of the best ways to do that is to establish a consistent schedule for sleep in which you go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends.

Don’t Make it Worse!

When you nap or sleep in, you decrease your body’s natural need for sleep, which can make your insomnia worse. Learning how much sleep you need to feel your best and creating a schedule to allow yourself to sleep those hours can go a long way to reduce or eliminate nighttime wakefulness.

Learn more About Me and the Services I offer.

Tonya Molnar, PhD, LMHC, MHP specializes in insomnia and sleep health, trauma, and chronic pain and illness therapy with additional training in CBT-i for insomnia and CBT for chronic pain and illness management. As she completes her PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision, it is her honor to serve clients in Washington State using a telemental health approach at this time.