Can the best amount of sleep vary by person?

Question

There has always been a recommended amount of sleep people should get but as a college student looking around at my peers I feel like people can strive on less than the recommended amount of sleep.

Comments

I agree with you that we have always been told to get a recommended amount of sleep, like 7 or 8 hours, but I don't know if the hours vary differently. from reading the article it talks a lot about how everyone has their own circadian rhythm. I do wonder though if getting a person's own amount of sleep depends on the activity they do throughout the day. It is interesting to see how eye color differs on sleep, when me and my friend who has the same color eyes need the same amount of sleep to function.

Answer 1

According to the Sleep Foundation, different age groups require different amounts of sleep, so technically yes the best amounts of sleep can vary based on the person. Similarly in the article you cited, they explain how there are genetic predispositions that affect the amounts of sleep one needs as well. I think both are large factors that both show how everyone's sleep patterns differ.

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need#:~:text=Different%20age%20groups%20need%20different,based%20on%20a%20person's%20circumstances.

Comments

I think that your factcheck is overall really good. I liked how you specifically went into the reason why the amount of sleep necessary can vary due to age. That helps us to understand better why it might vary. I also think that the source you cited was good and reputable. I also like how you were able to connect the information in the separate article that you found on the topic  to information in the article that the claim stated. Overall a good factcheck.

---

I appreciate how concise this fact check is, as it provides an alternative source that repeats a similar claim, as well as adds the dimension of how age affects sleep requirement. However, I think the claim takes this farther than was examined, as it says that students "thrive" with less than the recommended amount of sleep, which wasn't addressed in your check. That could be related or due to other factors such as caffeine or exercise, so it may be worth looking into that age and framing more.

---

I liked that in your fact-check you provided more specific information about this claim and showed different sources that we can look at to further educate ourselves on this matter. I also believe that this information is good to know as a college student who struggles with finding a good sleep schedule.

Answer 2

answering this question this is true. Of course there is recommended amount of sleep around the 7-8 hours but this is without adjusting for sleep debt for each individual person. looking at this ted talk from a professional Matt walker    https://www.ted.com/speakers/matthew_walker we can see the importance of sleep, along with this he speaks that you build up a debt every time you don't meet your bodies required amount of sleep, to balance this you must sleep more than your debt is to get back to even. But this ties back to the point that each person's amount of needed sleep is literally altering every day so this is a true statement and quite an interesting topic to dive deeper into. 

Comments

I like how you referenced a credible source -- a qualified sleep scientist and his lecture. I think he offers good information on the importance of sleep, but is not as specific to the question being asked by the original poster. I think an additional study about sleep varying by person would be good for a fact check.

Answer 3

The article is suggesting that the amount of recommended sleep varies by person. I have found this to be true after reading the Harvard Medical School issue. 

Published by the Divisions of Sleep Medicine Harvard Medical School, the article talks about how genetics and our environment play a role in an individual's sleeping needs, therefore the sleep required varies by person. Dr. Marie Chang, a researcher in sleep psychology and behavior, talks about genes that can affect an individual's sleep and the paper overall surrounds this main point. This paper is supervised by Dr. Charles Czeisler a chief and senior physician of the division of sleep and circadian disorders and departments of medicine and neurology, making him what some would call an expert in these topics. 

More on Dr Marie’s work: 

https://hhd.psu.edu/contact/anne-marie-chang

Dr. Charles Czeisler: https://dms.hms.harvard.edu/people/charles-czeisler 

With an online search I was able to find many trusted websites such as organizations or clinics that also talked about this. One from the Sleep Foundation showed the recommended hours of sleep needed by age that were come up by an American Academy of Sleep Medicine panel. They found this information by doing extensive research and the voting and holding discussions to narrow down what was best for each age. Their exact findings can be found here: https://aasm.org/resources/pdf/pediatricsleepdurationconsensus.pdf 

Article: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need 

This article was written by Eric Suni a writer for Sleep foundation and has experience writing for other organizations such as the Cancer Institute. 

So overall this claim is true as the recommended amount of sleep depends on the person. 

Answer 4

The first major source I found was the Sleep Foundation, which explains that sleep needs vary across different age groups, meaning the optimal amount of sleep can differ from person to person. Additionally, the article highlights that genetic factors also influence how much sleep an individual requires. Together, these factors emphasize how sleep patterns can vary significantly from one person to the next.

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need#:~:text=Different%20age%20groups%20need%20different,based%20on%20a%20person's%20circumstances.

Answer 5

The National Institute of Health states, "The amount of sleep you need changes as you age, and sleep needs vary from person to person. Most adults need to sleep seven or more hours each night. Not getting enough sleep can lead to physical and mental health problems." Your claim that it varies from person to person is true. The quality of sleep also affects how many hours of sleep you need. The REM sleep cycle plays a significant role in how much sleep you need at night. Another factor is the time of night you sleep. Genetics also affect sleep. Some people inherit short sleep times.

Sources-

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/gene-identified-people-who-need-little-sleep#:~:text=The%20amount%20of%20sleep%20you,physical%20and%20mental%20health%20problems.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/why-do-different-people-need-different-amounts-of-sleep/

Answer 6

I believe this statement is true. According to an article written by students at Harvard Medical School, “Most adults require approximately 8 hours of sleep per 24 hours, but there can be substantial differences among individuals. Sleep needs may range from about six to nine hours.” Depending on your age, there will always be a recommended amount of time to sleep. The article talks about how genetics and our environment play a role in an individual's sleeping needs, therefore the sleep required varies by person. It also discusses genes that can influence an individual's sleep; this main point is a central focus.

https://sleep.hms.harvard.edu/education-training/public-education/sleep-and-health-education-program/sleep-health-education-80#:~:text=Most%20adults%20require%20approximately%208,about%20six%20to%20nine%20hours.

Comments

Your source appears reputable given the standard they have at Harvard University but I would have liked to see you explain more about the role of genetics and environment in how much sleep is required for humans to function. Especially since you claimed it was the main point of the article. A second source would back up your response too, because genetics isn't generally discussed enough about when it comes to sleep.