Is 5 hours enough to be five by five?

The fellow who fitted me with my CPAP machine was himself a sleep apnea sufferer. He said once he had started treating his sleep apnea, he only needed five hours sleep a night.

Last night I didn’t get to bed until midnight and yet this morning I woke up at 5:30 am; I was fully awake and very clear-headed. I thought about getting up but decided it was too early and went back to bed with the goal of sleeping until 7 am as planned.

Instead, I ended up hitting snooze a lot and not getting up until after 9 am. I was groggy and late for work.

There is a consistent stream of articles in mainstream media about the need for sleep and how many hours minimum the average person needs. Before I began treating my apnea, I did nothing but sleep without getting actual rest. Lately I’ve tried to consistently aim for 7-8 hours sleep a night but perhaps I am one of those people who doesn’t need that much. Maybe I need less than six hours a night.

I’m going to try it again tonight; it might help me get my gym schedule back to mornings, something I haven’t done so far this year – I’ve been going after work and fighting the crowds.