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Comment by Tenoke | Hacker News Reader

~6 hours or just above it in general seems to be the sweetspot. Most negative effects (especially broad ones like all-cause mortality) only really start showing up under 6 (or over 7 hours)[0].

Too bad the majority of reporting exaggerates and starts scaring people for going under 8 (and sometimes 9!) when yet again it seems like 6-7 is likely best, with very little 'loss' between 7 and 6. Just don't go much lower than that for long unless you need exceptionally less.

0. https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full/10.1139/apnm-2020-0034

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Your linked consensus statement recommends against under 7 or over 9 hours, and says 7-8 is "most favourable".

I already edited and answered in another comment. The actual studies (especially large meta-analyses) show very good results between 6 and 7, I was just thinking of linking this for the overrecomendation of 8-9 and copied it by mistake.

Though even here they try to reccomend more in the abstract than what their results suggest, so look at the actual results e.g. all-cause mortality.

That's not what your source says though. The consensus is less than 7 hours has adverse health outcomes and more than 9 hours has an unknown effect for most people and is beneficial for certain groups of people.

My bad, I copied the wrong link (edited now). I meant to link to the largest systematic review I could find[0]. Instead I had linked to the US recommendation which I was initially thinking of linking for the part where most over-recommend 8-9.

Relevant part:

>that compared with 7 h of sleep per day, a 1-h decrease in sleep duration was associated with 6% increased risk of all-cause mortality and a 1-h increase in sleep duration was associated with a 13% increased risk of all-cause mortality (N = 241 107 adults in 43 articles).

With again, the bigger effects being under 6 but even with an per-hour average the risk from 7 to 8 is higher than 7 to 6.

0. https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full/10.1139/apnm-2020-0034

Yeah, I naturally sleep around 7 hours. If I get < 6 I really notice it the next day. 6+ is a normal day. But it is weird just how much I notice going less than 6 though.

Another thing that my wife hates (ie, is jealous of), is my head hits the pillow and I'm out. Also, during that 6 hour sweet spot, I can sleep through almost anything.

My dad is like this. Please tell me as I am curious, do you tend to self-reflect or have a vivid inner world? I'm trying to understand how my dad does this and my current theory is that he simply does not dwell on things and runs mostly on instinct.

I self reflect a lot, but don't dwell on things outside of my control. How an interaction with a co-worker went I might think about for days and even journal about, but I can't tell you what I read on HN yesterday unless it fit into something I'm working on.

I exercise almost every day and have for over 20 years. It definitely helps.

I do have a basic bedtime routine. I go to bed at a consistent time, but I don't avoid screens or anything. I do avoid games and any news type things when I'm winding down for bed, but will read and watch part (it's always a part b/c I'm asleep before it's over heh) of a show on my phone. Also, DnD kicks on about an hour before bed so a random work email doesn't derail me.

Finally, if there is something I'm worried about I take care of it. This goes back to not dwelling on things outside of my control, and dealing with the things that are.

Fwiw, I can also usually do this and I would consider myself a world class dweller.

For me, it's about

- consistent bedtime

- doing as little as possible involving a screen in bed

- consistent bedtime routine

- consistent bedtime

Screwing any of these up can quite easily cause me to start worrying about things instead of falling asleep.

But I also think in part I'm just lucky and I can't really explain what causes it. I was always able to fall asleep in the car when I was younger, almost instantly. I can't fall asleep on public transport or planes at all though unless I'm really shattered.

> Most negative effects (especially broad ones like all-cause mortality) only really start showing up under 6

Most - maybe. But one very important negative effect is that waking up without enough sleep is, quite literally, torturous.

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