Sleeping 6 hours is just as bad as not sleeping

It has always been said that people must sleep at least 6 hours if we do not want to compromise our health and well-being. In fact, experts have long recommended that it is necessary to sleep between 6 and 8 hours to perform better the next day and not suffer the effects of lack of sleep.

However, a recent study has shown that sleeping 6 hours is not necessarily good for the human body and can even be as bad as not sleeping as far as cognitive performance is concerned.

Sleeping 6 hours could be just as bad as no sleep

These results could therefore indicate that the advice given to us by experts for so many years was not correct. This study was published in the Journal Sleep and had 48 adult subjects who had their hours of sleep restricted. Some participants slept four, others six and others eight hours for two weeks. The investigation also included another group of subjects who went three days in a row without sleeping.

In order to obtain the results, the participants were tested every two hours for their cognitive performance (unless they were asleep, of course), as well as their reaction time, their level of sleep, the symptoms they were experiencing and also answered questions about their state of spirit.

The conclusions of the study were clear. Subjects who were able to sleep for six hours a night performed just as poorly. than those individuals who were forced to stay awake for three days in a row.

The reason why six hours of sleep is not enough

What is clear from this research is that the 8 hours of sleep that have always been recommended are ideal for greater performance. It is also clear that subjects who sleep only four hours a night accumulate a sleep deficit and worsen each day.

As for the study subjects who slept 6 hours, despite showing normal cognitive performance for the first few days, after a few days they began to show a decline in performance. In fact, their performance was just as bad as those who hadn't slept in three days. However, one of the most striking results was that the group of subjects who slept six hours did not seem to have the same perception of sleep as the people who had not slept in three days.

Performance decreases after a few days

The first did not qualify the fact of having slept that number of hours as something negative, nor did they state that they felt drowsy. On the contrary, the subjects who had not slept in three days did perceive that they were much more tired. This seems to indicate that six hours of sleep may not leave us as tired as no sleep, yet cognitive performance is still just as bad as no sleep at all.

Now, sleeping four hours is even worse than sleeping six hours, since the performance of these participants worsens every day. In the case of 6 hours of sleep, it is from the tenth day when they begin to lose their faculties.

We don't know how many hours we sleep

It seems, therefore, that a difference of two hours of sleep causes a significant drop in performance. considerable, and surely there are many people who do not sleep their 8 hours a day and who may be suffering these effects. Another curious investigation, this time carried out by the University of Chicago, affirms that people don't know how many hours they sleep. That is to say, they could believe that they sleep seven hours and in reality they are sleeping six.

The results of this research show that people overestimate their sleep time, and are wrong by 0.8 hours on average.

Changing sleep habits is a complicated task

Experts have been warning for some time that it is necessary to carry out a series of habits that help us sleep better. Practicing physical exercise, turning off the television before going to bed or reducing alcohol consumption are some examples. If it is already complicated in itself to adopt these habits, It is more complicated to transform your behavior if you do not know that you need to change your habits to improve your cognitive performance..

One factor that sleep experts have a lot of emphasis on is weight reduction to sleep better. Obesity has a strong correlation with insomnia and sleep apnea, as confirmed by a study by the National Sleep Foundation in the United States. There are many investigations that affirm that obese workers perform less at work and are less productive than those who are not.

Habits to sleep better

In reality, there are many factors that intervene when it comes to getting a good night's sleep: stress at work, problems with your love relationship or drinking stimulating drinks at night.

And it is that sleeping well is decisive for our health and, as you have seen, it affects performance in different fields, such as school or work. Now, you can adopt a series of habits that help you sleep better. Which are?

1. take care of the environment. For example: using a comfortable pillow and mattress and not watching TV before going to bed.

2. Do not eat copious meals at night, as they can make it difficult to sleep.

3. Do not take stimulants when bedtime approaches.

4. To do physical exercise and improve physical condition.

5. Don't overdo the nap to avoid being feeling too light at night.

6. follow a schedule to lie down and get up.

• You can delve into these habits and learn about some more in our article: “10 basic principles for good sleep hygiene”